On the heels of the previous article, another case of “resurrection denial” has come to my attention. In January of this year, the former Dean of Perth in Australia, the Very Reverend Dr. John Shepherd, was appointed interim director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, only to face a sudden firestorm of criticism stemming from an Easter message he posted online in 2008. One cheekily worded headline (Eternity News) observed, “Church Leader Finds Internet Never Forgets”.

In the message that was “resurrected” (pardon the pun), Dr Shepherd states:

The Resurrection of Jesus ought not to be seen in physical terms, but as a new spiritual reality. It is important for Christians to be set free from the idea that the Resurrection was an extraordinary physical event which restored to life Jesus’ original earthly body.
…
Jesus’ early followers felt His presence after His death as strongly as if it were a physical presence and incorporated this sense of a resurrection experience into their gospel accounts. But they’re not historical records as we understand them. They are symbolic images of the breaking through of the resurrection spirit into human lives.
…
Jesus lived … as a transformed spiritual reality.

Apparently, this was old news to other Anglicans in his region. A group identifying itself as “Sydney Anglicans” noted way back in 2003:

Dr Shepherd wrote that it was not necessary to believe the Gospel accounts of Jesus appearing to his disciples, that Jesus was physically and literally raised to heaven, or that he will come again ‘in the form in which he has already been present on earth’.
He also said that there is no need to believe “there will be a final judgment where the righteous will be accepted into a so-called heaven, and sinners condemned to everlasting damnation.”

Perhaps the senior cleric has changed his mind. To his critics, Dr. Shepherd says, “I have never denied the reality of the empty tomb”. His efforts to distance himself from his earlier comments appear to have been successful. Calls for him to be removed from his position have gone unheeded, and the controversy seems to have evaporated.

For further reading:

David Ould, Jan 10, 2029. “NEW HEAD OF ANGLICAN CENTRE IN ROME IS DENIER OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION.” Online at https://davidould.net/new-head-of-anglican-centre-in-rome-is-denier-of-jesus-resurrection/

“Dean of Perth commits heresy in broad daylight”, April 28, 2003. Sydney Anglicans. Online at https://sydneyanglicans.net/news/730a

“Interim Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome rebuffs “resurrection” criticism”. Jan 15, 2019. Anglican Communion News Service, online at https://www.anglicannews.org/news/2019/01/interim-director-of-the-anglican-centre-in-rome-rebuffs-resurrection-criticism.aspx