Why do Evangelicals downgrade the Resurrection?

Preamble

I suggest that one of the many reasons why Evangelicals downgrade Jesus' resurrection, especially in relation to his crucifixion, is the antipathy to the resurrection in the scholarly world.  Like it or not, the scholarly world influences even Evangelical thought.  Church leaders study at seminaries and most seminaries are in touch with the scholarly world and are influenced by it.  In the end, the antipathy to the resurrection in the scholarly world boils down to a lack of faith in resurrection, either Jesus' or in general.  This lack of faith trickles down to the Evangelical in the pew, or so I suggest.

Examples

Two of my favorite Catholic scholars, Raymond Brown and John P. Meier, are cases in point.  Brown has written a 752 page tome on The Birth of the Messiah and a 2-volume 1608 page tome on The Death of the Messiah.  Nothing like this is devoted to the resurrection.  His The Virginal Conception & Bodily Resurrection of Jesus devotes pp. 69-129 to the topic.  His other book on the resurrection, A Risen Christ in Eastertime, is just as slim, with only about a hundred pages devoted to the topic.  Even he admits that neither of these books are truly a commentary.

Meier's epic A Marginal Jew (4 volumes to date and going strong) is not to touch the Resurrection.  The reason Meier gives is the Jesus' resurrection is not "in principle open to the observation of any and every observer", is "affirmed only by faith", and is not "in principle perceivable by all interested and fair-minded observers."

Meier's conception of the resurrection I think is already flawed and that he seems to lack the faith in the bodily resurrection of Jesus.  It is against this typical scholarly position that N. T. Wright basically wrote his The Resurrection of the Son of God. Wright argues the the concept of "resurrection" is this period involved bodily resurrection and is therefore open to the type of verification that Meier seems to think is lacking.  (See also Stephen T. Davis 'Seeing ' the Risen Jesus.)

Theological Upshot

I think the lesson for Christians is to be sensitive to all the factors that shape our thought and how we read the Word.  Sometimes pernicious ways of reading the text are so underground that we don't even realize they are operative.  I think this is the case with the resurrection.  This is one the the foundations of Christianity and perhaps we need to read with an intentional view to highlight what the Bible as a whole says about resurrection and its importance.  I claim that if we do this we will read Paul, for example, differently than we do now.  The time has come.