Taking Caesar out of Jesus
Taking Caesar out of Jesus

Author: Robert M. Wills

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2013-10-18

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1493108107

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Jesus is the center of Christian faith and the Bible is its holy book, its sacred scriptures. For hundreds of years, this meant that Jesus was divine and the Bible was a divine product. This remains the primary perspective for many Christians today. However, it has mutated appreciably for others. It is not that Jesus is no longer thought of as the center of Christian faith or the Bible as Christianitys sacred scriptures. Those remain true for everyone. However, studies in biblical criticism and the historical Jesus suggest Jesus was a Palestinian Jew a human being -- not different in that respect from you and me. Divinity was bestowed upon him by his followers, and eventually took the form of imperial divinity after the example of Caesar. This presents a conundrum for Christianity. What, for instance, is Christianity to do with a human being at its center? How has Christianity accommodated imperial rule? What do we do with those imperial titles by which he is known Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and Son of God? Taking Caesar out of Jesus presents a new portrait of Jesus based on solid historical evidence assembled from the works of hundreds of critical biblical scholars. As the subtitle proclaims, Jesus emerges from this book as a new figure, relevant to the 21st century. Some will say this new perspective destroys Christianity. Others will find Jesus to be far more believable and compelling. Anyone will find this progressive approach to uncovering the historical Jesus thought-provoking. This book, however, goes beyond biblical criticism and a new portrait of the historical Jesus. It confronts the Christian proclamation that Jesus is humanitys savior including the notion that it needs a savior. It suggests that the historical Jesus never embraced the well-known notion of divine salvation. To the contrary, Jesus embraced Judaisms wisdom tradition. In the wisdom tradition, a person deals with the exigencies of life by developing a new vision of reality, and by acting differently. Jesus did not provide an instruction manual for living; rather, he pointed us in the direction of self-management. As described in this book, this new way of living, taken from Jesuss parables and aphorisms, will startle some, and stir others toward greater maturity and responsibility for their own lives.

Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not
Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not

Author: Scot McKnight

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2013-03-28

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0830839917

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This volume brings together respected biblical scholars to evaluate the turn toward "empire criticism" in recent New Testament scholarship. While praising the movement for its deconstruction of Roman statecraft and ideology, the contributors also provide a salient critique of the anti-imperialist rhetoric pervading much of the current literature.

Jesus was Caesar
Jesus was Caesar

Author: Francesco Carotta

Publisher:

Published: 2024-09-23

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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The question is: Is Jesus Divus Julius? Is Jesus the historical figure of Divus Julius, the god to which Julius Caesar was elevated? The iconography of Caesar do not fit our idea of him. In our minds Caesar is a field marshall and a dictator. However, authentic images portray the idea of the clementia Caesaris, a clement Caesar. Jesus' life is congruent to the life of Caesar. Both Julius Caesar and Jesus began their careers in northern countries: Caesar in Gaul, Jesus in Galilee. Both cross a fatal river: the Rubicon and the Jordan. Both then enter cities; Corfinium and Cafarnaum. Caesar finds Corfinium occupied by a man of Pompey and besieges him, while Jesus finds a man possessed by an impure spirit. There is similarity in structure as well as in place names. People in the stories of Caesar and of Jesus are structurally the same people, even by name and location. Caesar's most famous quotations are found in the gospels in structurally significant places. Julius Caesar, son of Venus and founder of the Roman Empire, was elevated to the status of Imperial God, Divus Julius, after his violent death. The cult that surrounded him dissolved as Christianity surfaced. The cult surrounding Jesus Christ, son of God and originator of Christianity, appeared during the second century. Early historians, however, never mentioned Jesus. Even now, there is no actual proof of his existence. On the one hand, an actual historical figure is missing his cu

Caesar's messiah : the Roman conspiracy to invent Jesus
Caesar's messiah : the Roman conspiracy to invent Jesus

Author: Joseph Atwill

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781461096405

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"Caesar's Messiah," a real life "Da Vinci Code," presents the dramatic and controversial discovery that the conventional views of Christian origins may be wrong. Author Joseph Atwill makes the case that the Christian Gospels were actually written under the direction of first-century Roman emperors. The purpose of these texts was to establish a peaceful Jewish sect to counterbalance the militaristic Jewish forces that had just been defeated by the Roman Emperor Titus in 70 A.D. Atwill uncovered the secret key to this story in the writings of Josephus, the famed first-century Roman historian. Reading Josephus's chronicle, "The War of the Jews," the author found detail after detail that closely paralleled events recounted in the Gospels. Atwill skillfully demonstrates that the emperors used the Gospels to spark a new religious movement that would aid them in maintaining power and order. What's more, by including hidden literary clues, they took the story of the Emperor Titus's glorious military victory, as recounted by Josephus, and embedded that story in the Gospels - a sly and satirical way of glorifying the emperors through the ages.

None But Christ
None But Christ

Author: John Wall

Publisher: The Northampton Press

Published: 2016-01-25

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 0984706267

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None But Christ by the Puritan John Wall is 33 chapters on Paul's statement, "I determined to know nothing among you save Christ and Him crucified." In typical Puritan fashion Wall exhausts his subject, that nothing but Christ matters, and why that is so. It is a God-honoring, Christ-exalting book that will help you fall more deeply in love with the Savior.

Christ and Caesar
Christ and Caesar

Author: Seyoon Kim

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2008-10-07

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0802860087

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This title looks at what kind of responses Paul made to the Roman Empire. The author subjects the methods of current interpreters to critical scrutiny and discusses what makes an anti-imperial interpretation of Pauline writings difficult.

I, Claudius
I, Claudius

Author: Robert Graves

Publisher: Rosetta Books

Published: 2014-03-06

Total Pages: 606

ISBN-13: 0795336799

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“One of the really remarkable books of our day”—the story of the Roman emperor on which the award-winning BBC TV series was based (The New York Times). Once a rather bookish young man with a limp and a stammer, a man who spent most of his time trying to stay away from the danger and risk of the line of ascension, Claudius seemed an unlikely candidate for emperor. Yet, on the death of Caligula, Claudius finds himself next in line for the throne, and must stay alive as well as keep control. Drawing on the histories of Plutarch, Suetonius, and Tacitus, noted historian and classicist Robert Graves tells the story of the much-maligned Emperor Claudius with both skill and compassion. Weaving important themes throughout about the nature of freedom and safety possible in a monarchy, Graves’s Claudius is both more effective and more tragic than history typically remembers him. A bestselling novel and one of Graves’ most successful, I, Claudius has been adapted to television, film, theatre, and audio. “[A] legendary tale of Claudius . . . [A] gem of modern literature.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A Clash of Kingdoms Discovery Guide
A Clash of Kingdoms Discovery Guide

Author: Ray Vander Laan

Publisher: HarperChristian Resources

Published: 2017-07-18

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0310085748

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How do we as Christians proclaim God's name in all the earth in the midst of false gospels? Learn from the Apostle Paul as he communicated the Good News of Christ to Philippi, a Roman colony that worshipped false gods. In this fifteenth volume of the That The World May Know series, take a tour through the land of the Bible and discover how to live in your present-day Philippi or Delphi—a dechristianized Western world—in a way that keeps your citizenship in God's Kingdom. This discovery guide includes passages of Scripture explored in the DVD (sold separately); questions for discussion and personal reflection; personal Bible studies to help you deepen your learning experience between sessions; as well as sidebars, maps, photos, and other study tools. The Gospel of Caesar The Believers The Powers of Darkness The Philippian Jailer Confronting the Empire Designed for use with A Clash of Kingdoms Video Study (sold separately). _______________ THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW Join renowned teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan as he guides you through the land of the Bible. In each lesson, Vander Laan illuminates the historical, geographical, and cultural context of the sacred Scriptures. Filmed on location in the Middle East and elsewhere, the That the World May Know film series will transform your understanding of God and challenge you to be a true follower of Jesus.

God the Son Incarnate
God the Son Incarnate

Author: Stephen J. Wellum

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2016-11-16

Total Pages: 475

ISBN-13: 1433517868

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Nothing is more important than what a person believes about Jesus Christ. To understand Christ correctly is to understand the very heart of God, Scripture, and the gospel. To get to the core of this belief, this latest volume in the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series lays out a systematic summary of Christology from philosophical, biblical, and historical perspectives—concluding that Jesus Christ is God the Son incarnate, both fully divine and fully human. Readers will learn to better know, love, trust, and obey Christ—unashamed to proclaim him as the only Lord and Savior. Part of the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.

Reasonable Faith
Reasonable Faith

Author: William Lane Craig

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 1433501155

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This updated edition by one of the world's leading apologists presents a systematic, positive case for Christianity that reflects the latest work in the contemporary hard sciences and humanities. Brilliant and accessible.