The Many Faces of Christ
The Many Faces of Christ

Author: Philip Jenkins

Publisher:

Published: 2015-10-13

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 0465066925

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"In The Many Faces of Christ religious historian Philip Jenkins refutes our most basic assumptions about the Lost Gospels and the history of Christianity. He reveals that hundreds of alternative gospels were never lost, but survived and in many cases remained influential texts, both outside and within the official Church. We are taught that these alternative scriptures--such as the Gospels of Thomas, Mary, or Judas--represented intoxicating, daring and often bizarre ideas that were wholly suppressed by the Church in the fourth and fifth centuries. In bringing order to the tumult, the Church canonized only four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The rest, according to this standard account, were lost, destroyed, or hidden. But more than a thousand years after Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made his Roman Empire do the same, the Christian world retained a much broader range of scriptures than would be imaginable today"--

The Many Faces of Christ
The Many Faces of Christ

Author: Michele Bacci

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2014-03-15

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1780233205

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Thanks to current portrayals of Jesus of Nazareth, we are apt to think of him as having long hair and a short beard. But, the holy scriptures do not describe Christ’s physiognomy, and his representations are inconsistent in early Christian and medieval arts. How did this long-haired archetype come to be accepted in the late ninth century as the standard iconography of the Son of God? To answer this question, The Many Faces of Christ examines the complex historical and cultural dynamics underlying the making and final establishment of Christ’s image between late antiquity and the early Renaissance. Taking into account a broad spectrum of iconographic and textual sources, Michele Bacci describes the process of creating Christ’s image against the backdrop of ancient and biblical conceptions of beauty and physicality as indicators of moral, ascetic, or messianic qualities. He investigates the increasingly dominant role played by visual experience in Christian religious practice, which promoted belief in the existence of ancient documents depicting Christ’s appearance, and he shows how this resulted in the shaping of portrait-like images that were said to be true to life. With glances at analogous progressions in the Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and Taoist traditions, this beautifully illustrated book will be of interest to specialists of Late Antique, Byzantine, and medieval studies, as well as anyone interested in the shifting, controversial conceptions of the historical figure of Jesus Christ.

The Many Faces of Adam and Eve
The Many Faces of Adam and Eve

Author: Bernard F. Batto

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2022-02-17

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1666711640

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Contrary to popular opinion, the story of Adam and Eve is not confined to the book of Genesis. It has roots in prebiblical myth and continued to evolve long after the Bible was completed. Bernard F. Batto traces the development of the Adam and Eve story from its origins in Mesopotamian myth to its reformulation in Genesis and beyond--including its expansion in Jewish epigraphs such as 1 Enoch and the Life of Adam and Eve, and its place in Christian innovations such as the apostle Paul's thesis that Christ is a second Adam, and in the thinking of church fathers such as Irenaeus, who held that Christ recapitulates all humankind in himself, and Augustine, whose doctrine of original sin interprets the Adam and Eve story. Batto also examines gnostic teachings about a heavenly Adam and an earthly Adam, and surveys rabbinical attempts from the Talmudic period to find hidden meanings in the Genesis story. Islam's emphasis on Satan's role in seducing Adam and Eve is also discussed, and the book concludes with Milton's unforgettable retelling of the Adam and Eve story in Paradise Lost. Batto's goal is not only to reveal the many faces given Adam and Eve throughout history, but also to understand the divergent cultural and theological factors powering this long, evolving tradition.

Faces of Christ
Faces of Christ

Author: Jane Williams

Publisher: Lion Books

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780745955223

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Jesus is one of the most commonly portrayed figures of all time in the artistic community. But what can all of his varying faces—coming from so many different ages and diverse countries around the world—tell us about him as a person? In this beautiful book, images of Jesus are used to explore his life and legacy, including Jesus as shepherd, Jesus as victor, Jesus as broken, and many more. With illuminating text and arresting images, this book is visually stunning and textually inspiring—the perfect gift for anyone with an interest in fine art, spirituality, or both.

The Universal Christ
The Universal Christ

Author: Richard Rohr

Publisher: Convergent Books

Published: 2019-03-05

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1524762105

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of the world’s most influential spiritual thinkers, a long-awaited book exploring what it means that Jesus was called “Christ,” and how this forgotten truth can restore hope and meaning to our lives. “Anyone who strives to put their faith into action will find encouragement and inspiration in the pages of this book.”—Melinda Gates In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Is the word simply Jesus’s last name? Too often, Rohr writes, our understandings have been limited by culture, religious debate, and the human tendency to put ourselves at the center. Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. “God loves things by becoming them,” he writes, and Jesus’s life was meant to declare that humanity has never been separate from God—except by its own negative choice. When we recover this fundamental truth, faith becomes less about proving Jesus was God, and more about learning to recognize the Creator’s presence all around us, and in everyone we meet. Thought-provoking, practical, and full of deep hope and vision, The Universal Christ is a landmark book from one of our most beloved spiritual writers, and an invitation to contemplate how God liberates and loves all that is.

The Christ of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Faces of Jesus in the Book of Revelation
The Christ of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Faces of Jesus in the Book of Revelation

Author: Msgr. A. Robert Nusca

Publisher: Emmaus Road Publishing

Published: 2018-06-30

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 1945125772

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That the Apocalypse of John is a “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1) is a fact too often overlooked by interpreters of this last book of the Bible. As Msgr. A. Robert Nusca’s The Christ of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Faces of Jesus in the Book of Revelation proposes, beyond predictions of earthquakes and falling stars, St. John articulates from start to finish a multifaceted and compelling portrait of Jesus Christ. Nusca offers an exegetical reading of selected verses of the Book of Revelation, incorporating rich spiritual and pastoral reflections. The Christ of the Apocalypse above all affirms that St. John’s God- and Christ-centered, symbolic universe offers our contemporary world a spiritual place to stand amid the shifting sands of postmodernity. As Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, writes in his Foreword, “Now, as in the first century, Christians face martyrdom, and those who are not called to die for Christ are called to live for Christ in a world which in many ways rejects the Gospel. More than ever, we need the apocalyptic vision, to have our own vision of reality clarified, and to be strengthened in our evangelical witness.”

What Did Jesus Look Like?
What Did Jesus Look Like?

Author: Joan E. Taylor

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-02-08

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0567671518

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Jesus Christ is arguably the most famous man who ever lived. His image adorns countless churches, icons, and paintings. He is the subject of millions of statues, sculptures, devotional objects and works of art. Everyone can conjure an image of Jesus: usually as a handsome, white man with flowing locks and pristine linen robes. But what did Jesus really look like? Is our popular image of Jesus overly westernized and untrue to historical reality? This question continues to fascinate. Leading Christian Origins scholar Joan E. Taylor surveys the historical evidence, and the prevalent image of Jesus in art and culture, to suggest an entirely different vision of this most famous of men. He may even have had short hair.

Nine Faces of Christ
Nine Faces of Christ

Author: Eugene Whitworth

Publisher: Devorss Publications

Published: 2012-01-30

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780875168623

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NINE FACES OF CHRIST is the narrative of Joseph-bar-Joseph, a Messiah crucified in 57 B.C. This story illustrates the methods and techniques that are required to develop the inner or initiate God-self. It deals with the secret and True Religion behind all religions, and with the preparation and initiation of the candidate into many secret and sacred metaphysical studies. From the mysteries of the Magi to the ancient Egyptian training for the God-King, no one will be excluded from this life-changing journey a journey that welcomes all. Here are disclosed initiate Truths such as those the Greek Philosopher Plato dared not to disclose because he was under sacred oath to keep them concealed. It deals with the inspired and relentless search for the True Religion, the unveiling of spiritual Truth long held so secret that one might even risk life itself to find.