In Did Jesus Exist? historian and Bible expert Bart Ehrman confronts the question, "Did Jesus exist at all?" Ehrman vigorously defends the historical Jesus, identifies the most historically reliable sources for best understanding Jesus’ mission and message, and offers a compelling portrait of the person at the heart of the Christian tradition. Known as a master explainer with deep knowledge of the field, Bart Ehrman methodically demolishes both the scholarly and popular “mythicist” arguments against the existence of Jesus. Marshaling evidence from within the Bible and the wider historical record of the ancient world, Ehrman tackles the key issues that surround the mythologies associated with Jesus and the early Christian movement. In Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, Ehrman establishes the criterion for any genuine historical investigation and provides a robust defense of the methods required to discover the Jesus of history.
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.
The New Testament contains a story about Jesus of Nazareth which has always been understood by the Church to be historically true. It is an account of the life, death, and resurrection of a real person, whose links with history are firmly signalled in the creeds of the early church. Contemporary historical scholarship, on the other hand, has called into question the reliability of the church's version of this story, and thereby raised the question as to whether ordinary people can know its historical truth. In this book, a leading philosopher of religion argues that the historicity of the story still matters, and that its religious significance cannot be captured by the category of "non-historical myth." The commonly drawn distinction between the Christ of faith and the Jesus of history cannot be maintained. The Christ who is the object of faith must be seen as historical; the Jesus who is reconstructed by historical scholarship is always shaped by commitments to faith. Evans looks carefully at contemporary New Testament studies, and the philosophical and literary assumptions upon which it rests, to show that this scholarship does not undermine the confidence of lay people who believe that they can know that the church's story about Jesus is true. His accessible and controversial study will interest all thoughtful Christian readers. -- Publisher description.
Paul Barnett s title Finding the Historical Christ is a calculated jab against the popular dichotomy between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith. In this book Barnett seeks to establish that the two figures are, in fact, one and the same. / The culmination of Barnett s After Jesus trilogy, Finding the Historical Christ carefully examines the ancient sources pertaining to Jesus, including writings by historians hostile to the Christian movement (Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny), the summarized biographies of Jesus in the book of Acts, and especially the four canonical Gospels. Based on compelling historical evidence, Barnett maintains that Jesus of Nazareth regarded himself as the prophesied Christ, as did his disciples before Jesus died and rose again. This is the only way to explain the phenomenon of the early church worshiping Jesus. / There is currently something of a revival of confidence in the historical value of the Gospels. Paul Barnett s work, notable for its sober use of historical method and its many fresh observations and proposals, is an excellent contribution to that development. Richard Bauckham / University of St. Andrews / Over his illustrious career, Paul Barnett has returned repeatedly to questions about the historical Jesus, the historicity of the Gospels, and the history of earliest Christianity. Drawing together scattered strands of all of that work, elaborating them further, and adding still new ones, Barnett here mounts what may be his most impressive case yet for the accuracy of the canonical material and the messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth on historical grounds alone. Craig L. Blomberg / Denver Seminary
“This book will prove to be a most effective weapon… against the debunking and skeptical attitudes toward the Gospels that are so prevalent, not only in academe, but also on the street, among young people who, sadly, are leaving the Churches in droves.” – Robert Barron, author of Catholicism For well over a hundred years now, many scholars have questioned the historical truth of the Gospels, claiming that they were originally anonymous. Others have even argued that Jesus of Nazareth did not think he was God and never claimed to be divine. In The Case for Jesus, Dr. Brant Pitre, the bestselling author of Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, goes back to the sources—the biblical and historical evidence for Christ—in order to answer several key questions, including: • Were the four Gospels really anonymous? • Are the Gospels folklore? Or are they biographies? • Were the four Gospels written too late to be reliable? • What about the so-called “Lost Gospels,” such as “Q” and the Gospel of Thomas? • Did Jesus claim to be God? • Is Jesus divine in all four Gospels? Or only in John? • Did Jesus fulfill the Jewish prophecies of the Messiah? • Why was Jesus crucified? • What is the evidence for the Resurrection? As The Case for Jesus will show, recent discoveries in New Testament scholarship, as well as neglected evidence from ancient manuscripts and the early church fathers, together have the potential to pull the rug out from under a century of skepticism toward the traditional Gospels. Above all, Pitre shows how the divine claims of Jesus of Nazareth can only be understood by putting them in their ancient Jewish context.
A biography of the historical figure of Jesus. The book studies the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, distinguishing the certain from the improbable, and assessing the historical and religious context of Christ's time. The spread of Christianity is also discussed.
The story of Jesus Christ goes much deeper than His crucifixion and resurrection. Few will dispute that a man named Jesus Christ lived 2,000 years ago and that He was a great teacher who impacted the world. Christ made a controversial claim—that He was the very Son of God, the long-prophesied Messiah—causing religious authorities in Jerusalem to reject Him, hate Him and eventually succeeded in having Him put to death. Likewise, the local Roman civil authorities also saw Him as a threat and became complicit in His execution. The religions of His day, both Judaism and paganism, opposed the growth of His teachings and used unlawful and violent means to try to destroy the Church He founded. The government of Rome also came to vigorously persecute the followers of this Jewish teacher from Galilee. Today, there is much confusion and questions concerning this controversial figure. Where can you go for the answers? The Bible. This Bible Study aid booklet, "Jesus Christ: The Real Story" will help explain what is written in the Bible about Jesus Christ. You can discover the answers to these questions and more: Who was Jesus Christ of Nazareth? Where did He come from? When was Jesus Christ born? What did Jesus teach? Was He God in the flesh? What did Jesus look like? Was He only a man? Why did He die? Discover the true, fascinating story that so few understand. The story of the greatest Man who ever lived and the misunderstood message He preached—the gospel (good news) of the coming Kingdom of God! Chapters in this ebook: -- Introduction - Jesus Christ: The Real Story -- Who—and What—Was Jesus Christ? -- Jesus Christ's Disciples Understood Him to Be the Creator -- Jesus Christ: 'The Rock' of the Old Testament -- The Family of God -- Jesus' Amazing Fulfillment of Prophecy -- The Bible Prophesied the Exact Year the Messiah Would Appear -- Was Jesus Born on Dec. 25? -- A Sinless and Miraculous Life -- Could Jesus Perform Miracles? -- Did Jesus Really Die and Live Again? -- Roman Forms of Crucifixion -- When Was Jesus Christ Crucified and Resurrected? -- The Chronology of the Crucifixion and Resurrection -- Do Other Nonbiblical Sources Confirm Jesus Christ's Existence? -- Much More Than a Man -- Was Jesus a Created Being? -- The God Who Became a Human Being -- Jesus' Family Connections -- Did Jesus Have Long Hair? -- The Messiah's Misunderstood Mission -- What Do 'Messiah' and 'Jesus Christ' Mean? -- What Was Jesus' Gospel? -- Salvation Is Entrance Into the Kingdom of God -- Other Names for the Kingdom -- Jesus' Teaching on God's Law -- Other Important Ways Jesus Fulfilled the Law -- Christ's New Commandment -- Does the New Covenant Abolish the Commandments? -- Jesus Christ and the Festivals of the Bible -- Who Killed Jesus? -- Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God -- The Tearing of the Temple Veil -- Alive Again Today and Forever -- Your Date With Destiny: Meeting the Real Jesus -- 'Even So, Come, Lord Jesus!' Inside this Bible Study Aid ebook: "Perhaps the boldest claim Jesus made about His identity was the statement, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John:8:58)...What was going on here? Jesus was revealing His identity as the actual One whom the Jews knew as God in the Old Testament." "The New Testament writers cite messianic prophecies from the Old Testament more than 130 times. By some estimates the Old Testament contains 300 prophetic passages that describe who the Messiah is and what He will do. Of these, 60 are major prophecies. What are the chances of these prophecies being fulfilled in one person?" "A careful analysis of Scripture, however, clearly indicates that December 25 is an unlikely date for Christ’s birth. Here are two primary reasons..." "How can we fit “three days and three nights” between a Friday-afternoon crucifixion and a Sunday-morning resurrection?"
Professor Wells argues that there was no historical Jesus, and in thus arguing he deals with the many recent writers who have interpreted the historical Jesus as some kind of political figure in the struggle against Rome, and calls in evidence the many contemporary theologians who agree with some of his arguments about early Christianity. The question at issue is what all the evidence adds up to. Does it establish that Jesus did or did not exist? Professor Wells concludes that the latter is the more likely hypothesis. This challenge to received thinking by both Christians and non-Christians is supported by much documentary evidence, and Professor Wells carefully examines all the relevant problems and answers all the relevant questions. He deliberately avoids polemic and speculation, and sticks so far as possible to the known facts and to rational inferences from the facts.
The Real History of Jesus Christ The story of Jesus Christ goes much deeper than His crucifixion and resurrection. Few will dispute that a man named Jesus Christ lived 2,000 years ago and that He was a great teacher who impacted the world. Christ made a controversial claim-that He was the very Son of God, the long-prophesied Messiah-causing religious authorities in Jerusalem to reject Him, hate Him and eventually succeeded in having Him put to death. Likewise, the local Roman civil authorities also saw Him as a threat and became complicit in His execution. The religions of His day, both Judaism and paganism, opposed the growth of His teachings and used unlawful and violent means to try to destroy the Church He founded. The government of Rome also came to vigorously persecute the followers of this Jewish teacher from Galilee. Today, there is much confusion and questions concerning this controversial figure. Where can you go for the answers? The Bible. This Bible Study aid booklet, "The Real History of jesus christ" will help explain what is written in the Bible about Jesus Christ. You can discover the answers to these questions and more: Who was Jesus Christ of Nazareth? Where did He come from? When was Jesus Christ born? What did Jesus teach? Was He God in the flesh? What did Jesus look like? Was He only a man? Why did He die? Discover the true, fascinating story that so few understand. The story of the greatest Man who ever lived and the misunderstood message He preached-the gospel (good news) of the coming Kingdom of God! Inside this book The birth of Jesus Christ Why Christmas is Celebrate on 25th of December 12 Days of Christmas Christmas Candles Christmas Carols Snow and Ice in Christmas Get your copy now to know completely about the jesus life!!
