Historical Jesus Books - Page 3

He Chose the Nails

Max Lucado

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Savoring the Cross of Christ 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Max draws you into the cross of Christ, as he attempts to capture your mind with reference to things you would not even consider. The Via Dolorosa is our journey too. Bravo!

He Chose Nails 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I have read many of Max Lucado books, and this one is one of his best. It brings us even closer to our Lord and Savior, and the sacrifice He went through for you and me.

Doug Bolton

Editorial Review:

The wood. The thorns. The nails. Christ's sacrifice has defined the very essence of mankind's faith for the past 2000 years. And now, Max Lucado invites you to examine the cross, contemplate its purpose, and celebrate its significance with He Chose the Nails. With his warm, caring style, Max examines the symbols surrounding Christ's crucifixion, revealing the claims of the cross and asserting that if they are true, then Christianity itself is true. The supporting evidence either makes the cross the single biggest hoax of all time, or the hope of all humanity. More than a book, the campaign includes the first stand-alone workbook, leaders guide, and video package from Max, as well as a praise & worship CD from Here to Him music featuring several of today's favorite Christian artists.

The Historical Figure of Jesus

E. P. Sanders

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Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Pitch-Perfect Introduction 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

E.P. Sanders is the giant in contemporary American Jesus scholarship. Unlike the anti-intellectual sensationalist bigot John Shelby Spong, you will not find anything "NEW!" or "CONTROVERSIAL!". Sander's, while certainly a liberal, is first and foremost a historian. And he methodically goes over the criteria in examining the Gospels and reconstructing the historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth. He focuses particularly on the Canonical Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and Q). He finds these to be the most reliable in investigating who Jesus was and where he stood in the stream of Palestinian Judaism.

Unlike the other popular liberal scholar, (and member of the controversial Jesus Seminar) John Dominic Crossan, he does not think Thomas has any particular value in investigating Jesus. I would say Sanders has more in common with Marcus Borg than Crossan, although I think the latter two tend to adapt First-Century Jesus to the fleeting philosophies of today and try to make Jesus "appealing" to the modern mind (Borg especially falls into this). Sanders (like the centrist Catholic scholar John P. Meier) presents Jesus fully, warts and all.

This book was a joy to read. It is especially geared towards those who are interested in Jesus, but not so much Christianity and those Christians who are looking to further illumine the figure they worship by learning about this Jewish Peasant in the historical circumstances in which he dwelled. It is much more accessible than his scholarly treatment "Jesus and Judaism". The technical introduction that is in the aforementioned text is absent, in this book Sanders is focused on the non-scholar reader.

Sander's is probably my favorite scholar (although Meier and Wright follow closely behind) and I particularly enjoy the way he addresses the controversies with the Jewish leaders and his crucifixion (and the responsibility for it). The chapter on the Resurrection is also fantastic, whether you believe in it or not. Sanders does not come down on a position because it is outside the historians realm of inquiry, but nevertheless I liked what he had to say about it.

Out of all popular books about the historical Jesus that plague the market, Sanders is a breath of fresh air. Of course it does not get nearly the amount of press as James Cameron's "Jesus Family Tomb" (or Gnostic revival; Holy Blood, Holy Grail, etc) but when did meticulous scholarship become fun and exciting to the sensationalist media and the masses?

If anyone is looking for a great introduction to contemporary New Testament scholarship, look no further for such a balanced treat! It is perfect as an introduction.

Editorial Review:

A portrait of Jesus Christ moves beyond the certainties of His historical context to consider what Jesus what like as a person, His intentions as a teacher, and the disciples' roles in Christianity. Reprint.

The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail

Margaret Starbird

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 85 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Thought provoking 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

When Margaret Starbird read the Holy Blood and the Holy Grail she was infuriated by it and decided to do some of her own research to refute it. However she found herself caught up in the story and with her own variant on it. Unfortunately some of the sources she found weren't particualarly historical or accurate and some of her leaps of faith are a bit overdone.

To my mind sometimes a flower is just a flower. There are many examples of artisans finding particular shapes and colours that just appealed to them, and I'm sure they could have done in their sleep to fill in backgrounds. I stitch myself and I find myself being attracted to some of the same imagery over and over, sometimes I look deeper for the meaning but sometimes that pattern just plain appeals to me. I'm sure it was the same with some of the papermakers that Starbird mentions in the book. There may have been some who had meaning but there may have been others who just picked a shape because it was easy, well known, had a relationship with their master or just plain appealed to them.

And this is the main flaw of the book. Just because an image has certain meanings to certain people does not mean that everyone imbues it with that meaning. Just because certain people or peoples imbue certain items with certain meanings does not mean that all people do the same.

It may be that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, and some of the arguments for are quite compelling (the fact that non-married men were a rarity and that this would have been mentioned in the Bible is one of many); but we may never know the truth. The truth at the moment is that Christianity has ignored the female and the feminine for a long time and this is begining to be something they may not be able to ignore for much longer.

This book gained a few points for making me think but lost some for it's slightly rigid view of the feminine and the masculine. Some of the flights of literary fancy are a little overwritten, but her heart is in the right place.

Editorial Review:

Margaret Starbird’s theological beliefs were profoundly shaken when she read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, a book that dared to suggest that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalen and that their descendants carried on his holy bloodline in Western Europe. Shocked by such heresy, this Roman Catholic scholar set out to refute it, but instead found new and compelling evidence for the existence of the bride of Jesus--the same enigmatic woman who anointed him with precious unguent from her “alabaster jar.”

In this provocative book, Starbird draws her conclusions from an extensive study of history, heraldry, symbolism, medieval art, mythology, psychology, and the Bible itself. The Woman with the Alabaster Jar is a quest for the forgotten feminine--in the hope that its return will help restore a healthy balance to planet Earth.

The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form

Gerd Theissen

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"Experiencing" Those Who Interpreted Jesus 5 out of 5 stars.
34 of 37 people found this review helpful.

In this amazing and enjoyable book, Gerd Theissen (pronounced "Tyson") allows us to experience Jesus the Galilean in a way which demonstrates the manner in which the Christian Testament came to exist. To attempt to understand Jesus is to interpret Jesus, and through the eyes of Theissen's characters we see a theoretical construct at work which is not only insightful, but also faithful to the methods of modern biblical criticism and Christian theology as a whole. I highly recommend this book for those who would like insights into the development of the Christian canon of scripture and for those who wish to better understand the Jewishness of Jesus.

Pastors, lay leaders and religious educators of all types will gain invaluable information from this work. It is both scholarly and easy-to-read and it has been enjoyed and cited by educators and theologians alike.

Editorial Review:

First published in 1987 by Fortress Press, this 20th anniversary edition of this classic bestseller includes a new Afterword from the author. Here, in narrative form, is an account of the activity of Jesus of Nazareth, scrupulously constructed so that it does not undercut the insights of New Testament scholarship. What makes it different from other such attempts is that Jesus never actually appears. What we find everywhere is his shadow, his effect.

Such an approach avoids the usual pitfalls of the genre and lends this story - attributed to a fictitious narrator - an attraction, freshness, and power all its own. Tension and interest are maintained to the end, even for those sated with books about Jesus. Careful documentation in the footnotes shows how much of the narrative is based on ancient sources.

Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture

Jaroslav Pelikan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Very good survey, but not great or inspirational 4 out of 5 stars.
12 of 17 people found this review helpful.

This is a very useful, well researched, largely descriptive survey of how Western culture has viewed Jesus Christ. It's not a work of theology, it's not an inspirational work--it is what it is, interesting with its limitations. There's much that Pelikan faithfully records that's nonsense, such as Thomas Jefferson's breathtakingly vain and obtuse pronouncements about what Jesus really said. There are also some staggering transitions, such as the discussion on Emerson that suddenly veers into Dostoyevsky's The Grand Inquisitor from The Brothers Karamazov (the greatest novel ever). It's worth a read, particularly in paperback, but understand that it won't bring you much closer at all to an answer to Jesus's own question, Who do men say that I am?

Editorial Review:

One of the most highly regarded works of intellectual history of the past decade, Jesus Through the Centuries is an original and compelling study of the impact of Jesus on cultural, political, social, and economic history. Noted historian and theologian Jaroslav Pelikan reveals how the image of Jesus created by each successive epoch -- from rabbi in the first century to liberator in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries -- is a key to understanding the temper and values of that age.

Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings

Marcus Borg

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Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

An accesible revelation 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I was raised Christian and have long practiced vipassana meditation and follow many of the non-dogmatic principles of Buddhism, so I have had many moments of cross-cultural epiphany, over the years, in which Buddhism and Christianity confirm each other. So I browsed this book with real pleasure. The side-by-side quotes often achieve a greater depth of significance than they tend to on their own, and I feel a growing sense of the universality of the basic tenets of both traditions. Whether Jesus actually came into contact with Buddhism before the age of 30 may be impossible to determine, but, as I see it, he at least had access, through insight, to the fundmantal rightness of compassion as a path, and oneness as the goal. I find the book well-conceived, lucid, approachable, and beautifully designed, too.

It is also interesting to note that this format unexpectedly foregrounds the difference between principles and mere cultural accretions. In this light, ritual practice, questions of authority and lineage, orthodoxies of all kinds, and all the other culturally-determined trappings of religion-as-practiced can be easily shucked off to reveal the "heart of the lotus" [the "plain and simple truths"] within. In this sense, the fundamental priciples of each tradition serve as a sort of Bessamer furnace for the other, ridding it of the unnecessary and increasing its universal appeal at once. Quite a brilliant idea, and well done.

Editorial Review:

Discover the striking similarities between two of the world's greatest spiritual teachers. Are there universal truths to guide us through life? If we compare the sayings of Jesus and Buddha, the answer is a heartfelt yes. One came from the West, the other from the East; and they created two distinctly different religions. But the thoughts they left us on how to keep our lives simple, appreciate the world around us, and open our souls to other people, are surprisingly similar. How could Jesus, living five hundred years after Buddha and three thousand miles from India, espouse the same teachings? Jesus & Buddha explores this enigrna as it traces the life stories and beliefs of Christ and Buddha, inviting you to discover for yourself the single message in their dual teaching.

Jesus Today: A Spirituality of Radical Freedom

Albert Nolan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Exciting, Englightening and Helpful 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Finally, a book that does not focus on the historical Jesus or cover and recover that typical ideas and insights into Jesus. It seems as though Albert Nolan, a Domincan priest, is a person who has engaged in the spiritual life both in thought and action, and is able to say something "new". Not just new, but this book gave me something worth reading on almost every page.

In short --- the book "resurrects" Jesus into the modern world without diminishing his stature.

The book is divided into three sections: The first presents a depiction of the present day world. The second paints a picture of Jesus' spirituality that can be seen by reading carefully the gospels. Third, Nolan describes a spirituality which will be meaniningful in part or in toto for the readers themselves to follow.

Highly recommended.

Offers perspectives and lessons which make for deeper spiritual insights. 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Albert Nolan's JESUS TODAY: A SPIRITUALITY OF RADICAL FREEDOM offers a fine sequel to his popular classic JESUS BEFORE CHRISTIANITY, and focuses on the spirituality of Jesus and his relevance in modern times. This outline is perfect for Christian spiritual holdings: if offers perspectives and lessons which make for deeper spiritual insights.

The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ

Nicolas Notovitch

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Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Douglas and Max Müller's View 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Archibald Douglas and Max Müller recognized Notovich's work as fraudulent, although it was not immediately clear (to Müller, at least) what the source of the fraud was. Perhaps the best thing is to read excerpts from the original, absolutely scathing account, from the Nineteenth Century academic journal itself (long out of copyright):

(from The Nineteenth Century, 39 (January-June 1896) pp. 667-677
THE CHIEF LAMA OF HIMIS ON THE ALLEGED 'UNKNOWN LIFE OF CHRIST')

"I was resident in Madras during the whole of last year, and did not expect to have an opportunity of investigating the facts respecting the Unknown Life of Christ at so early a date. Removing to the North-West Provinces in the early part of the present year, I |668 found that it would be practicable during the three months of the University vacation to travel through Kashmir to Ladakh, following the route taken by M. Notovitch, and to spend sufficient time at the monastery at Himis to learn the truth on this important question. I may here mention, en passant, that I did not find it necessary to break even a little finger, much less a leg, in order to gain admittance to Himis Monastery, where I am now staying for a few days, enjoying the kind hospitality of the Chief Lama (or Abbot), the same gentleman who, according to M. Notovitch, nursed him so kindly under the painful circumstances connected with his memorable visit.

Coming to Himis with an entirely open mind on the question, and in no way biassed by the formation of a previous judgment, I was fully prepared to find that M. Notovitch's narrative was correct, and to congratulate him on his marvellous discovery. One matter of detail, entirely unconnected with the genuineness of the Russian traveller's literary discovery, shook my faith slightly in the general veracity of the discoverer....

...I will now call attention to several leading statements in M. Notovitch's book, all of which will be found to be definitely contradicted in the document signed by the Chief Superior of Himis Monastery, and sealed with his official seal. This statement I have sent to Professor Max Müller for inspection, together with the subjoined declaration of Mr. Joldan, an educated Tibetan gentleman, to whose able assistance I am deeply indebted.

A more patient and painstaking interpreter could not be found, nor one better fitted for the task.

The extracts from M. Notovitch's book were slowly translated to the Lama, and were thoroughly understood by him. The questions and answers were fully discussed at two lengthy interviews before being prepared as a document for signature, and when so prepared were carefully translated again to the Lama by Mr. Joldan, and discussed by him with that gentleman, and with a venerable monk who appeared to act as the Lama's private secretary.

I may here say that I have the fullest confidence in the veracity and honesty of this old and respected Chief Lama, who appears to be held in the highest esteem, not only among Buddhists, but by all Europeans who have made his acquaintance. As he says, he has nothing whatever to gain by the concealment of facts, or by any departure from the truth.

His indignation at the manner in which he has been travestied by the ingenious author was of far too genuine a character to be feigned, and I was much interested when, in our final interview, he asked me if in Europe there existed no means of punishing a person |670 who told such untruths. I could only reply that literary honesty is taken for granted to such an extent in Europe, that literary forgery of the nature committed by M. Notovitch could not, I believed, be punished by our criminal law.

With reference to M. Notovitch's declaration that he is going to Himis to verify the statements made in his book, I would take the liberty of earnestly advising him, if he does so, to disguise himself at least as effectually as on the occasion of his former visit. M. Notovitch will not find himself popular at Himis, and might not gain admittance, even on the pretext of having another broken leg.

The following extracts have been carefully selected from the Unknown Life of Christ, and are such that on their truth or falsehood may be said to depend the value of M. Notovitch's story.

After describing at length the details of a dramatic performance, said to have been witnessed in the courtyard of Himis Monastery, M. Notovitch writes:

A fter having crossed the courtyard and ascended a staircase lined with prayer-wheels, we passed through two rooms encumbered with idols, and came out upon the terrace, where I seated myself on a bench opposite the venerable Lama, whose eyes flashed with intelligence (p. 110).

(This extract is important as bearing on the question of identification; see Answers 1 and 2 of the Lama's statement: and it may here be remarked that the author's account of the approach to the Chief Lama's reception room and balcony is accurate.) Then follows a long résumé of a conversation on religious matters, in the course of which the Abbot is said to have made the following observations amongst others:

We have a striking example of this (Nature-worship) in the ancient Egyptians, who worshipped animals, trees, and stones, the winds and the rain (p. 114).

The Assyrians, in seeking the way which should lead them to the feet of the Creator, turned their eyes to the stars (p. 115).

Perhaps the people of Israel have demonstrated in a more flagrant manner than any other, man's love for the concrete (p. 115).

The name of Issa is held in great respect by the Buddhists, but little is known about him save by the Chief Lamas who have read the scrolls relating to his life (p. 120).

The documents brought from India to Nepal, and from Nepal to Tibet, concerning Issa's existence, are written in the Pâli language, and are now in Lassa; but a copy in our language----that is, the Tibetan----exists in this convent (p. 123).

Two days later I sent by a messenger to the Chief Lama a present comprising an alarum, a watch, and a thermometer (p. 125).

We will now pass on to the description given by the author of his re-entry into the monastery with a broken leg:

I was carried with great care to the best of their chambers, and placed on a bed of soft materials, near to which stood a prayer-wheel. All this took place under the immediate surveillance of the Superior, who affectionately pressed the hand I offered him in gratitude for his kindness (p. 127).

While a youth of the convent kept in motion the prayer-wheel near my bed, |671 the venerable Superior entertained me with endless stories, constantly taking my alarum and watch from their cases, and putting me questions as to their uses, and the way they should be worked. At last, acceding to my earnest entreaties, he ended by bringing me two large bound volumes, with leaves yellowed by time, and from them he read to me, in the Tibetan language, the biography of Issa, which I carefully noted in my carnet de voyage, as my interpreter translated what he said (p. 128).

This last extract is in a sense the most important of all, as will be seen when it is compared with Answers 3, 4, and 5 in the statement of the Chief Superior of Himis Monastery. That statement I now append. The original is in the hands of Professor Max Müller, as I have said, as also is the appended declaration of Mr. Joldan, of Leh.

The statement of the Lama, if true----and there is every reason to believe it to be so----disposes once and for ever of M. Notovitch's claim to have discovered a Life of Issa among the Buddhists of Ladakh. My questions to the Lama were framed briefly, and with as much simplicity as possible, so that there might be no room for any mistake or doubt respecting the meaning of these questions.

My interpreter. Mr. Joldan, tells me that he was most careful to translate the Lama's answers verbally and literally, to avoid all possible misapprehension. The statement is as follows:

Question 1. You are the Chief Lama (or Abbot) of Himis Monastery?

Answer 1. Yes.

Question 2. For how long have you acted continuously in that capacity?

Answer 2. For fifteen years.

Question 3. Have you or any of the Buddhist monks in this monastery ever seen here a European with an injured leg?

Answer 3. No, not during the last fifteen years. If any sahib suffering from serious injury had stayed in this monastery it would have been my duty to report the matter to the Wazir of Leh. I have never had occasion to do so.

Question 4. Have you or any of your monks ever shown any Life of Issa to any sahib, and allowed him to copy and translate the same?

Answer 4. There is no such book in the monastery, and during my term of office no sahib has been allowed to copy or translate any of the manuscripts in the monastery.

Question 5. Are you aware of the existence of any book in any of the Buddhist monasteries of Tibet bearing on the life of Issa?

Answer 5. I have been for forty-two years a Lama, and am well acquainted with all the well-known Buddhist books and manuscripts, and I have never heard of one which mentions the name of Issa, and it is my firm and honest belief that none such exists. I have inquired of our principal Lamas in other monasteries of Tibet, and they are not acquainted with any books or manuscripts which mention the name of Issa.

Question 6. M. Nicolas Notovitch, a Russian gentleman who visited |672 your monastery between seven and eight years ago, states that you discussed with him the religions of the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and the people of Israel.

Answer 6. I know nothing whatever about the Egyptians, Assyrians, and the people of Israel, and do not know anything of their religions whatsoever. I have never mentioned these peoples to any sahib.

[I was reading M. Notovitch's book to the Lama at the time, and he burst out with, 'Sun, sun, sun, manna mi dug!' which is Tibetan for, 'Lies, lies, lies, nothing but lies!' I have read this to him as part of the statement which he is to sign----as his deliberate opinion of M. Notovitch's book. He appears perfectly satisfied on the matter. J. A. D.]...

Regarded, then, in the light of a work of the imagination, M. Notovitch's book fails to please, because it does not present that most fascinating feature of fiction, a close semblance of probability.

And yet, if I am rightly informed, the French version has gone through eleven editions; so M. Notovitch's effort of imagination has found, doubtless, a substantial reward. In face of the evidence adduced, we must reject the theory generously put forward by Professor Max Müller, that M. Notovitch was the victim of a cunning 'hoax ' on the part of the Buddhist monks of Himis.

...I do not believe that the venerable monk who presides over Himis Monastery would have consented to the practice of such a deception, and I do not think that any of the monks are capable of carrying out such a deception successfully. The departures from truth, on other points, which can be proved against M. Notovitch render such a solution highly improbable....

...I have visited Himis, and have endeavoured by patient and impartial inquiry to find out the truth respecting M. Notovitch's remarkable story, with the result that, while I have not found one single fact to support his statements, all the weight of evidence goes to disprove them beyond all shadow of doubt. It is certain that no such passages as M. Notovitch pretends to have translated exist in the monastery of Himis, and therefore it is impossible that he could have 'faithfully reproduced' the same.

The following "postscript" was amended to the article by Max Müller himself:

"...After having read, however, the foregoing article by Professor Douglas, I feel bound most humbly to apologise to the excellent Lamas of that monastery for having thought them capable of such frivolity. After the conrplete refutation, or, I should rather say, annihilation, of M. Notovitch by Professor A. Douglas, there does not seem to be any further necessity----nay, any excuse----for trying to spare the feelings of that venturesome Russian traveller. He was not hoaxed, but he tried to hoax us. Mr. Douglas has sent me the original papers, containing the depositions of the Chief Priest of the Monastery of Him is and of his interpreter, and I gladly testify that they entirely agree with the extracts given in the article, and are-signed and sealed by the Chief Lama and by Mr. Joldan, formerly Postmaster of Ladakh, who acted as interpreter between the priests and Professor A. Douglas. The papers are dated Himis Monastery, Little Tibet, June 3, 1894.

I ought perhaps to add that I cannot claim any particular merit in having proved the Vie inconnue de Jésus-Christ----that is, the Life of Christ taken from MSS. in the monasteries of Tibet----to be a mere fiction. I doubt whether any Sanskrit or Pâli scholar, in fact any serious student of Buddhism, was taken in by M. Notovitch. One might as well look for the waters of Jordan in the Brahmaputra as. for a Life of Christ in Tibet.

F. Max Müller.

November 15, 1895."

Editorial Review:

Where was Jesus and what was he doing from ages 12-30? Why does the Bible leave out this important information? Is there any truth to the myths and legends that proclaim that Jesus visited many other countries?

This book contains amazing accounts of Jesus' missing years based on an old manuscript that was found by the author in a Tibetan lamasery in the 1890's.

You will read about the author's dangerous journey to Tibet as you uncover the mystery of the "lost years" of Jesus' life.

Complete with maps, commentaries, and references. Oversized, 81/2" X 11".

The Visions of the Children: The Apparitions of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje

Janice T. Connell

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Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The classic account of the appearances of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje--now updated for the millenium

Like Lourdes and Fatima before it, Medjugorje has become a holy site for worshippers around the world, a place that will be remembered long after the twentieth century recedes into history.

In this edition, Janice Connell presents a new intruduction that places Medjugorje in the context of the millennium and suggests that the Blessed Mother's final appearance on Earth may indeed be at this small mountain village. The author tells what has happened to the six apparitioners since the book was first published, and the Blessed Mother's monthly messages have been updated through 1997. There is also a new list of Marian Centers across the nation.

The Visions of the Children features exclusive conversations with the six apparitioners who have been receiving, for more than fifteen years, visions and messages of the Virgin Mary, including extraordinary secrets about the final chapter in the history of the world. This book not only tells of the need for love and spiritual awakening, but casts a powerful perspective on the wholescale devastation in Bosnia during the last few years.

Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography

Bruce Chilton

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Total reviews: 72 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Interpretations of the life of Jesus have flourished for nearly two millennia--from the Gospels to scholarly investigations by theologians and historians, to fictional portraits by novelists like Nikos Kazantzakis and Norman Mailer. Despite this long history, a clear and coherent picture of Jesus as a man and a teacher has remained elusive. Now, Bruce Chilton puts the pieces of the puzzle together in an extraordinary biography that sweeps readers into first-century Palestine and re-creates the world as Jesus knew it.
Chilton draws on recent archaeological findings to paint a vivid portrait of the social customs, political forces, and religious beliefs and practices of the period. Examining new translations and interpretations of ancient texts against this fresh, historically accurate background, he offers a revolutionary look at Jesus' early life and the philosophical and psychological foundations of the ideas he promulgated as a young man. Chilton provides evidence that contradicts long-held beliefs about Jesus and the movement he led. He shows, for example, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Galilee, not Nazareth or Bethlehem of Judea, and that the High Priest Caiaphas, not Pontius Pilate, played the central role in Jesus' execution. It is his description of Jesus' role as a rabbi, or "master," of Jewish oral traditions, a teacher of the Kabbalah, and a practitioner of a Galilean form of Judaism that emphasized direct communication with God, however, that casts an entirely new light on the origins of Christianity. By placing Jesus within the context of his times, Chilton uncovers truths lost to history and reveals a new Jesus for the new millennium.