Download or read book From Jesus to Christianity written by L. Michael White and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-04-12 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: L. Michael White, one of the world’s foremost scholars on the origins of Christianity, provides the complete, astonishing story of how Christianity grew from the personal vision of a humble Jewish peasant living in a remote province of the Roman Empire into the largest organized religion in the world. Rather than reading the New Testament straight through in its traditional, or “canonical” order, From Jesus to Christianity takes a historical approach. Looking at the individual books chronologically, in the sequence in which they were actually written, readers can see what they divulge about the disagreements, shared values, and unifying mission of the earliest Christian communities. White digs through layers of archaeological excavations, sifts through buried fragments of largely unknown texts, and examines historical sources to discover what we can know of Jesus.

Download or read book From Jesus to Christ written by Paula Fredriksen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Magisterial. . . . A learned, brilliant and enjoyable study."—Géza Vermès, Times Literary Supplement In this exciting book, Paula Fredriksen explains the variety of New Testament images of Jesus by exploring the ways that the new Christian communities interpreted his mission and message in light of the delay of the Kingdom he had preached. This edition includes an introduction reviews the most recent scholarship on Jesus and its implications for both history and theology. "Brilliant and lucidly written, full of original and fascinating insights."—Reginald H. Fuller, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "This is a first-rate work of a first-rate historian."—James D. Tabor, Journal of Religion "Fredriksen confronts her documents—principally the writings of the New Testament—as an archaeologist would an especially rich complex site. With great care she distinguishes the literary images from historical fact. As she does so, she explains the images of Jesus in terms of the strategies and purposes of the writers Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."—Thomas D’Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor

Download or read book Jesus Before Christianity written by Albert Nolan and published by David Philip Publishers. This book was released on 1986 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second edition of this classic has been revised and its language made more gender-inclusive.

Download or read book From Christ to Christianity written by James R. Edwards and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did the movement founded by Jesus transform more in the first seventy-five years after his death than it has in the two thousand years since? This book tells the story of how the Christian movement, which began as relatively informal, rural, Hebrew and Aramaic speaking, and closely anchored to the Jewish synagogue, became primarily urban, Greek speaking, and gentile by the early second century, spreading through the Greco-Roman world with a mission agenda and church organization distinct from its roots in Jewish Galilee. It also shows how the early church's witness can encourage the church today.

Download or read book Jesus Religion written by Jefferson Bethke and published by HarperChristian + ORM. This book was released on 2013-10-14 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abandon dead, dry, religious rule-keeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved. Jefferson Bethke burst into the cultural conversation with a passionate, provocative poem titled "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus." The 4-minute video became an overnight sensation, with 7 million YouTube views in its first 48 hours (and 23+ million in a year). Bethke's message clearly struck a chord with believers and nonbelievers alike, triggering an avalanche of responses running the gamut from encouraged to enraged. In his New York Times bestseller Jesus > Religion, Bethke unpacks similar contrasts that he drew in the poem--highlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair, and hope. With refreshing candor, he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a works-based, fake-smile existence that sapped his strength and led him down a path of destructive behavior. Along the way, Bethke gives you the tools you need to: Humbly and prayerfully open your mind Understand Jesus for all that he is View the church from a brand-new perspective Bethke is quick to acknowledge that he's not a pastor or theologian, but simply an ordinary, twenty-something who cried out for a life greater than the one for which he had settled. On this journey, Bethke discovered the real Jesus, who beckoned him with love beyond the props of false religion. Praise for Jesus > Religion: "Jeff's book will make you stop and listen to a voice in your heart that may have been drowned out by the noise of religion. Listen to that voice, then follow it--right to the feet of Jesus." --Bob Goff, author of New York Times bestsellers Love Does and Everybody, Always "The book you hold in your hands is Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz meets C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity meets Augustine's Confessions. This book is going to awaken an entire generation to Jesus and His grace." --Derwin L. Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church, author of Limitless Life: Breaking Free from the Labels That Hold You Back

Download or read book Jesus Before Christianity written by Albert Nolan and published by Orbis Books. This book was released on 2001 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nolan's portrait introduces readers to Jesus as He was before He became enshrined in doctrine, dogma, and ritual, a man deeply involved with the real problems of His time, which are the real problems of our time as well. In a new preface, Nolan reflects on recent work in Christology and how a book written in South Africa in 1976 still has a message for people today.

Download or read book Paul and Jesus written by James D. Tabor and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-11-26 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Draws on St. Paul's letters and other early sources to reveal the apostles' sharply competing ideas about the significance of Jesus and his teachings while demonstrating how St. Paul independently shaped Christianity as it is known today.

Download or read book The Case for Christ written by Lee Strobel and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book consists primarily of interviews between Strobel (a former legal editor at the Chicago Tribune) and biblical scholars such as Bruce Metzger. Each interview is based on a simple question, concerning historical evidence (for example, "Can the Biographies of Jesus Be Trusted?"), scientific evidence, ("Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus' Biographies?"), and "psychiatric evidence" ("Was Jesus Crazy When He Claimed to Be the Son of God?"). Together, these interviews compose a case brief defending Jesus' divinity, and urging readers to reach a verdict of their own.

Download or read book After Jesus Before Christianity written by Erin Vearncombe and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-11-02 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the creative minds of the scholarly group behind the groundbreaking Jesus Seminar comes this provocative and eye-opening look at the roots of Christianity that offers a thoughtful reconsideration of the first two centuries of the Jesus movement, transforming our understanding of the religion and its early dissemination. Christianity has endured for more than two millennia and is practiced by billions worldwide today. Yet that longevity has created difficulties for scholars tracing the religion’s roots, distorting much of the historical investigation into the first two centuries of the Jesus movement. But what if Christianity died in the fourth or fifth centuries after it began? How would that change how historians see and understand its first two hundred years? Considering these questions, three Bible scholars from the Westar Institute summarize the work of the Christianity Seminar and its efforts to offer a new way of thinking about Christianity and its roots. Synthesizing the institute’s most recent scholarship—bringing together the many archaeological and textual discoveries over the last twenty years—they have found: There were multiple Jesus movements, not a singular one, before the fourth century There was nothing called Christianity until the third century There was much more flexibility and diversity within Jesus’s movement before it became centralized in Rome, not only regarding the Bible and religious doctrine, but also understandings of gender, sexuality and morality. Exciting and revolutionary, After Jesus Before Christianity provides fresh insights into the real history behind how the Jesus movement became Christianity. After Jesus Before Christianity includes more than a dozen black-and-white images throughout.

Download or read book Brand Jesus written by Tyler Wigg Stevenson and published by Church Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2007-05-01 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this provocative book, the author argues that American Christianity, especially evangelicalism, has been corrupted by the dominance of consumerism in modern life. The church's mostly uncritical adoption of this secular condition has resulted in an idolatrous morphing of the message of Christ into just another brand. With Brand Jesus, Wigg Stevenson names the growing concern felt by many Christians at the commodification of their faith. Using Paul's letter to the Romans as a starting point, Wigg Stevenson 'reads' the letter to today's church, speaking to our consumerist situation through the parallels with Paul's Rome. Though rooted unapologetically in a love for the church, Brand Jesus does not shy away from provocative claims about the melding of Christian faith and consumer ideals; the rise of market-driven theology; the blurring boundaries between the law and religion; and other topics. Wigg Stevenson describes the current situation of both church and society and issues a challenge to it: When faith is a product for consumption, how can the church be faithful to Christ as living Lord, instead of as Brand Jesus?

Download or read book From Jesus to the Internet written by Peter Horsfield and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-06-15 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Jesus to the Internet examines Christianity as a mediated phenomenon, paying particular attention to how various forms of media have influenced and developed the Christian tradition over the centuries. It is the first systematic survey of this topic and the author provides those studying or interested in the intersection of religion and media with a lively and engaging chronological narrative. With insights into some of Christianitys most hotly debated contemporary issues, this book provides a much-needed historical basis for this interdisciplinary field.

Download or read book Between Jesus and Paul written by Martin Hengel and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2003-03-14 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More happened in the period between Jesus and Paul, Professor Hengel argues, than in the whole of the next seven centuries, up to the time when the doctrine of the early church was completed. Certainly these decades are crucial to our understanding of the development of earliest Christianity. However, they are very much a ÒtunnelÓ period, and there is little to shed light on it. This volume does something to pierce the darkness. Among other issues, it considers the origins of the Christian mission, the role of the Hellenists, the reliability of Luke as a geographer when he is dealing with events in Palestine in the Acts of the Apostles, and the development of christological belief, particularly in Christian worship. Those familiar with Professor Hengel's work will know that they will find here a wealth of valuable insight based on painstaking examination of all available sources.

Download or read book Jesus Versus Christianity written by Raymond Gardella and published by Liberty Hill Publishing. This book was released on 2021-04-03 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The preferred references to Jesus are love, peace, patience, forgiveness, do unto others, turn the other cheek, and most of all unity and submission. But that is only a portion of the entire Jesus who is revealed in the gospels. He suffered a lot of people but he never submitted to anyone. Every hypocrite and every Herod got a mouthful of castigations and condemnations. He was incorrigibly correct and demanding. If you modify Jesus' words, you defraud Jesus. If anyone thinks Jesus came to take a vote on his offers for eternal life, they have ignored the executive orders he brought from his Father. There was unrelenting autocracy in every word. Jesus actively pursued evil doers and defined their malevolence in the open. He did not wear the letters "PC" on his tunic. He was a "oneway" preacher - either with him or against him. The only unity he endorsed was to himself and to his Father, no one else. "May they all be One" did not translate into coexistence. His accusing words of "Woe to you, Snakes and Vipers," do not sound fruitfully unifying. But myth has it that Jesus is the Christmas baby and the Easter Risen Man who guarantees immortality with few requirements. Today it is not Jesus driving Christianity, but the culture and its vandalism of morality are driving Christianity. Jesus is used for cover and good feelings so we can all say we are "people of faith," while daily the Unborn in the Womb keep disappearing and the slander and lies of Media Giants decide the truth.

Download or read book The Case for Christianity Answer Book written by Lee Strobel and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2014-08-12 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Answers to the most-asked questions about Christian faith! The Case for Christianity Answer Book is a great book for both newer and seasoned Christians alike. The Q&A format lends itself to helping believers know how to effectively defend their faith. Perfect for those ready to consider Jesus, longtime believers, someone seeking the truth, or even a skeptic. This book is great for anyone looking for a handy reference. The Case for Christianity Answer Book provides succinct answers to real questions about Christianity. Strobel, a former atheist, uses his investigative journalism skills to dig deep into the Bible to provide compelling and concise answers about Christianity. In this answer book, bestselling author Lee Strobel offers biblically based answers to questions such as: Did God use evolution when He created the world? If God is loving, why is there so much suffering? Do the resurrection accounts in the four Gospels contradict each other? Can you have doubts and still be a Christian?

Download or read book Jesus Against Christianity written by Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2010-07-15 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This illuminating exploration of how and why Christianity became so radically disconnected from the Jesus of history provides suggestions for returning the true Jesus of Nazareth to the center of Christian faith.

Download or read book Jesus Remembered written by James D. G. Dunn and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2003-07-29 with total page 1046 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Christianity in the making, James D.G. Dunn examines in depth the major factors that shaped first-generation Christianity and beyond, exploring the parting of the ways between Christianity and Judaism, the Hellenization of Christianity, and responses to Gnosticism. He mines all the first- and second-century sources, including the New Testament Gospels, New Testament apocrypha, and such church fathers as Ignatius, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus, showing how the Jesus tradition and the figures of James, Paul, Peter, and John were still esteemed influences but were also the subject of intense controversy as the early church wrestled with its evolving identity.

Download or read book What Did Jesus Look Like written by Joan E. Taylor and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-02-08 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.