For two centuries scholars have sought to discover the historical Jesus. Presently such scholarship is dominated not by the question 'Who was Jesus?' but rather 'How do we even go about answering the question, "Who was Jesus?"?' With this current situation in mind, Jonathan Bernier undertakes a two-fold task: one, to engage on the level of the philosophy of history with existing approaches to the study of the historical Jesus, most notably the criteria approach and the social memory approach; two, to work with the critical realism developed by Bernard Lonergan, introduced into New Testament studies by Ben F. Meyer, and advocated by N.T. Wright in order to develop a philosophy of history that can elucidate current debates within historical Jesus studies.

The first textbook survey of the life of Christ by an evangelical New Testament scholar for over twenty-five years. Robert H. Stein draws together the results of a career of research and writing on Jesus and the gospels. Clearly written, ably argued and geared to the needs of students, Jesus the Messiah will give enquiring minds a sure grounding in the life and ministry of Jesus.

This multidisciplinary treatment of the doctrine of Christ's deity combines evangelical scholarship with substantial and accessible theological content. Volume 3 in the noted Theology in Community series.

Who is this ascended Jesus? He is King, Priest and man and is still at work. Ultimately he is humanity in the presence of God. Here we discover how we are a part of the Ascension. With the Spirit's enlightening we can begin to understand the Ascension. Tim Chester introduces us to this important doctrine.

In order to demonstrate how the crucifixion narrative emerged and changed over time, this historical primer on the death of Jesus includes an overview of the evidence that Jesus existed and was crucified, explanations of how crucifixion worked and why it was employed by the Romans, and descriptions of Jesus' death in early Christian literature in a logical progression from the earliest to latest.

Now available in Open Access thanks to the support of the University of Helsinki. In Jesus and Other Men, Susanna Asikainen explores the masculinities of Jesus and other male characters as well as the ideal femininities in the Synoptic Gospels. She studies the masculinity of Jesus vis-a-vis his opponents, disciples, and women. She also considers the impact of Jesus' emotions and suffering on his masculinity. Arguing that there were several competing ideals of masculinity, she sets out to trace what strategies the early Christian masculinities used in relation to the hegemonic masculinities of the ancient Greco-Roman world. She shows that the Gospel of Luke is close to the ancient Greco-Roman ideal of self-controlled masculinity while the Gospels of Mark and Matthew portray Jesus and the disciples as examples of voluntarily marginalized masculinity.

The Holy One in Our Midst: An Essay on the Flesh of Christ aims to defend the doctrine of the extra Calvinisticum-the doctrine that maintains the Son of God was not restricted to the flesh of Christ during the incarnation-by arguing that it is logically coherent, biblically warranted, catholically orthodox, and theologically useful. It shows that none of the standard objections are devastating to the extra, that the doctrine is rooted in the claims of Christian Scripture and not merely a remnant of perfect being philosophical theology, and that the doctrine plays an important role in contemporary theological discussion. In this way, James R. Gordon revives an important Catholic doctrine that has fallen out of favour in contemporary theology. Secondarily, this project aims to integrate biblical, philosophical, and systematic theology by showing that the tools and methods of each distinct discipline can contribute to the goals and aims of the others.

From Jesus to His First Followers examines to what extent early Christian groups were in continuity or discontinuity with respect to Jesus. Adriana Destro and Mauro Pesce concentrate on the transformation of religious practices. Their anthropological-historical analysis focuses on the relations between discipleship and households, on the models of contact with the supernatural world, and on cohabitation among distinct religious groups. The book highlights how Matthew uses non-Jewish instruments of legitimation, John reformulates religious experiences through symbolized domestic slavery, Paul adopts a religious practice diffused in Roman-Hellenistic environments. The book reconstructs the map of early Christian groups in the Land of Israel and explains their divergences on the basis of an original theory of the local origin of Gospels' information.

This book offers an ideal introduction to the Gospels and explains why it is that scholars and lay people have such different understandings of the person of Jesus. The first half of the book looks at the main sources for the life of Jesus, principally the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but also the so-called apocryphal Gospels. The second half of the book begins with an examination of the criteria employed by scholars to determine the earliest and most reliable forms of the tradition. The third edition interacts with developments in modern scholarship, particularly the advance of memory studies. With study questions at the end of each chapter, updated reading lists, and a new chapter bringing scholarship up to date the third edition of this classic text will provide a perfect companion for students coming to grips with academic study of Jesus and the Gospels.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus teaches people and proclaims the kingdom of God. But that's not all. He also questions - a lot. Jesus asks questions that challenge and unsettle. Questions that cut to the heart of human experience. Questions that - like a plow plunging deeply into hard soil - split life open. Distinguished theologian Michael Buckley in this book meditates on fourteen key personal questions that Jesus asks in the Gospel of John - such questions as "What do you seek?" "Do you know what I have done to you?" "How can you believe?" "Do you take offense at this?" "Do you love me?" Readers will be challenged to new ways of thinking and living as they seek to follow Jesus.

The so-called extra Calvinisticum-the doctrine that the incarnate Son of God continued to exist beyond the flesh-was not invented by John Calvin or Reformed theologians. If this is true, as is almost universally acknowledged today, then why do scholars continue to fixate almost exclusively on Calvin when they discuss this doctrine? The answer to the "why" of this scholarly trend, however, is not as important as correcting the trend. This volume expands our vision of the historical functions and christological significance of this doctrine by expounding its uses in Cyril of Alexandria, Thomas Aquinas, Zacharias Ursinus, and in theologians from the Reformation to the present. Despite its relative obscurity, the doctrine that came to be known as the "Calvinist extra" is a possession of the church catholic and a feature of Christology that ought to be carefully appropriated in contemporary reflection on the Incarnation.

Nineteenth-century America was rife with Protestant-fueled anti-Catholicism. Elizabeth Hayes Alvarez reveals how Protestants nevertheless became surprisingly and deeply fascinated with the Virgin Mary, even as her role as a devotional figure who united Catholics grew. Documenting the vivid Marian imagery that suffused popular visual and literary culture, Alvarez argues that Mary became a potent, shared exemplar of Christian womanhood around which Christians of all stripes rallied during an era filled with anxiety about the emerging market economy and shifting gender roles. From a range of diverse sources, including the writings of Anna Jameson, Anna Dorsey, and Alexander Stewart Walsh and magazines such as The Ladies' Repository and Harper's, Alvarez demonstrates that Mary was represented as pure and powerful, compassionate and transcendent, maternal and yet remote. Blending romantic views of motherhood and female purity, the virgin mother's image enamored Protestants as a paragon of the era's cult of true womanhood, and even many Catholics could imagine the Queen of Heaven as the Queen of the Home. Sometimes, Marian imagery unexpectedly seemed to challenge domestic expectations of womanhood. On a broader level, The Valiant Woman contributes to understanding lived religion in America and the ways it borrows across supposedly sharp theological divides.

Resurrection reconsidered revisits the vexed question arguably at the very heart of the Christian faith: What is the nature of the resurrection? The first part of this stimulating collection of essays, drawn from an international team of writers, examines the resurrection itself and reflects the many different positions within contemporary Christian thought, ranging from a defence of the resurrection as a literal historical event, through to an outright rejection of the resurrection, and a feminist- psychoanalytic critique. The book then explores the resurrection within an equally controversial arena: Christianity and other religions- pushing the debate into a broader, interreligious context. For scholars, students, clergy and all those concerned with Christianity in the modern world, Resurrection Reconsidered offers an exciting foretaste of the type of debate that will mark a pluralist twenty-first century.

Who was Jesus of Nazareth and what do the relics left behind tell us about this fascinating figure? A burial box that has Jesus's name on it? A papyrus "gospel" referring to his wife? A piece of wood from the cross? A linen shroud that wrapped Jesus's corpse? Are any or all of these real? Or are we being scammed? Finding Jesus provides a fresh look at the life of the greatest man who ever lived through six blockbuster artifacts including the Shroud of Turin, pieces of the True Cross, and bones of John the Baptist, that give us the most direct evidence about the life and world of Jesus. Telling the story behind each artifact, Finding Jesus investigates, in the company of sleuths and scholars who use modern-day tools to solve ancient riddles, whether the stunning relics are authentic or frauds. As both companion to the CNN TV series and as deeper inquiry into the story of what Jesus left behind, Finding Jesus draws on fascinating debates, controversial figures, and forensic evidence to reveal a story for the faithful, the skeptical, and the curious alike.

Paul's apostolic proclamation of "one Lord Jesus Christ" in 1 Corinthians lies at the very heart of Christian belief. It forms the starting point of the Christological declaration in the Nicene Creed and is the basis of every subsequent statement of the church on the person and work of Jesus. In Ecce Homo Aaron Riches argues that this basic proclamation of Christ's divine unity is the only legitimate starting point for Christology. Interacting with theologians throughout the ages, Riches narrates the development of the church's doctrine of Christ as an increasingly profound realisation that the depth of the difference between humans and God is realised only in perfect union with God. He sets the apostolic proclamation in its historical, theological, and mystical context, showing that it ultimately surpasses every theological attempt to divide or reduce the "one Lord Jesus Christ."

Representing five decades of research on the gospels, Jesus, and Christian origins, this collection of historical-critical essays explores topics such as demythologizing, "son of man," and the synoptic problem, to name just a few. Includes a critical analysis of ways in which scholars have attempted to recover the historical Jesus.

The words of Jesus Christ as related in the New Testament. All the best known stories include Nicodemus, Lost Sheep, Prodigal Son, Good Samaritan, Sermon on the Mount and many more. Bible References for each story

"The Bible gives instances of two men being translated to heaven without dying at all; of some dead people, who were raised to life, only to die again; but we never read of a resurrected man ascending to heaven, save in the one exception of our Lord. He died, and was raised the third day, and having abundantly proved His resurrection to His doubting disciples, He ascended to glory, and set Himself down at the right hand of God. Such a claim is stupendous. Prove it, and you prove Christianity. Disprove it, and you disprove Christianity...The truth of Christianity hinges on the fact of the resurrection of our Lord. Apart from the resurrection of Christ, there can be no salvation, no forgiveness of sins, no justification, and no gift of eternal life - in short, no Christianity. Remove the central stone of an arch, and the whole structure falls to the ground. So it is with the Deity and Manhood of our Lord Jesus Christ, His spotless life, His atoning death, His resurrection, and His ascension. These are all linked up together, making one complete whole. If one part fails, the whole of Christianity fails." So wrote Algernon Pollock, that indefatigable apologist from the pulpit and in print wherever he saw the Christian faith under attack. Beginning with an overview of the Bible's detailing of the facts and consequences of Christ's resurrection, the author briefly considers Old Testament prophecies of the resurrection, before reviewing Christ's own prophecies of His death. He continues with an examination of the person, life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and their connection with His resurrection. He then considers the circumstances of the Lord's resurrection, before an extensive discussion of all the recorded appearances of the risen Christ. An examination of objections to the inspiration of the Gospel accounts is followed by a look at some theories presented in denial of the resurrection. Significant reference is made to an interesting mid-18th century study entitled "Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul; In a Letter to Gilbert West, Esq." by Sir George Lyttleton, later Lord Lyttleton, Baron of Frankley. Lyttleton and West set out to disprove Christianity by proving two key points of Christianity false: Lyttelton that St.Paul did not convert to Christianity, and West that Jesus never rose from the dead. However, as their researches progressed, they both became convinced of the truth of the events they sought to disprove. The author, himself convinced of the fact of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, plainly sets out his reasons in this book.

How can one reconcile the political nature of Jesus with his disinclination to power? Moore's argument comes in three stages. Part one answers the question 'Was Jesus Political?' by examining Jesus' words and actions that have political import. Part two addresses the issue 'How was Jesus Political?' It concentrates on Mark 10:32-45 as a real articulation of Jesus' political praxis that is consistent throughout Jesus' ministry and teaching. Part three, 'Why did Jesus not openly announce his political role?' examines Jesus' treatment of the Jewish kings of the past, particularly why Jesus, 'meek and mild,' could claim to surpass them in honor. Moore argues that Jesus' disinclination to associate himself with other rulers is not a rejection of a political role. Rather, he lived so consistently with his political praxis of self-abnegation that these other rulers were not appropriate models for Jesus to follow. Furthermore, the very claim to such titles was antithetical to his political praxis which relinquished all aggrandizement to God, who alone could exalt, abase, judge, and rule.