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.

The question of the historicity of Jesus' resurrection has been repeatedly probed, investigated and debated. And the results have varied widely. Perhaps some now regard this issue as the burned-over district of New Testament scholarship. Could there be any new and promising approach to this problem? Yes, answers Michael Licona. And he convincingly points us to a significant deficiency in approaching this question: our historiographical orientation and practice. So he opens this study with an extensive consideration of historiography and the particular problem of investigating claims of miracles. This alone is a valuable contribution. But then Licona carefully applies his principles and methods to the question of Jesus' resurrection. In addition to determining and working from the most reliable sources and bedrock historical evidence, Licona critically weighs other prominent hypotheses. His own argument is a challenging and closely argued case for the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. Any future approaches to dealing with this 'prize puzzle' of New Testament study will need to be routed through The Resurrection of Jesus.

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.

In The First Christmas, two of today's top Jesus scholars, Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan, show how history has biased our reading of the nativity story as it appears in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The First Christmas explores the beginning of the life of Christ, peeling away the sentimentalism that has build up over two thousand years around this most well known of all stories to reveal the truth of what the Gospels actually say. Borg and Crossan help us to see this familiar narrative afresh by answering the question 'What do these stories mean' from the perspective of both the first and the twenty-first centuries. They successfully show that the Christmas story, read in its original context, is far richer and more challenging than people imagine.

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.

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.

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.

RELIGION / CHRISTIAN STUDIESThe familiar story of Judas, betrayer of Jesus, is striking because of its incomprehensibility. Why would one of Christ's disciples and companions of the heart deliver him up to his enemies and a barbarous, ignominious, and certain death for thirty pieces of silver? Jean-Yves Leloup's careful investigation of the gospels, various apocryphal texts, and most importantly the Coptic codex known as the Gospel of Judas leads him to conclude that there is more to the familiar story of Judas than a simple demonstration, viewed through one man, of humanity's inherent failings.In this reconstruction, based on these classic texts, Leloup offers an alternative explanation for Judas's actions, complete with illustrative dialogue. The betrayal of Jesus to the Romans was Jesus's idea, explains Leloup. Jesus persuaded Judas to play the role of "evil" in humankind by telling him that this enactment was crucial to God's plan and would set Judas by Jesus's side in eternity: "There where I am," spoke Jesus to Judas, "is where I wish you, too, to be."But to get there, Judas--a metaphorical representation of the darker side present in all human beings and the "shadow" counterpart to his Messiah dying on the cross--must first shed all his human qualities. His failings of greed, deceit, and cowardice--and even his faith and hope--are washed away in the despair that engulfs him. A parallel moment occurs for Jesus on the cross, when he comes to know the despair of separation from God. The moment Judas "loses" his life and all that gave it meaning--his God, his law, his justice, his Messiah--is the very moment he finds that which cannot be discarded--life eternal. Thus, in the momentof his ultimate extremity, Judas receives Jesus's true message and his intended gift.JEAN-YVES LELOUP is a theologian and founder of the Institute of Other Civilization Studies and the International College of Therapists. His other books include The Sacred Embrace of Jesus and Mary, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, The Gospel of Philip, and The Gospel of Thomas. He lives in France.

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.

In this classic volume available once again, it is the title essay that is the most controversial. Jay Haley proposes an original interpretation of the Bible analyzing Jesus? actions as a man trying to build a mass movement to topple a power structure. Using wit and wry humor, Haley instructs the reader in the other essays on what it takes to be schizophrenic, as well as the art and technique required to have an awful marriage, and how to be an awful therapist. His rationale for a directive therapy is the subject of other essays.

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."

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.

In Engaging the Passion, Oliver Larry Yarbrough has gathered an impressive array of scholars to survey the wealth of ways in which the death of Jesus has been portrayed and represented in Scripture, liturgy and music, literature, art and film, theology, and ethics. In addition to addressing topics many readers will find familiar-gospel narratives, Holy Week services, Bach Passions, and well-known paintings-the essays also treat rap music, street art, a contemporary Buddhist Passion, Chagall's crucifixions, the poetry of Walt Whitman and Countee Cullen, J. R. R. Tolkien's unlikely hero Frodo Baggins, images from the battlefield, and stories from the soup kitchen. The contributors approach their topics from a variety of perspectives-Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and secular; their voices differ as well, from the challenging to the comforting and from the academic to the confessional. Addressing the faithful, the skeptical, and the curious, Engaging the Passion is unique in its breadth and rare in the diverse voices of its contributors. Amply illustrated and with accompanying discography and filmography, it will be a welcome resource for classes in Scripture, theology, liturgy, and the arts, as well as for personal and congregational study.

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

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.

Many experts in education, psychology, science, philosophy, politics, and across the social sciences and humanities believe that a plethora of people in the world have lost their way and lack a moral compass. In a world in which youth often lack guidance from parents, countless individuals are hurting from broken relationships, and many people lack a sense of purpose, direction, and a sense of who they are, there is a growing awareness around much of world that people should revisit the teachings of Jesus Christ for answers. The Bible is the most published book in the history of the world for a reason. At the heart of Christ's teachings is love, which sadly in many academic, political, and business circles has become the most feared four-letter word of all. In this context, the need to revisit the personal significance of the most quoted verse in the Bible, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only son..." and "God is love," is axiomatic. In a world filled with divisiveness, a dearth of civility, a lack of love, a dismissive attitude toward any sense of truth and absolute values, and the inability for people to get along, it would seem that there is no timelier action one can take than to ask the pertinent question, "What would Christ do?" It is a vital question to ask not only as it applies to one's personal life, but also to the world situation at large. For example, one can argue that the economic crisis of 2008-2009 in the West and the Asian economic crisis of 1997-1998 were largely the result of lack of character and the love of money and power than pervaded the government, business, and the general population. One can argue that had the nations of the world been guided by the example of love, self-sacrifice, humility, and integrity that Christ set, those crises would not have happened. Life is filled with enough challenges without a lack of virtue creating more trials. Addressing the question of, "What would Christ do?" can help the reader engage in better decision making that can literally change one's life and help establish a reputation of love, character, and compassion that will open doors into a better life.

In this book, the third in the Heart of Christian Faith series, Alister E. McGrath provides an exploration of how we can best understand Jesus Christ using analogies, illustrations, and stories. This short, accessible guide also provides a pastoral and spiritual consideration of the difference that our belief in God makes to the way in which we think about ourselves and our world. With future volumes to examine other core Christian principles, McGrath's new series will define "mere Christianity" to a new generation for many years to come.