Jesus is the most influential person who ever lived. But for many of us, he has ceased to be a real person. We've sanitised him with pious jargon, framed him in stained glass, and reduced him to a religious puppet who floats through biblical landscapes dispensing Christian cliches and nice advice. It's time for a fresh look at the man this book describes as "a square peg in a society of round holes." Whether you're new to Jesus or just want to rediscover him with fresh eyes, this is the book for you. No dry theological treatise, it's written in an engaging, sometimes even humorous, style. In short, readable chapters, you'll get a tour of important background info and fascinating history that will bring to life the era in which Jesus lived. Then you'll read about his birth, his adult ministry and teaching, and the crucial last week of his life on earth. You'll catch a glimpse of the impact and excitement as news of Jesus spread around the world. And finally, you'll be inspired to think about what Jesus means for us today.

A distinguished religious artist explores the beauty and truth found in icons of Christ's transfiguration, weaving together iconographic representations and theological interpretation.

Christ's seven last words from the cross have long been a source of reflection, challenge, and soul-searching. These simple statements contain the full range of human emotions and divine self-revelation: grief, compassion, despair, forgiveness, physical need, the promise of redemption. In many ways they embody the core of the gospel. In this brief book one of today's most noted church persons and preachers confronts the reader with the seven last word's claim on her or his life. Written with the clarity, depth, and insight that are Will Willimon's trademark, this book offers afresh the challenge and grace of the message of the Crucified One.

Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, was released on Ash Wednesday, February 24, 2004 to capacity audiences in theatres and auditoriums across the U.S. and other countries. Prior to the film's release, a groundswell of controversy filled the airwaves and media outlets. Some religious groups protested the film, while others embraced it. Mel Gibson focuses on the Passion not the life nor resurrection of Christ. By doing so, he leaves out most of the elements of the Jesus story familiar to Christians and consequently he adds non-biblical gruesome details foreign to the Gospels. Mel Gibson's Passion: The Film, the Controversy, and Its Implications exposes the flaws of Gibson's cinematic Christ and lays out assertively and persuasively the rationale of Jews and Christians in how to grasp and comprehend the passion and execution of the Christian savior known scripturally as the "King of the Jews."

Jesus: a first-century Jew from Galilee, a small and remote province of the Roman Empire. No other person has had such a profound and far-reaching influence on world history. But what, historically, can we know about him? And what are we to make of the kaleidoscope of beliefs and images that people have since built up around him? Those are the two essential questions investigated by J. L. Houlden in this absorbing account of the key historical, theological and cultural issues surrounding the enigmatic figure of Jesus. Written primarily for the enquiring lay person, this is a book that will engage the interest of believer and non-believer alike. It will also provide a clear and concise introduction fr anyone studying the origins and evolution of Christianity as a major world religion.

This book brings the events and themes of Easter into the rest of the year. In the Christian tradition, we make much of the Christ-child and Christ crucified but are much more reticent about Christ risen, in spite of the fact that it's the risen life we're supposed to be sharing most of the time. We go through Lent and Holy Week with great seriousness but Easter gets one great day and then we're not sure what to do with it. This book is full of ideas, reflections, and resources on how to extend the message of resurrection through the coming weeks and into the rest of our lives. It includes 'articles' of accessible reflection, ways to celebrate resurrection and to continue the 'risen life', worship ideas, stories and personal experience, poetry, music and art, a home group/cell group course, literature and film, cartoons and humour etc, all designed to give a variety of points of entry to the theme of resurrection.

In this readable, succinct volume, Keith Fournier portrays the young virgin of Nazareth in a fresh light as an antidote to the spiritual ills of the age. The Prayer of Mary presents humility, simplicity, and selfless love as fitting responses to the loving invitation of God, who visits people in their daily lives and invites them into a relationship with Him.

The women in Jesus' life are a raucous and rowdy bunch, including "riotous" foremothers, "loose women," and "distressed daughters of Israel." Reading these new ways of interpreting women in the Gospels, male New Testament scholars have discovered liberating perspectives. In seven scintillating studies, Spencer explores among others the genealogy of Matthew's Gospel to discover the riotous yet righteous nature of Jesus' foremothers, slave girls and prophetic daughters in Luke-Acts, and women leading men in the Gospel of Mark 5-7. Scott Spencer, a virtuoso young New Testament scholar, provides his own lively forays into reading the Gospels through women's eyes. He shows what it is like for a man to read stories about the women in Jesus' life from a new perspective. Spencer is an able and inventive scholar whose broad-ranging insights and engaging style make his work very accessible.

A fresh---and perhaps controversial---look at Jesus by one of Britain s most respected Christian authors. Who is the real Jesus? Do we remake him in our own image and then wonder why our spirituality is less than life-changing and exciting? Steve Chalke---a high-profile visionary in the United Kingdom and an evangelical recognized not only by Christians but by the general public as well---believes that the real Jesus is deeply challenging. And each new generation must grapple with the question of who he is, because only through a constant study of Jesus are we able to discover God himself. The Lost Message of Jesus is written to stir thoughtful debate and pose fresh questions that will help create a deeper understanding of Jesus and his message. It is an encounter with the real Jesus of his world---not the Jesus we try to mold to ours. Themes include: *The Kingdom of God---shalom---is available to everyone now, through Jesus *The world outside your own church needs to hear of the depth of God s love and suffering *Jesus was a radical and a revolutionary *Jesus offers immediate forgiveness, without cost, to anyone *Jesus shows us repentance isn t a guilt-laden list of dos and don ts, but an inspirational vision of a new way to live Focusing on some of the key episodes, events, and issues of Jesus life, we will see how too often the message we preach today has been influenced more by the culture we live in than the radical, life-changing, world-shaping message Jesus shared two thousand years ago."

'Always be prepared,' wrote the apostle Peter, 'to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.' Reading and digesting this book will help. Gary R. Habermas begins his apologetic for Christianity by demonstrating the historicity of the resurrection of Christ. He then connects the resurrection to several key tenets of Christian theology, through paths not only historical, but also philosophical, counseling, and experiential. The resurrection, Habermas shows, is the central belief for every Christian, whether that person believes it was an actual historical event or not. But it is Habermas' illustration that Jesus quite literally rose bodily from the dead that makes this book so unique. The resurrection is not only the foundation for Christian belief past and present, but also the basis for future hope. What, for instance, does the resurrection of Jesus have to teach us about our own fear of death? Habermas' answers to this and other questions proves how essential the resurrection is to living a Christian life, and gives us great hope for the future.

A look at the questions Jesus asks us---which enrich our understanding and faith.In the Gospels, when people asked Jesus a question, he often replied with one of his own: 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' 'Why do you call me good?' British author Conrad Gempf invites readers to look at these questions and discover Jesus' motivation. What could the second person of the Trinity want to know that he doesn't already? Gempf concludes that Jesus wants to know where we stand. He doesn't need to know more facts; he wants to know us.

Marvin Meyer is one of the leading experts on the secret gospels Gospel of Thomas, Secret Gospel of Mark, and others who has changed forever how we read the canonical gospels and understand early Christianity. In this new collection of his work, Meyer looks at these revolutionary texts in original and illuminating ways. He writes, for example, about the naked youths in the villa of the Mysteries. On the walls of a villa in Pompeii, a famous mural depicts a naked male reading from a scroll, a look of wonder on his face. A naked youth again appears in the Gospel of Mark, abandoning his garment and fleeing naked when apprehended during Jesus' arrest. A similar youth appears in the Secret Gospel of Mark. These youths, Meyer proposes, serve as an image of religious initiation, candidates for the mysteries of Dionysus or of Christ. This is one of the many aspects of the secret gospels that Meyer examines with expert insight and creativity. Topics range from gender and infancy stories to discipleship and the relationship of the Gospel of Thomas to Islamic literature. Meyer's spellbinding readings of these materials offer fresh understandings of the canonical gospels. Marvin Meyer is Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies, and Director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute at Chapman University, Orange, California. He is author of The Secret Teachings of Jesus: Four Gnostic Gospels and The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, and co-editor of Jesus Then and Now (Trinity Press International).

The New Order was the term the Japanese, German and Italian governments used for their expansive strategies and spheres of influence during the eve and course of the Second World War. Their attack against the status quo was initiated by Japan occupying Manchuria, preceding Hitler s rise to power. Subsequently, Italian aggression against Ethiopia shows that the first military adventures of the emerging New Order occurred outside Europe. A main issue in this account is the lack of coordination between the German and Japanese approaches toward the USSR. Consequently the Anti-Komintern-Pact, an overwhelmingly ideological cover-up, implied meager strategic significance. The Tripartite Treaty, on the contrary, provided Germany with some East European allies in its warfare against the USSR. In contrast to Germany and Japan, the Italian military performance was in all the stages of the Second World War so poor, that Mussolini s Fascism was downgraded to a humiliating position within the New Order. The author concludes that the common strategy came to naught due to different interests and mentalities. Fascist internationalism proved to be a sheer impossibility.

The Reality Check series makes just one assumption: that you re serious enough about your spiritual journey to investigate Christianity with an open mind. This isn t about joining anyone s religious club---it s about being real with yourself and with the others in your group. Since no one has all the answers, there s plenty of room for discussion. After all, if there is any truth to the Bible s stories about Jesus, then one thing he d welcome are questions and opinions that come from honest, earnest hearts. Whether you re leading a corporation, a sports team, your family, or simply your own pursuits, issues such as mission, character, vision casting, and team building are critical to your success. Wouldn t it be great to take lessons from a master leader? Here s your opportunity. Nobody in history has surpassed Jesus of Nazareth in either methods or results. Find out his leadership secrets. They re guaranteed to make you a better leader. Leadership Jesus Style includes these sessions: Upside-Down Leadership What s Your Mission? Casting a Vision The Master Strategist Building a Team When Others Fail For the Group Leader Reality Check is for spiritual seekers of every persuasion. Uncompromisingly Christian in its perspective, it steers wide of pat answers and aims at honesty. This innovative and thought-provoking series will challenge you and those in your group to connect heart to heart as together you explore the interface between Jesus, the Bible, and the realities of this world in which we live."

After 2000 years, much activity still surrounds the person of Jesus. Scholars, film makers, novelists, artists, Christians, humanists, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and many others have opinions about who Jesus was, as well as on the reliability of the source documents. Writers from inside and from outside the Christian tradition express pessimism about our ability to know very much for sure about Jesus. Others argue that Jesus never existed. Others are optimistic about our ability to reconstruct Jesus' life but paint very different pictures of him. Debate surrounds which sources may be used, why Jesus died, whether he ever intended to depart from Judaism. Paul's role also emerges as controversial. Some turn to alternative documents, or interpretive tools, to decipher the texts. A celibate Jesus, a married Jesus, a rebel Jesus, a Gnostic Jesus, a failed Jesus, a black Jesus, a feminist Jesus, are amongst the many images on offer. This study, which looks at traditional and at alternative sources, traces both the quest of the historical Jesus within the Christian tradition and encounters between the Jesus story and the world beyond the Church. The author asks what agendas, assumptions, human needs do all these writers take to their studies of Jesus? The book analyzes a range of insider and outsider images of Jesus, some popular, some scholarly, some hotly debated. Writers discussed include Marcus Borg, the Dalai Lama, Abraham Geiger, the Jesus Seminar, Barbara Thiering, Vivekananda, and Tom Wright. The book should be of equal interest to students and to general readers.

Rediscover the saving truth hidden in Bethlehem's manger.

Because of the warm fuzzy ambiance and economic impact of Christmas, Dr. John MacArthur is convinced that we are missing the enormous impact of the reality behind the season. In his usual easy-to-read style, he takes us beyond the tinsel and the seasonal hype to offer us an encounter with the miracle and mystery of the birth of Christ.

• He leads us line by line through the familiar Christmas scriptures.
• He exposes common misconceptions about Jesus' birth.
• He helps us to see Mary's baby through the eyes of those who saw Him first.
• He refutes attempts to dismiss the biblical account of the virgin birth as just another myth.

"We dare not trivialize or sentimentalize the persons and events surrounding the birth of Christ," Dr. MacArthur warns. "An authentic celebration of Christmas recognizes that the eternal, sovereign God came to earth as a human being to live a righteous life among His people and then to die as a perfect sacrifice to deliver from the wrath of God all who repent and belive."

Let God inject new life and meaning into your celebration of the coming of Christ as you use this simple volume to review what the Bible says about his birth.

Combining New Testament study with the terseness of thriller writing, Gerd Theissen conveys the gospel story in the fresh and imaginative prose of a novel. The story is told by Andreas, an imaginary contemporary of Jesus, who is trapped into becoming an informer for Pilate while trying to help a friend, who emerges as the Barabbas of the passion narratives. In this role as double agent, Andreas meets and talks to a wide variety of Jesus' contemporaries, during which we learn a great deal about Palestinian life and politics, as well as what Jesus (the Galilean of the title) might have been like and how he might have behaved.

In June 2000, five internationally renowned biblical scholars and one equally well known systematic theologian traveled to Israel with 60 non-academic pilgrims to share their insights on the Jesus of history and the meaning of the "historians' Jesus" for Christian faith. The result is a book that provides a succinct summary of what is currently known about Jesus and his times-his setting in Galilee, his relationship to the Qumran community, his sense of mission as an eschatological prophet and miracle worker, and, finally, the mechanics of how the memories of Jesus's words and deeds circulated among his followers and were passed on in oral performance to be enshrined eventually in the written Synoptic tradition. The book concludes with reflections by Elizabeth Johnson on the relevance of such scholarship for contemporary Christian faith. Rather than a challenge to faith, she sees it as a gift.

What motivated Jesus to pursue the cross? What inner strength kept His feet on the path before him? Time and tradition muted the Church's knowledge of the passions that burned in Jesus' heart, but if we want to-if we dare to-we can still seek those same passions that enflamed the Son of God and changed the world forever

This book takes a personal approach to spirituality by exploring Jesus through his personal life and relationships. Herron focuses on Jesus' travels on the road to Emmaus, where he met many disciples along the way. By paralleling Christ's journey with our daily trials, one can discover the many dimensions of love and the one sustaining Spirit even in the most minute detail of day-to-day life. Immortal Longings serves as a guide for those who are searching and grasping for understanding in their lives and journeys. The exploratory nature of this book makes it especially appealing to college students and older adolescents.

Bruce Barton's 1925 effort to reconfigure Jesus for the Roaring Twenties turned into one of the great best-sellers of the century. In The Man Nobody Knows, Barton depicted Christ as a man's man, not the meek, effeminate figure he had encountered in Sunday School. No Puritan or Prohibitionist, this Jesus turned water into wine and was "the most popular dinner guest in Jerusalem." Here was the world's first advertising man, whose parables sparkled as models for modern jingle writers. (Barton had co-founded the celebrated advertising firm of Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborne.) Here was Christ, the world's greatest business executive, who "picked up twelve men from the bottom ranks of business and forged them into an organization that conquered the world." When in the 1950s Barton felt compelled to revise his often-reprinted book for a new generation, he blurred its focus. In this new edition, the historian Richard Fried revives the primary source in Barton's original language. Mr. Fried explores the book's rich insights into the culture of the 1920s, revealing not only the union of religion and business but changing attitudes toward consumption and leisure, sexuality and the roles of men and women.

This work is a presentation of the truth of Jesus Christ from the viewpoint of liberation - from Jesus's options for the poor, his confrontation with the powerful and the persecution and death this brought him. Building and expanding on his previous works, Jon Sobrino develops a Christology that shows how to meet the mystery of God, all God "Father" and call this Jesus "the Christ".

Marian scholar Fr. Rene Laurentin studies the Infancy Narratives presented in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke with the perceptiveness and deep spiritual penetration which characterize his work. He restores the veracity of the Infancy Gospels to us with new life and brilliance.

* What is the standard view of history is completely wrong? * What if science and writing developed from an advanced prehistoric civilisation in the British Isles? * What is written evidence in the Dead Sea Scrolls records megalithic history and provides the plans for a machine that could rebuild civilisation following a global catastrophe? * And what if Jesus and his brother James were practitioners of megalithic astronomy? In URIEL'S MACHINE Knight & Lomas offer powerful new evidence that our planet was hit by seven mountain-sized lumps of comet, creating a series of giant waves that ripped across the globe. Putting together the latest findings of leading geologists with their own sensational new archaeological discoveries, they show how a civilisation emerged and was able to build an international network of sophisticated astronomical observatories which provided accurate calendars, could measure the diameter of the planet and accurately predict comet impact years in advance.

The revelation that this is the true purpose of the great megalithic sites in Western Europe, built long before the Egyptian pyramids.