Murphy Catherine M. The Historical Jesus for Dummies

2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - USA, 338 p.Jesus of Nazareth is one of the most famous men in human history. People have followed him, died for him, prayed to him, and even wondered what kind of car he would drive. But for all the faith that he’s inspired, people still have a lot of questions about who he really was.Those questions began during Jesus’s own life. Heck, even Jesus wondered, Who do people say that I am? (Mark 8:27). Four gospels and two millennia later, people definitely have different views of
what Jesus was like; what he thought, did, and taught; and why he died. You start to wonder whether it’s possible to sort through all the competing beliefs and all the perspectives of modern faith and past eras to recover the Jewish man who lived a short 30-plus years in a poor provincial backwater of the Roman Empire.People are interested in Jesus for a lot of different reasons, and you’re no different. You may be reading this book because you’re a firm Christian believer looking to find out what biblical historians are saying. You may have picked it up because you’re a history buff and want to know more about the state of the evidence. Maybe you’ve seen a movie or read a book that has sparked your curiosity about Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Or maybe you’ve just stood one too many times in the religion aisle at the bookstore, feeling amazed by the number of books and wondering where in the world to begin.Whatever your reasons for wanting to know more about Jesus, The Historical Jesus For Dummies was written for you. It’s designed for people who have never read a book about Jesus in their life, but it should also be interesting for those who have.Piecing Together the Jesus Story
Meeting the Manfrom Nazareth
Comparing the Gospels: A Biblical Biography of Jesus
Pursuing the Historical Jesus in the Gospels
Sharing in the Quests: Appreciating Modern Scholars’ Efforts
Checking the Sources for Evidence of Jesus
Reconstructing the World of Jesus
Introducing the Great and Powerful Rome
Taking a Snapshot of Jewish Society in Jesus’s Time
Feeling Rome’s Influence
Exploring the Life of Jesus the Jew
Examining Jesus’s Family and Early Life
Starting a New Movement
Teaching Wisdom and Telling Tales
Working Miracles and Confounding Crowds
Witnessing Jesus’s Execution and Resurrection
Scouting the Competition: Jesus’s Opponents
Examining Jesus’s Crucifixion
The Resurrection: From the Messiah to the Son of God
Experiencing Christ in Culture
A Western Savior Goes Global
From Graffiti to the Guggenheim: Jesus in Art
The Reel Jesus
The Part of Tens
Top Ten Historical Controversies about Jesus
Top Ten Pilgrimage Sites Associated with Jesus...