Jesus of Nazareth

One of the first bearded images of Jesus Christ, from the late fourth century C.E., a mural from the catacomb of Commodilla

Jesus, or Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ, is Christianity's central figure, both as Messiah and, for most Christians, as God incarnate. Muslims regard him as a major prophet and some regard him as the Messiah. Many Hindus also recognize him as a manifestation of the divine (as do Bahá'í believers), while some Buddhists identify him as a Bodhisattva. For Christians, Jesus' example, teaching, death and resurrection are not only inspirational of a life of service to others, of love-in-action but represent God's revelation to humanity, making communion with God possible.

As might be expected with a man of this stature, partial understandings, and total misunderstandings of his life and mission abound. Jesus has been described as a peacemaker, as a militant zealot, as a feminist, as a magician, as a homosexual, as a married man with a family and a political agenda, as a capitalist, as a social activist and as uninterested in social issues, as offering spiritual salvation in another realm of existence and as offering justice and peace in this world. Many ascriptions arise from sheer speculation and the pursuit of thinly veiled social and political agendas of the writers and researchers.

Did he intend to establish a new religion, or was he a faithful Jew? Departing entirely from the Biblical record, some speculate that he visited India and was influenced by Buddhism, or even to have been a Buddhist. Traditional belief, on the other hand, is that Jesus never left Palestine, except for a few childhood years in Egypt. He has even been described as a gentile, not a Jew. It is probably possible to piece together virtually any notion about Jesus—with or without supporting evidence—ranging from fantastic voyages based on stretched interpretations to beliefs with no corroborating support whatsoever.

He may have been subject to more attention and discussion than any other figure in history, which remains true even if he never did exist. Most accounts represent him as a good person even if misunderstood and misinterpreted. Learning of the real Jesus from amidst the cacophony of interpretations and agenda-laden burdens foisted on him is a major critical task. That it is so challenging to uncover the real Jesus might be a blessing in disguise, forcing the serious minded to seek in humility and sincere prayer and surrender. This approach may actually result in our discovering fresh truths about God's intent for the world of God's creation, from a providential perspective.

For millions of people, Jesus represents the model of self-giving, sacrificial, perfect love of others. He invites people to value the spiritual dimension of life, to accept that God has a purpose for human lives, to serve and worship the Creator.

Sources for Jesus Life

The primary sources about Jesus are the four canonical Gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark and Luke and John. The first three are known as the synoptic gospels because they follow the same basic narrative. If Mark was the earliest (as many scholars contend), Matthew and Luke probably had access to Mark, although a minority of scholars consider that Matthew was the earlier. Each writer added some additional material derived from their own sources, or memory, known as special Luke and special Matthew. John (known as the fourth gospel) has a different order. The Gospel of John features no account of Jesus' baptism and temptation, and three visits to Jerusalem rather than one. Considered less historically reliable than the synoptic gospels with its longer, more theological speeches, John's treatment of the last days of Jesus is, however, widely thought to be the more probable account.

Luke, by tradition, also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Jesus spoke Aramaic and perhaps some Hebrew. The gospels are written in common Greek. Dating of these texts is much debated but ranges from 70 C.E. for Mark to 110 C.E. for John. In addition to the four gospels, a dozen or so non-canonical texts also exist, among which the Gospel of Thomas is believed by some textual critics to predate the gospels of the traditional canon or to be at least as reliable as they are in reporting what Jesus said. The Gospel of Thomas does not contain narrative accounts of what Jesus did, so adds no biographical detail. It does not have a birth or death narrative. Many scholars believe that Matthew, Mark and Luke may have used an earlier text, called ‘Q’ (Quelle) while John may have used a 'signs gospel.' These were not chronological narratives but contained Jesus sayings and signs (miracles) respectively, more in the style of Thomas.

Also considered important by some scholars are several apocryphal writings such as the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Gospel of Mary, the Infancy Gospels, the Gospel of Peter, the Unknown Berlin Gospel, the Naassene Fragment, the Secret Gospel of Mark, the Egerton Gospel, the Oxyrhynchus Gospels, the Fayyum Fragment and some others compiled in The Complete Gospels (see Miller 1994). The status of the Secret Gospel of Mark, championed by Smith (1982) has been challenged by Carlson (2005). Columbia University professor Morton Smith (1915-1991) used the contested Secret Gospel of Mark as well as other sources to construct his picture of Jesus as a magician. In 2005 the Gospel of Judas was published ^[1], again giving rise to controversy about its authenticity (the debate is not whether Judas wrote it but whether it is an early or late example of Christian reflection on Jesus). However, it adds no historical or biographical data.

The term “canonical” is a Christian term for those gospels that were recognized as genuine, and as a term is rejected by some scholars who see no reason to privilege certain texts over others. For example, Elaine Pagels says that this language merely perpetuates "an old stereotype in which all the good…stuff is in the New Testament, all the bad other stuff out there is Gnostic" (1999, 40). Thomas and 51 other texts were discovered at Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945, but controversy over ownership delayed their translation until 1970, resulting in conspiracy theories about the Vatican trying to prevent publication because they challenged the foundations of Christianity [1]. Much popular and some scholarly literature also uses the Qumran Community's Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in a cave by the Dead Sea in 1946 or 1947 to interpret the life of Jesus.^[2] These documents shed light on what some Jews believed at roughly Jesus' time, and suggest that Jesus shared some ideas in common with the Qumran community and with the Essenes, but many agree with the Jesus Seminar's conclusion that the Scrolls 'do not help us directly with the Greek text of the gospels, since they were created prior to the appearance of Jesus' ^[3]. Finally, some point to Indian sources, such as the Bahavishyat Maha Purana^[4] for an alternative account. This is said to date from 115 C.E. There is no reliable extra-Biblical material, thus all the texts available for reconstructing Jesus’ life are written by his own followers (insiders). There are no non-insider references. Josephus's (d. 100 C.E.) much-debated Testimonium Flavinium^[5]is late, if authentic, as is the brief mention of Christ in Tacitus's Annals (d. 117 C.E.).

The earliest New Testament texts which refer to Jesus are Saint Paul's letters, usually dated from the mid-first century. Paul only saw Jesus in visions. He believed these visions were divine and authoritative. Many modern scholars hold that the gospels were initially communicated by oral tradition, then written down several decades after the Crucifixion. Some believe that these texts may not have retained the same level of historical accuracy accounts written earlier would have. Some scholars argue for a high degree of historical reliability, and some also for early dates of the entire New Testament.

Historicity

The canonical gospels focus on Jesus' last one to three years, especially the last week before his crucifixion, which, based upon mention of Pilate, would have been anywhere from the years 26 to 36 in the current era. The earlier dating agrees with Tertullian (d. 230) who, in Adversus Marcionem XV, expresses a Roman tradition that placed the crucifixion in the twelfth year of Tiberius Caesar. A faulty sixth century attempt to calculate the year of his birth (which according to recent estimates could have been from 8 B.C.E. to 4 B.C.E. became the basis for the Anno Domini system of reckoning years (and also the chronologically-equivalent Common Era system). Critics point out that the gospels are not biographical but theological texts, and that they contain very little information that can pass the tests of historical scholarship. Some question whether very much can be said for certain about Jesus, or whether he really existed at all. This, though, is not an issue for Christians who believe in Jesus, many of whom claim to enjoy a personal, spiritual relationship with Jesus. Among advocates of the Jesus-never-existed view are Joseph Wheless (1868-1950) (see 1930) and George Albert Wells (see 1975). Other dismiss the idea that Jesus never existed as beyond serious debate, for example the distinguished British Bible scholar, F. F. Bruce (1910-1990), has said: "Some writers may toy with the fancy of a 'Christ-myth,' but they do not do so on the ground of historical evidence. The historicity of Christ is as axiomatic for an unbiased historian as the historicity of Julius Caesar." (1982: 100^[6]) Doherty (2005) takes the opposite view.

E. P. Sanders considers the quest for the "historical Jesus" to be much closer to that of Alexander the Great than to Thomas Jefferson or Winston Churchill because we know little about what Alexander thought, while we have access to the thought as well as to the deeds of the latter. Nevertheless, he concludes, "the sources for Jesus are better, however, than those that deal with Alexander" and "the superiority of evidence for Jesus is seen when we ask what he thought" (1993: 3).

The Traditional Account

Birth and Infancy

The traditional account of Jesus' life is that he was born at the beginning of the millennium, when Herod the Great was king. His birth took place in Bethlehem during a census and was marked by special signs and visitations. His mother, Mary, became pregnant without any sexual contact with her husband, Joseph (Matthew 1:20; 25). Jesus' birth had been announced to her by an angel. News that a king of the Jews had been born who was of the lineage of David reached Herod, who ordered the execution of all newborn male babies. Some recognized Jesus as the one who had been promised, who would bring salvation to the world (Luke 2:25-42). Matthew often cites Hebrew Bible passages, saying that they have been fulfilled in Jesus. Angelic warning enabled Joseph, Mary, and Jesus to flee to Egypt, where they remained for an unspecified period. They later returned to Nazareth in Galilee, their hometown (Matthew 2:23). At age 12, Jesus visited the Temple of Jerusalem (Luke 2: 39-52), where he confounded the teachers with his wisdom. He spoke of “doing his Father's business.” His cousin, John (whose birth had also been angelically announced) started to preach, calling for people to prepare themselves for the coming of he who would judge and restore Israel (Luke 3:7-9). He baptized many, as a sign that they were ready for the “Lord.”

There is a great deal of discussion about the dating of Jesus’ life. The choosing of December 25 as his birthday was almost certainly because it corresponded with the existing winter solstice, and with various divine birthday festivals. The Eastern Church observes Christmas on January 6. Clement of Alexandria (d. 215) suggested May 20.

As for Jesus' death, the exact date is also unclear. The Gospel of John depicts the crucifixion just before the Passover festival on Friday, 14 Nisan, called the Quartodeciman, whereas the synoptic gospels describe the Last Supper, immediately before Jesus' arrest, as the Passover meal on Friday, 15 Nisan. Further, the Jews followed a lunisolar calendar with phases of the moon as dates, complicating calculations of any exact date in a solar calendar.

According to John P. Meier's A Marginal Jew, allowing for the time of the procurator ship of Pontius Pilate and the dates of the Passover in those years, his death can be placed most probably on April 7, 30 or April 3, 33 or March 30, 36. Some people think that popular identification of Jesus with the sun-god may actually have been encouraged to make the new deity more acceptable.

Hyam Maccoby and other scholars have pointed out that several details of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem—the waving of palm fronds, the Hosanna cry, the proclamation of a king—are connected with the Festival of Sukkot or Tabernacles, not with Passover. It is possible that the entry (and subsequent events, including the crucifixion and resurrection) in historical reality took place at this time—the month of Tishri in autumn, not Nisan in spring. There could have been confusion due to a misunderstanding, or a deliberate change due to doctrinal points.

Public Career

The Baptism of Christ by Piero della Francesca, 1449

At about 30 years of age, Jesus accepted baptism from John, but as one who was “greater than” John. A heavenly voice proclaimed that Jesus was God's “beloved son” (Mark 1:1-9). Jesus then spent forty days praying in a wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan to use his gifts to serve himself, not others, and to gain worldly power. He resisted. Instead, he started to preach.

Entering the synagogue in Nazareth, he read from Isaiah 61:17-25 that the Lord's spirit was on him, so he would release captives, restore sight to the blind and preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19). He said that God's kingdom was at hand, so people should repent of their sins. People could enjoy a sense of at-one-ness with God. People should love one another and forgive even their enemies (Matt. 5:38-48). They should sell what they had and give to the poor (Luke 12:33). When they gave feasts, they should invite the poor and the sick and the blind, not the great and the good (Luke 14:13).

Many regard the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:1-12) as a summary of Jesus' teaching: “blessed are the peacemakers,” he said, “blessed are you when people ridicule and revile you.” He chose 12 men to be his disciples, who appear to have spent most of the time in his company. Women also belonged to a larger inner circle, spending much time with him (John 11:1-4). Jesus “loved Martha and her sister, Mary” and their brother Lazarus. He brought Lazarus back to life. The gospels accounts make no mention of Jesus having any sexual relations, or of marriage. Most Christians believe that Jesus was celibate.

Jesus characteristically spoke in parables—earthly stories using metaphors drawn from daily life—often from agriculture and fishery with an inner spiritual meaning. He also used paradox. Most of all, he spoke about life in the Kingdom of God. He called God Abba (“Father”) and spoke of enjoying an intimate relationship with him (see John 13:10) and of sending a spirit or a comforter who, when he would no longer be with his followers, would continue to guide them (John 14:16).

Jesus himself lived simply, accepting hospitality when it was offered. He was critical of wealth accumulation and of luxurious living, of storing up treasure on earth (Matt. 6:19-24). He enjoyed eating meals with the despised and rejected, challenging social and religious conventions, for which he was criticized (Mark 2:16; Matt. 9:11). The humble, he said, would be exalted and the proud brought low (Luke 18:14). Most commonly, he appears to have referred to himself as the “Son of Man,” for example, saying, “foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matt. 8:19).

Several passages refer to the Son of Man coming “on a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27); others to signs of the End of Days when the Son of Man will come, although “of that day and hour no man knows” (Matt. 25:36). His end vision includes judgment between the nations (Matt. 25:32)—those who fed the hungry, visited the sick, and clothed the naked will be rewarded; those who did not will be punished.

According to the gospels, Jesus healed and fed people. He exorcised demons. Once he walked on water. He also calmed a storm. He was especially sympathetic towards lepers. He often spoke about the availability of “new life.” He invited people to be reborn spiritually, to become childlike again (Mark 10:15; John 3:3). Sometimes, he forgave sins (Mark 2:9). Once, he went to pray on a mountain top with three disciples, where Moses and Elijah appeared alongside him. This is known as transfiguration, because Jesus appeared to “glow with a supernatural glory” (Bennett 2001, 86).

It was followed by Peter, who functioned as Jesus' chief disciples, confessing that he believed Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God (Matt. 17:16). The Messiah was the god-sent servant or leader whom many Jews expected would deliver them from Roman rule and reestablish the Davidic kingdom, restoring peace and justice. Jesus, though, told Peter not to tell anyone about this, which was later dubbed the “Messianic secret.”

From this point, in the synoptic gospels, Jesus starts to travel towards Jerusalem and also speaks of the necessity of his own death; of being rejected like the prophets, even of the chief priests delivering him up to die (Mark 10:33-34). Jerusalem, he said, would be surrounded by enemies and destroyed (Luke 21:6-8; Mark 13:2) which sounded threatening. He is depicted as at odds with the religious leaders, who started to plot against him. They also tried to trick him in debate (Mark 8:11; 10:2; 11:18; 12:3). They accused him of making himself God (John 10:33). Perhaps with the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 in mind, Jesus said that before the “restoration,” he would have to suffer and be humiliated (Mark 9:12).

As he drew closer to Jerusalem, his popularity with the common people increased—but so did opposition from the religious leaders. Jesus' charismatic preaching—his teaching that people could have direct access to God—bypassed the Temple and the trained, official religious leaders. They challenged Jesus, asking on what or whose authority he did and said what he did (Matt. 21:23). Jesus had no Rabbinical training (John 7:14). He accused the religious leaders of loving the praise of people instead of God (John 12:43) and of rank hypocrisy, of being blind guides fonder of gold than of piety (Matt. 23), especially targeting the Pharisees.

Jesus’ Death

After approximately three years of teaching, at the age of 33, Jesus entered Jerusalem. He did so dramatically, riding on a donkey (Matt 21:9) while the crowd that gathered shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” which, according to Bennett (2001), “looks very much like a public disclosure of Jesus’ identity as the Davidic Messiah [and] gives the impression that he was about to claim kingly authority” (87).

Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 disciples, agreed to betray Jesus to the authorities, whom Jesus continued to annoy by storming into the Temple and up-turning the money changers' tables (Matt 21:12; John has this incident earlier in Jesus' career, John 3:15).

Apparently aware that he was about to die, Jesus gathered his disciples together for what he said would be his last meal with them before he had entered his father's kingdom (Matt. 26:29). Following the format of a Shabbat meal, with a blessing over bread and wine, Jesus introduced new words, saying that the bread and wine were his “body” and “blood,” and that the disciples should eat and drink in remembrance of him. The cup, he said, was the “cup of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:26-28).

Traditionally, this took place close to the Jewish Passover. Reference here to a new covenant evoked memories of Jeremiah 31:31: “behold I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, I will put my law in their hearts and will be their God.” Jesus had spoken about a new relationship with God, and John's gospel, in its theological prologue, speaks of the law as being “given by Moses,” but of Jesus' bringing “grace and truth” (John 1:17). Salvation is not achieved by obeying the law but by faith in Jesus: “whosoever believes on him shall not perish” (3:16).

Following this event, Jesus retreated to a garden outside Jerusalem's walls to pray, asking that if God wills, the bitter cup of his impending death might be taken from him. While praying, Judas appeared accompanied by soldiers, and as Jesus descended, Judas identified Jesus for the soldiers and they arrested him.

His trial followed. Jesus was tried before the high priest, accused of blasphemy. Jesus was also tried before Herod, because his jurisdiction included Galilee and before the Roman governor, Pilate, who alone had the authority to pronounce a death sentence. Pilate hesitated. Jesus was causing public disturbance, but Pilate's wife intervened, calling Jesus a “righteous man.” The charge before Pilate was treason—that Jesus claimed to be king of the Jews. The public or key figures in the local leadership were now demanding his death. Pilate, remembering a custom that allowed him to release one prisoner at Passover, offered those gathered the choice for the release of Jesus or a prisoner called Barabbas. They chose Barabbas.

Jesus Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man"), Antonio Ciseri's depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus of Nazareth to the people of Jerusalem

Pilate poured water over his hand, saying that he was innocent of Jesus' blood. However, he allowed him to be crucified. Jesus, who had already been whipped mercilessly, was now forced to carry his own cross to the place of execution outside the city. When he stumbled, Simon the Cyrene, a passerby, was conscripted to help him. Two other criminals were crucified on either side of Jesus on the same hillock. Of his supporters, only his mother and one other disciple appear to have witnessed the crucifixion (John 19:26).

Peter, as Jesus had predicted, denied even knowing Jesus. Jesus' side was pierced while he hung on the cross, and he was given vinegar to drink when he complained of thirst. Jesus spoke words of forgiveness from the cross, praying for the soldiers who were mocking him, tormenting him, and taking even his clothes, and then declared, “it is finished” just before he expired. His body was taken down and placed in a guarded tomb, against the possibility that his disciples might steal it so that words he had spoken about rising after three days would apparently come true (see Mark 10:31).

The next morning (Sunday), a group of women went to embalm Jesus' body but instead saw that the stone had been rolled away and that the tomb, apart from Jesus' grave clothes, was empty. An angelic messenger told Mary Magdalene that Jesus had risen, and had gone on ahead to Galilee. She then encountered Jesus in the garden, at first mistaking him for a gardener (John 20:15). Mary told Peter. A series of encounters between Jesus and his disciples follow, which include scenes in which he eats with them and they physically touch him. Finally, Jesus said farewell—telling them to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes upon them, commanding them to tell all people what he had taught and to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Then he ascended into heaven.

Fifty days later, at Pentecost, while the disciples waited in an upper room, the Spirit descends onto them:

And suddenly there was a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)

Peter's speech to the multitude, which followed, establishes the kerygma (proclamation, or basic message) of what the primitive church believed about Jesus; he had been approved of God by miracles and signs, he had been crucified by wicked men but had risen. David had spoken of Jesus but he was dead and buried while Jesus is alive and seated at God's right hand, as both Lord and Messiah. Those who believe in his name, and accept baptism, will be cleansed of all sins and 'receive the Holy Spirit'. Christians also believe that Jesus will return to earth before the Day of Judgment.

Christology - Christian beliefs about Jesus

The Nicene Creed (325 C.E.) affirms that Jesus is the eternally begotten Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. The Trinity consists of God the Father, who is un-created and eternal; of God the Son, who is eternally begotten of the Father; and of God the Spirit, who proceeds eternally from the Father (and some add from the Son, the filoque clause inserted at the Council of Toledo in 589).

The Son became human in Jesus. He was also, therefore, wholly human. His human and divine natures were united yet without confusion. His mother, Mary, was a virgin. Jesus was wholly God but not the whole of God. He was of the same substance as the Father. He entered the world for human salvation. He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, died, rose again, descended into hell, and ascended into heaven. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. All will be raised up in order to be judged.

These dogmas were not universally accepted. Some groups, including authors of the various Gnostic texts, claimed that Jesus was a spiritual not a physical being. Some (including the Copts of Egypt) taught that Jesus had only one nature, which was divine. The docetics said that Jesus only appeared to be human, and therefore did not suffer on the cross. For the Gnostics, it is special knowledge that saves, and the God of creation was a demi-urge, not the true God. Some, followers of Marcion (d. 160) divorced Jesus from his Jewish background, contending that Jesus' God and the God of the Jews were different. Others, including Arius (d. 336) taught that he was not co-eternal with God, but had been created in time. Others taught that Jesus was an ordinary man, whom God adopted (perhaps at his baptism) as his Son. Some, the Ebionate or the James-led Jerusalem Christians, saw Jesus as a good Jew who never intended to establish a separate religion. Their Jesus pointed towards God but did not claim to be God.

Discussion and debate on all these doctrinal issues continues within Christian theology. Many point out that the language the church chose to describe the “persons” of the Trinity, or Jesus as “God's son” used terms that were common at the time but which were not meant to be exact, scientific definitions. Rather, they expressed Christian conviction that God had acted and spoken through Jesus, who enjoyed an intimate relationship with God, and whose life and death connected them to God in a way that renewed their lives, overcame sin and set them on a new path of love, service and of spiritual health. Christians today might choose different language. The nineteenth century German theologian, Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834), dubbed the father of Modern theology, for example, rejected a pre-existent Christ but argued that Jesus can be distinguished from all other men and women because he achieved a complete state of dependence on God, of God-consciousness. Unitarians believe that Jesus was a good man, but not God. Many Muslim writers believe that Christianity was originally Unitarian, and it has been suggested that Unitarians might help to bridge the differences between Christianity and Islam (Bennett 2001, 283-285). Bawany (1977) argued thus:

[Unitarianism can] act as a bridge between the Islamic and the Christian world, leading to a better understanding between the two so they can put up a united front to counteract the forces of anti-God movement that are out to destroy all the religions of the world. (193)

Christians rarely refer to Jesus as “Son of Man,” but usually as “Son of God.” In translation, Messiah as “Christ” serves more or less as a part of Jesus' name, since the word “Christ” carries little real meaning for most Christians.

The Jesus of History

Until the late eighteenth century, few Christians doubted that the Jesus in whom they believed and the Jesus of history were identical. In 1778, a book by Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694-1768) was posthumously published which ended this comfortable assumption. This launched what became known as the “Quest of the Historical Jesus.” Reimarus argued that the gospels contain a great deal of fabricated material that expressed the beliefs of the church, not historical fact. He sliced huge portions of text from the gospels, suggesting that angelic visits, miracles, Jesus resurrection and ascension, were all fabrications. Many incidents were borrowed from the Hebrew Bible, such as the slaughter of the innocents by Herod, to stress that Jesus had a lot in common with Moses. His forty-day temptation was to emulate Moses' various period of forty years. His feeding of crowds was to emulate Elijah.

Reimaris argued that Jesus had aimed to construct a physical kingdom, not to launch a spiritual enterprise concerned with salvation in the next life. Jesus thought that God would intervene to establish the kingdom, and was surprised when he did not and he died on the cross. The idea of the resurrection, and of a message of spiritual salvation, was invented afterward by the disciples. They had no desire to simply return to Galilee but wanted a message and a mission so that they could continue to live the life to which they had become accustomed. Reimarus points out, as do numerous others, that the disciples did not witness the main events of Jesus’ trial and execution, or the resurrection. Many scholars also think that explanations of Jesus' parables were back-projected.

The Issues and Debates

Reimarus opened up for debate many issues that remain the bread and butter of Jesus' studies and also of theological discussion. Did Jesus have any self-awareness of his divinity, or divine son-ship indeed did he consider himself anything other than an ordinary man? The exact charge made against Jesus at his trial, and the real reason for his execution, are widely debated. Was Jesus the Messiah?

Reimarus assumed that Jesus thought himself the Messiah but suggests that he failed in his mission, because he did not establish an earthly kingdom. He argued that the idea of a spiritual kingdom and of Jesus' message primarily about spiritual salvation was a posthumous invention. There is still much debate about whether Jesus did preach a spiritual, or a worldly message. Was he concerned about peace, justice, equality and freedom in this world, or about salvation from sin for a life in paradise after death?

Miller (2001) surveys this debate, asking whether Jesus was or was not an apocalyptic preacher. That is, did he think that the end was near? Scholarly consensus generally accepts that Jesus was probably born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem, that he did not perform miracles (although he may have had some knowledge of healing), and that the resurrection was not a physical event but expresses the disciples’ conviction that Jesus was still with them even though he had died.

The seminar starkly declares that Jesus' body “decayed as do other corpses” (1993: 462). Crossan (1996) thinks it may have been dug up by dogs (152). Various techniques are used to authenticate Jesus' words, such as characteristic style of speech, what fits the context of a Jesus who was really a good Jew and who did not regard himself as divine and what reflects later Christian theology. In its work, the members of the Jesus Seminar voted on whether they thought a verse was authentic or not. John's gospel attracted no positive votes. Many Christians regard Jesus as a pacifist, but the work of Horsley, among others, questions this, suggesting that Jesus did not reject violence. Three issues that attract a great deal of scholarly and popular interest are Jesus' eschatology, whether he was the Messiah, and whether he was divine.

An image in one of the oldest parts of the Vatican portraying Jesus as the mythical Sol Invictus

Eschatology

Reimarus placed eschatology at the center of discussion. The great liberal scholars represented Jesus as a teacher of eternal truths, as a source of moral and ethical guidance. This stresses imitating Jesus, helping others, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked (Luke 6:46) more than believing in Jesus. Classically, this was associated with Albrecht Ritschl (1822-89), whose own son in law, Jonannes Weiss (1863-1914) proposed the anti-thesis, that Jesus has been an apocalyptic preacher with no interest in eternal truths or ethical conduct because he thought the world as we know it would soon end.

Albert Schweitzer developed this thesis in his classic Quest of the Historical Jesus (English translation, 1910). He said that the liberals merely dressed Jesus in their own clothes. The real Jesus, he said, remains alien and exotic, so much a product of his eschatological worldview, which we do not share, that he escapes us, constantly retreating back into his own time. Jesus believed that his death on the cross, based on his understanding of himself as suffering Messiah, would usher in the kingdom. This did not happen. In a sense, then, Jesus failed yet from his example people can gain inspiration towards a life of self-sacrifice and love of others. We can, said Schweitzer, still respond to Jesus call to follow him. Although we can know little for certain about Jesus, a spirit flows from him to us calling us to existential sacrifice and service.

However, the work of Borg, Crossan and of the Jesus Seminar in the twentieth century resurrected the idea that Jesus taught as sapiential, or here-and-now kingdom (see John 17:20-21). Sanders is an example of a scholar who depicts Jesus as an apocalyptic preacher. We know from the Dead Sea Scrolls, however, that many Jews did expect a Messiah or even several Messiahs, who would liberate them from Rome. Certainly, the Qumran community did.

Jesus as Messiah and His Relationship with Judaism

Neither Borg nor Crossan think that Jesus saw himself as Messiah, or as Son of God, regarding these titles as later Christian additions. Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976), who continued the process of stripping 'mythology' from the gospels, was of the same opinion. According to such thinkers, miracles, Jesus' foreknowledge of his own fate, his self-consciousness as divine, the resurrection and ascension, were all pious additions. Much of what Jesus said was back-projected onto his lips to support Christian theology. He did not think he was the Messiah, although others did. It was this that caused his death.

Increasingly, there has been a tendency in Biblical scholarship to see Jesus as a loyal but reformist Jew, who made no Messianic claims but instead was a teacher and prophet. Several writers stress similarity between Jesus and the Pharisees, suggesting that Jesus criticism of them in Matthew 25 makes more sense if directed at the Saducees.

The Pharisees, like Jesus, were interested in inner piety; the Saducees, who controlled the Temple, were interested in ritual observance. Jesus, these writers point out, had a lot in common with Hillel and Honi the Circle Drawer. Northern prophets, too, were habitually less pro-Temple than Southern prophets, and Jesus was from Nazareth. The Pharisees focused on the study of the law. The Sadducees' base was the Temple. Our information about these Jewish schools is largely derived from the work of Josephus. Josephus also tells us about the Essenes, of which Qumran may have been a branch.

Map of First Century Palestine: the Land of Jesus

Much discussion focuses on whether Isiaih 53 was a Messianic passage, that is, did any Jews think that the Messiah might suffer, or would he be a lead a victorious revolt? (see Vermes 1973, 171).

The Qumran community was established as a righteous alternative to the Jerusalem Temple, whose priests were too influenced by Greek culture. The community practiced celibacy, was divided into twelve tribes under princes, engaged in Bible study, used scripture to explain contemporary and future events, wore white robes, practiced ritual purity and a strict observance of the law.

Some writers, such as Thiering (1992) interpret Jesus wholly in the context of Qumran. Others point to some similarities—Jesus appointed twelve disciples, was celibate and may have had shared some of their apocalyptic ideas. Others point out that Jesus saw the law as serving women and men, not vice-versa—and that he broke purity rules by associating with the poor and outcast. Crossan regards Jesus' open commensuality (table fellowship) as the most important aspect of his career; he affirmed the equal value of all, challenging barriers and divisions.

Those who stress common ground between Jesus and the Pharisees suggest that passages referring to Jews as plotting to kill him or as trying to trick him—and Jesus' criticism of them—were back-projected by Christians to reflect their own estrangement from and hostility towards Judaism. Also, this deflected blame away from the Roman authorities, whom Christians wanted to appease. The scene where Pilate washed his hands would also be back projection. Some posit that the gospels reflect a struggle between Jewish Christians, such as Peter and James, and the Paul-led Gentile Church. The Pauline victory saw an anti-Jewish and pro-Roman bias written into the gospel record (see Goulder 1995). It was also Paul who imported pagan ideas of sacrificial death for sin and dying and rising saviors into Christian thought. Some depict Jesus as a Rabbi (see Chiltern 2000). Some suggest that Jesus, if he was a Rabbi, probably married (Funk 1993, 221; Phipps 1996, 174).

Jesus' Divinity

Scholars such as Howard Marshall, Bruce Metzger and Thomas Wright defend the traditional view of Jesus as God's son, as well as that he was self-conscious of his Messiahship. The Jesus Seminar members are typical of those who think that all such notions were borrowed from paganism. They describe the Jesus of the creeds as a “mythical or heavenly figure, whose connection with the sage from Nazareth is limited to his suffering and death under Pontius Pilate” (1993, 7). Jesus' earthly or historical life, they point out, hardly features in Paul's scheme.

Many humanist writers also suggest that Christianity is a hodge-podge derived from pagan parallels (see Robertson 1900; 1911; Wheless 1930). Often, the similarity of the Jesus' story with that of other heroes or deities, including Krishna, Mithra, Horus and the Buddha, is used to suggest that all the material needed to compose the gospels was already available in the hero-myth format, explored by Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) and others.

Jesus in other faiths

Islam

Mainstream Muslims believe that:

Jesus (Isa in the Qur'an) was one of God's highest ranked and most beloved prophets, ranked among the righteous. He was sent specifically to guide the Children of Israel (see Q6:85).
Jesus was neither God nor the son of God, but rather a human prophet, one of many prophets sent over history to guide mankind. Jesus' message to mankind was originally the same as all of the other prophets, from Adam to Muhammad, but has been distorted by those who claim to be its adherents (Q4:171). Christians exaggerate Jesus' importance, committing excess in their religion. He is not nor did he claim to be one of Three (4:171). Q5:117 appears to describe a Trinity of Father, mother and Son. Jesus taught his followers to “worship Allah, my Lord.”
Jesus was born miraculously without a human biological father by the will of God (Q19:20-21). His mother, Mary (Maryam in Arabic), is among the most saintly, pious, chaste, and virtuous women ever (Q19 is called Maryam).
Jesus was able to perform miracles, but only by the will or 'permission' of God. Besides his miraculous birth, Jesus’ first miracle was when, although only a few days old, he spoke and defended his mother against accusations of adultery. The Qur'an mentions, among other miracles, that he raised the dead, restored sight to the blind and cured lepers. He also made clay bird fly—a story also found in the Arabic Infancy Gospel [2] (see Q3:49 and Q5:109-110).
Jesus is compared with Adam, whom God “created from dust” (Q3:59).
Jesus renounced all worldly possessions and lived a life of strict nonviolence, abstaining from eating animal flesh and from drinking alcohol. The simplicity of Jesus’ lifestyle, his kindness to animals and his other-worldliness are stressed in Sufi writings (see Bennett 2001, 279-280). Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273), founder of the Mevelvi order, equated Jesus with divine love, whose selfless, other-centered nature poured out in “healing love” of others.
Jesus received a gospel from God, called (in Arabic) the Injeel, and corresponding to the New Testament (Q3:3). However, Muslims hold that the New Testament we have today has been changed and does not accurately represent the original. Some Muslims accept the Gospel of Barnabas as the most accurate testament of Jesus. Muslims attribute this to Barnabas, who parted company from Saint Paul in Acts 16:39. Almost all non-Muslim scholars regard this text as a medieval production, and thus not an authentic text.
Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, but God made it appear so to his enemies (Q4:157). Some Muslim scholars (notably Ahmad Deedat) maintain that Jesus was indeed put up on the cross, but did not die on it. He was revived and then ascended bodily to heaven, while others say that it was actually Judas who was mistakenly crucified by the Romans. However, Q19:34 has Jesus say, “peace is on me the die I was born, the day I shall die and the day I shall be raised up,” which gives the Christian order of events. Thus, the Qur'an does say that Jesus will die but most Muslims regard this as a future event, after his return. Q3:55 says that God will “raise” Jesus to Himself.
Jesus is called Al-Masih (Messiah) but the meaning of this is vague and carries little significance.
Jesus is alive in heaven and will return to the world in the flesh with Imam Mahdi to defeat the dajjal (the anti-Christ in Islamic belief), once the world has become filled with injustice. Many Muslims think that Jesus will then marry, have children, and die a natural death.
Jesus predicted Muhammad (see Q61:6).
Many Muslims (see Rahim 1992) argue that what passes for Christianity was invented by Saint Paul and that Christianity was originally Unitarian (see below). Christianity is a concoction of pagan and other notions, a “metaphysical fiction, a fantasy” (3, 5). Rahim also thinks that Jesus was essentially an Essene who “took care not to deviate from their teaching” (33).

Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement, claimed in April 1896 Jesus in India that Jesus survived the crucifixion and later traveled to India, where he lived as a prophet and died as Yuz Asaf. Ahmad argued that when Jesus was taken down from the cross, he had lapsed into a state similar to Jonah's state of 'swoon' in the belly of a fish (Matthew 12:40). A medicine known as Marham-e-Issa (Ointment of Jesus) was applied to his wounds and he revived.

Drawing from Biblical, Qur’anic and Buddhist scriptures, Ahmad wrote that Jesus appeared to Mary, his apostles and others with the same (not resurrected) human body, evidenced by his human wounds and his subsequent clandestine rendezvous over about forty days in the Jerusalem surroundings. The book uses historical documents to evidence Jesus' travel to Nasibain (Nisbis), Afghanistan and then to Kashmir, India in search of some of the lost tribes of Israel, who had settled in the east some seven hundred years prior.

Ahmadiyya Muslims also believe that references to the second coming of Jesus in religious scriptures are allegorical and refer to the arrival of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

Hinduism

Some distinguished Hindus have written on Jesus. Most regard him as a manifestation of God but not as the only one. Jesus is one among many. See Vivekananda (1963-1966), who depicted Jesus as a jibanmukti, one who had gained liberation while still alive and love for the service of others. Some point to similarities between Jesus and Krishna (see Bennett 2001, 299-301). Mahatma Gandhi greatly admired Jesus but was disappointed by Christians, who failed to practice what they preach. Dayananda Sarasvati (1824-1883) thought the gospels silly, Jesus ignorant and Christianity a 'hoax' (Bennett 2001, 327-328). Hindu scholars are less interested in the historicity of Jesus.

Judaism

Judaism does not see Jesus as a messiah and also rejects the Muslim belief that Jesus was a prophet. Religious Jews are still awaiting the coming of the Messiah (a notable exception concerns many members of the Chabad Lubavitch, who view their last Rebbe as being the Messiah). As for the historical personality of Jesus, Judaism has fewer objections to quotes attributed to him than they do with subsequent confessions by early Christian adherents, Paul in particular. Some Jewish scholars believe that Jesus is mentioned as Yeshu in the Jewish Talmud, usually in ridicule and as a mesith (enticer of Jews away from the truth), although other scholars dispute this. Joseph Klausner, a prominent Israeli scholar, was vigorous in asserting the Judaism of Jesus. Vermes (1973) thinks that Matthew may have been Greek, otherwise why did he not understand Hebrew parallelism (145).

The primary reasons why Jesus is not accepted as the Jewish Messiah are as follows:

The many Biblical prophecies regarding the Messiah (bringing the Jews back to the Land of Israel and bringing peace on earth, the dead rising, all people knowing God, the Messiah ruling from the throne in Jerusalem, etc.) have not been fulfilled.
According to the New Testament, Jesus' father is God—but according to the Hebrew Bible, the Messiah must descend patrilineally from King David.
According to the New Testament, Jesus was killed. Maimonides rules (Laws of Kings 11:4) concerning one who is killed that “it is certain the he is not the one whom the Torah has promised.”

Unificationism

Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon

The view of Jesus in Unificationism occupies a middle ground between the Jewish and Christian concepts of the Messiah. It shares with Judaism a belief that the Messiah is not God (or a god) but a normal human being with a divine mission. It also affirms, as Judaism does, that Jesus was obstructed from completing fully his Messianic Task. However, with Christianity, Unificationism affirms that Jesus was indeed chosen by God to be the Messiah and that his death on the cross was used by God as a condition for mankind's atonement, and further that Jesus' self-realization created the conditions for him to stand as the male manifestation of God incarnate. Therefore, by believing in Jesus, people can gain spiritual salvation or rebirth. Unificationists also affirm a belief in the Trinity, but not in the traditional sense. Rather, they see Jesus and the Holy Spirit as functioning in the capacity of True Parents, who give rebirth to Christians, albeit rebirth only at the spiritual level.

The central Unification scripture, called the Divine Principle, teaches that Jesus is “the only Son of God, sinless and born in direct lineage” (285). However, contrary to conventional Christian thinking, it teaches that Jesus mission required him to marry as a necessary requisite in the process to restore creation to its original, perfect ideal. Yet, this original plan was obstructed by the failure of providential figures, as well as his disciples to unite with Jesus sufficiently. Thus, the crucifixion occurred before Jesus could marry and establish a family (392). Despite this the perfect heart with which Jesus met his crucifixion, opened the way for his subsequent resurrection, thus allowing him to take up his spiritual mission of creating the Bride of Christ, prepared to meet the returning Lord at the promised hour.

Unificationists teach that at the time of the second advent, time of Jesus return, the mission of the messiah will be carried out, not by one man but a couple—a restored Adam and Eve. The formal title given to the messianic couple in Unificationism is the "True Parents,” who create a lineage of goodness. True Parents pioneer the original purpose of creation and from this position engrafts all humankind to embark on our responsibility to meet our own destiny to become true sons and daughters of God and grow to become true parents ourselves. They believe that the founders of the Unification movement, the Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, have inherited the mission of Messiah from Jesus and the Holy Spirit to continue with the original mission to found the Kingdom of God on Earth and in Heaven. In so doing, Rev. and Mrs. Moon simultaneously fulfill the missions of all the messiah-figures of all the world's religions.

Other perspectives

Saviour Not Made by Hands is the most popular iconography of Christ in the Eastern Orthodoxy. This version was written by Simon Ushakov in 1658.

Atheists, by definition, have no belief in a divinity—and thus not in any divinity of Jesus. Some doubt he lived; some regard him as an important moral teacher, and some as a historical preacher like many others.

The Bahá'í Faith considers Jesus to be a manifestation (prophet) of God, while not being God incarnate.

Some Buddhists believe Jesus may have been a Bodhisattva, one who gives up his own Nirvana to help others reach theirs. The 14th Dalai Lama and the Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh, have both written sympathetically on Jesus. Kersten (1986) thinks that Jesus and the Essenes were Buddhist. Many in the Surat Shabda Yoga tradition regard Jesus as a Sat Guru.

Mandaeanism regards Jesus as a deceiving prophet of the false Jewish god Adunay, and an opponent of the good prophet John the Baptist (whom they nonetheless believe to have baptized him).

The New Age movement has reinterpreted the life and teaching of Jesus in a large variety of ways. He has also been claimed as an Ascended Master by Theosophy and some of its offshoots; related speculations have him studying mysticism in the Himalayas or hermeticism in Egypt in the period between his childhood and his public career.

Scholars Prophet and Kersten both return Jesus to India after his crucifixion.

Thiering (1993) is unusual in depicting Jesus as a manipulative, ambitious man. She places his death in France. This is taken up by a whole genre of blood-line literature, for whom Jesus established a political lineage whose true identity has been protected by secret societies, such as the Knights Templar and Freemasons. The legendary “holy grail” refers not to the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper but to Jesus' blood line (see Baigent and Leigh). Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code, transforms this into fiction. Some line the idea that Jesus married to the suppression of the sacred feminine by a male dominated Roman church, as does Brown's book. Jesus did not teach a spirituality that is best achieved by celibate withdrawal from the world but within the midst of life. Sexuality is not evil or dangerous, the devil's gateway to the soul, but sacred and holy. Spirituality also resonates with nature, which values fertility.

Jesus and Issues of Race and Gender

Much of the above literature also emphasizes the role of Mary Magdalene in the church, drawing on passages in some of the Gnostic gospels. Again, the charge is that her true role was concealed, and her reputation stained by the male-led church (Brown 2003, 274-279). Elizabeth S. Fiorenza stresses that Jesus affirmed the feminine, that Sophia (wisdom) was feminine but largely neglected by the church. Jesus' message was inclusive of women. He honored their leadership, together with that of men.

Rediscovery of Jesus’ Jewish identity makes many traditional Western depictions of him as an honorary European seem racist. Many Black people have been so alienated by that Jesus that they have repudiated Christianity. James Cone (1970) argued that Jesus was actually black, and that to be a true follower of Jesus all people—white as well as black—need to identify with the black experience of oppression and powerlessness. Some white racists have claimed Jesus for themselves. Houston S. Chamberlain (1855-1927) even argued that Jesus was an Aryan (Gentile), and not a Jew. His writing was popular in Nazi Germany.

Relics

Many items exist that are purported to be authentic relics of Jesus. The most famous alleged relics of Jesus are the Shroud of Turin, said to be the burial shroud used to wrap his body; the Sudarium of Oviedo, which is claimed to be the cloth which was used to cover his face; and the Holy Grail, which is said to have been used to collect his blood during his crucifixion and possibly used at the Last Supper. Many modern Christians, however, do not accept any of these as true relics. Indeed, this skepticism has been around for centuries, with Desiderius Erasmus joking that so much wood formed parts of the True Cross, that Jesus must have been crucified on a whole forest.

Artistic portrayals

Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Jesus has been portrayed in countless paintings and sculptures throughout the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and modern times. Often he is portrayed as looking like a male from the region of the artist creating the portrait. According to historians, forensic scientists, and genetics experts, he was most likely a bronze-skinned man—resembling a modern-day man of Middle Eastern descent.

Jesus has been featured in many films and media forms, sometimes seriously, and other times satirically. Many of these portrayals have attracted controversy, either when they were intended to be based on genuine Biblical accounts (such as Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of the Christ and Pier Pasolini's The Gospel According to St. Matthew) or based on alternative interpretations (such as Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ). In this film, Jesus is tempted to step down from the cross, to marry and have children. Later, when he realizes that he had been tempted to do this by Satan, he returns to the cross, and dies.

Other portrayals have attracted less controversy, such as the television ministry’s Jesus of Nazareth by Franco Zeffirelli. Another theme is bringing Jesus' story into the present day (such as in Jesus of Montreal) or imagining his second coming (in The Seventh Sign, for example). In many films Jesus himself is a minor character, used to develop the overall themes or to provide context. For example, in the screen adaptation of Lew Wallace's classic Ben-Hur and The Life of Brian, Jesus only appears in a few scenes.

In music, many songs refer to Jesus and Jesus provides the theme for classical works throughout music history.

Notes

^ Paul Barnett, Is the New Testament Reliable?, p. 1.
^ Catechism entry on grace and justification catechism. Nostra Aetate, Declaration of Vatican II
^ Joint Declaration ELCA Vatican
^ Jewish Encyclopedia on Pentecost
^ E. P. Sanders, in Jesus and Judaism, states: "I am one of a growing number of scholars who doubt that there were any substantial points of opposition between Jesus and the Pharisees ... We find no criticism of the law which would allow us to speak of his opposing or rejecting it" (264-269).

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

↑ See http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/?fs=www9.nationalgeographic.com
↑ See the work of Allegro, Thiering, and Eisenman.
↑ Funk, et al. 1993, 9.
↑ See Kersten 1986, 196.
↑ http://members.aol.com/fljosephus/testimonium.htm
↑ http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/ffbruce/ntdocrli/ntdocc10.htm

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Albright, William F. Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan: An Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths. New York: Doubleday, 1969. ISBN 0931464013
Baigent, Michael Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. Holy Blood, Holy Grail: The Secret History of Jesus. New York: Delacore Press, 1982. Illustrated edition, 2005. ISBN 038534001X
Bawany, E. A. Islam: The First and Final Religion. Karachi, Begum Aisha Bawany Waqf, 1977.
Baigent, Michael and Richard Leigh. The Dead Seas Scrolls Deception. New York: Simon and Schuster. Third edition, 1992. ISBN 0671734547
Barnett, Paul. Is the New Testament Reliable?. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2005. ISBN 0830827684
Bennett, Clinton. In Search of Jesus: Insider and Outsider Images. New York: Continuum, 2001. ISBN 0826449166
Borg, Marcus J. Conflict, Holiness and Politics in the Teaching of Jesus. Harrisburg, P.A.: Trinity. Second edition, 1998. ISBN 156338227X
Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code. New York: Random House, 2003. ISBN 0307277674
Brown, Raymond. “Does the NT call Jesus God?” Theological Studies 26 (1965).
Browne, Sir Thomas. Pseudodoxia Epidemica, 6th edition, 1672, V: vi.
Bruce, F. F. New Testament Documents: Are they reliable? London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1982. ISBN 097784691X
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1970. ISBN 0691017840
Carlson, Stephen C. The Gospel Hoax: Morton Smith's Invention of Secret Mark. Waco, T.X.: Baylor University Press, 2005. ISBN 1932792481
Chamberlain, Houston S. Foundations of the Nineteenth Century. New York: John Lane and Co., 1899.
Chiltern, Bruce. Rabbi Jesus. New York: Doubleday, 2000. ISBN 038549792X
Cone, James. A Black Theology of Liberation. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis. Tewntieth anniversary edition, 1990. ISBN 0883446855
Crossan, John Dominic. Who Killed Jesus?: Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus. San Francisco, C.A.: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996. ISBN 0060614803
Davenport, Guy and Benjamin Urrutia. The Logia of Yeshua: The Sayings of Jesus. Jackson, T.N.: Counterpoint, 1996. ISBN 1887178708
Doherty, Earl. The Jesus Puzzle. Did Christianity Begin with a Mythical Christ?: Challenging the Existence of an Historical Jesus. Age of Reason Publications, 2005. ISBN 0968601405 Website
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In some editions of Jewish Antiquities by the Jewish historian Josephus Book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 3 www.josephus-1.com refer to Jesus. Most scholars believe that these passages were added to Josephus's text by later Christians. The Arabic version of Josephus is free of these apparent Christian interpolations, but still makes it clear that Pilate ordered the execution of Jesus.

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[1] See http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/?fs=www9.nationalgeographic.com

[2] See the work of Allegro, Thiering, and Eisenman.

[3] Funk, et al. 1993, 9.

[4] See Kersten 1986, 196.

[5] ttp://members.aol.com/fljosephus/testimonium.htm

[6] ttp://www.worldinvisible.com/library/ffbruce/ntdocrli/ntdocc10.htm

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