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Jesus of Nazareth
(7–2 BC/BCE – 26–36 AD/CE), [1] [2] also known as Jesus Christ
, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the incarnation of God. Islam considers Jesus a prophet, and he is an important figure in several other religions. Judaism rejects the claim that Jesus is the Messiah foretold in the Hebrew Bible.
The principal sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the four canonical gospels, especially the Synoptics, [3] though some scholars argue that other texts (such as the Gospel of Thomas) are as relevant as the canonical gospels to the historical Jesus. [4]
Most critical scholars in the fields of history and biblical studies believe that some parts of the ancient texts on Jesus are useful for reconstructing his life, [5] [6] [7] [8]
agreeing that Jesus was a Galilean Jew who was regarded as a teacher and healer. They also generally accept that he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect of Judaea Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire. [9] [10] Aside from these few conclusions, academic studies remain inconclusive about the chronology, the central message of Jesus' preaching, his social class, cultural environment, and religious orientation. [11] Scholars offer competing descriptions of Jesus as the awaited Messiah, [12] as a self-described Messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement.
Christian views of Jesus (see also Christology) center on the belief that Jesus is divine, is the Messiah whose coming was prophesied in the Old Testament, and that he was resurrected after his crucifixion. Christians predominantly believe that Jesus is the "Son of God" (generally meaning that he is God the Son, the second person in the Trinity), who came to provide salvation and reconciliation with God by his death for their sins. Other Christian beliefs include Jesus' virgin birth, performance of miracles, ascension into Heaven, and a future Second Coming. While the doctrine of the Trinity is widely accepted by Christians, a small minority instead hold various nontrinitarian beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus. [13]
In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: ????, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's important prophets, [14] [15] a bringer of scripture, and a worker of miracles. Jesus is also called "Messiah", but Islam does not teach that he was divine. Islam denies the death and resurrection of Jesus, believing instead that he ascended bodily to heaven. [16]
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JESU TICKETS
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Etymology
“Jesus” () is a transliteration, occurring in a number of languages and based on the Latin Iesus
, of the Greek ??s??? ( Iesoûs
), itself a Hellenisation of the Hebrew ????? ( Yehoshua
) or Hebrew- Aramaic ???? ( Yeshua
), (Joshua), meaning “ YHWH rescues”. "YHWH" is the name of God in the Hebrew tradition, often rendered as "the LORD" in English.
“ Christ” () is a title derived from the Greek ???st?? ( Christós
), meaning the “Anointed One”, a translation of the Hebrew-derived “ Messiah” ( Hebrew: ?????????, Standard '' Mošía? Tiberian
Mašîª?''). [17] A "Messiah" is a king anointed at God's direction or with God's approval, and Christians identify Jesus as the one foretold by Hebrew prophets.
Chronology
Scholars do not know the exact year or date of Jesus' birth or death. The Gospel of Matthew places Jesus' birth under the reign of Herod the Great, who died in 4 BC/BCE, [18] and the Gospel of Luke describes the birth as taking place during the first census of the Roman provinces of Syria and Iudaea in 6 AD/CE. [19] Scholars generally assume a date of birth between 6 and 4 BC/BCE. [20] Due to a fourth century arrangement to offset the pagan Roman Saturnalia festival, the birth of Jesus came to be celebrated on December 25, the same day ascribed to the birth of Mithras (from Mithra of Persia), thousands of years prior. [21] Since the thirteenth century, the celebration of Christmas ("Christ's Mass") has become an important Christian tradition. [22] The common Western standard for numbering years, in which the current year is , is based on an early medieval attempt to count the years from Jesus' birth.
Jesus' ministry followed that of John the Baptist. [23] The Gospels, Josephus, [24] and Tacitus name Pontius Pilate as the Roman prefect who had Jesus crucified, and Pilate was prefect of Judea between 26 and 36 AD/CE. [25] Most Christians commemorate Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday and celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Life and teachings, as told in the Gospels
The four canonical gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are the principal sources for the Christian biography of Jesus' life as the miraculous Son of God. Critical scholars find valuable historical information about Jesus' life and ministry in the synoptic gospels but more or less discount much of the miraculous and theological content. The Gospels (especially Matthew) present Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection as fulfillments of prophecies found in the Hebrew Bible. See, for example, the virgin birth, the flight into Egypt, Immanuel ( Isaiah 7:14), and the suffering servant. [26]
Similarities and differences between the gospels
Three of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are known as the synoptic gospels because they display a high degree of similarity in content, narrative arrangement, language, and sentence and paragraph structures. These gospels are also considered to share the same point of view. [27] The fourth canonical Gospel, John, differs greatly from these three, as do the Apocryphal gospels.
According to the two-source hypothesis, Mark defined the sequence of events from Jesus' baptism to the empty tomb and included parables of the Kingdom of God. Separately, Matthew and Luke combined Mark's plot with Jesus' teachings from the hypothetical Q source. Finally, according to the two-source hypothesis, John represents a later tradition from Asia Minor (Anatolia), followed at last by Mark's traditional ending.
Character of Jesus
Each gospel portrays Jesus' life and its meaning differently. [28] [29] The gospel of John is not a biography of Jesus but a theological presentation of him as the divine Logos. [30] To combine these four stories into one story is tantamount to creating a fifth story, one different from each original.
Mark presents Jesus as a heroic, charismatic man of action and mighty deeds. Matthew portrays him especially as the fulfillment of Hebrew prophecy and as a greater Moses. Luke emphasizes Jesus' miraculous powers and his support for the poor and for women. John views Jesus' earthly life as a manifestation of the eternal Word.
Major events in Jesus' life from the Gospels
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- Nativity of Jesus
- Baptism
- Temptation
- Ministry
- Commissioning Apostles and Disciples
- Sermon on the Mount
- Miracles
- Rejection
- Transfiguration
- Giving the Evangelical councils
- Entering Jerusalem
- Cursing the Fig Tree
- The Temple Incident
- Giving the Great Commandment
- Second Coming Prophecy
- Promising a Paraclete
- Anointing
- Last Supper
- The Passion:
- * Arrest
- * Sanhedrin Trial
- * Before Pilate
- * Crucifixion
- Entombment
- Empty Tomb
- Resurrection appearances
- * Giving the Great Commission
- Ascension
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Logos
The Gospel of John opens with a hymn identifying Jesus as the divine Logos, or Word, that formed the universe (John 1:1–5; 9–14). [31] Jesus' earthly life was the Logos incarnate (John 1:14).
Genealogy and family
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Of the four gospels, only Matthew [32] and Luke [33] give accounts of Jesus' genealogy. The accounts in the two gospels are substantially different, [34] and contemporary scholars generally view the genealogies as theological constructs. [35] More specifically, some have suggested that Matthew wants to underscore birth of a messianic child of royal lineage (mentioning Solomon) whereas Luke's genealogy is priestly (mentioning Levi). [36] Both accounts trace his line back to King David and from there to Abraham. These lists are identical between Abraham and David, but they differ between David and Joseph. Matthew starts with Solomon and proceeds through the kings of Judah to the last king, Jeconiah. After Jeconiah, the line of kings terminated when Babylon conquered Judah. Thus, Matthew shows Jesus as a descendant of the kings of Israel. Luke's genealogy is longer than Matthew's; it goes back to Adam and provides more names between David and Jesus.
Joseph, husband of Mary, appears in descriptions of Jesus' childhood. No mention, however, is made of Joseph during the ministry of Jesus.
The New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, and Galatians tell of Jesus' relatives, including words sometimes translated as "brothers" and "sisters". [37] [38] Luke also mentions that Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, was a "cousin" or "relative" of Mary (), which would make John a distant cousin of Jesus.
Nativity and early life
According to Matthew and Luke, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea to Mary, a virgin, by a miracle of the Holy Spirit.
In Luke, the angel Gabriel visits Mary to tell her that she was chosen to bear the Son of God (). An order of Caesar Augustus had forced Mary and Joseph to leave their homes in Nazareth and come to the home of Joseph's ancestors, the house of David, for the Census of Quirinius. After Jesus' birth, the couple was forced to use a manger in place of a crib because of a shortage of accommodation (). An angel announced Jesus' birth to shepherds who left their flocks to see the newborn child and who subsequently publicized what they had witnessed throughout the area (see The First Noël).
In Matthew, the " Wise Men" or " Magi" bring gifts to the infant Jesus after following a star which they believe was a sign that the King of the Jews had been born (). King Herod hears of Jesus' birth from the Wise Men and tries to kill him by massacring all the male children in Bethlehem under the age of two (the " massacre of the innocents"). [39] The family flees to Egypt and remains there until Herod's death, whereupon they settle in Nazareth to avoid living under the authority of Herod's son and successor Archelaus ().
Jesus' childhood home is identified as the town of Nazareth in Galilee. Except for Matthew's "flight into Egypt", and a short trip to Tyre and Sidon (in what is now Lebanon), the Gospels place all other events in Jesus' life in ancient Israel. [40]
Only Luke tells that Jesus was found teaching in the temple by his parents after being lost. The Finding in the Temple () is the only event between Jesus' infancy and baptism mentioned in any of the canonical Gospels, however infancy gospels were popular in antiquity. According to Luke, Jesus was "about thirty years of age" when he was baptized (). In Mark, Jesus is called a carpenter. Matthew says he was a carpenter's son, however, the Greek word used in the Gospel is "tekton" meaning "builder", which suggests he could have been an artisan of some type as well.(, ).
Baptism and Temptation
All three synoptic Gospels describe the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, an event which Biblical scholars describe as the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. According to these accounts, Jesus came to the Jordan River where John the Baptist had been preaching and baptizing people in the crowd. After Jesus was baptized and rose from the water, Mark states Jesus "saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven saying: 'You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'" ().
Mark starts his narration with Jesus' baptism, specifying that it is a token of repentance and for forgiveness of sins. Matthew omits this reference, emphasizing Jesus' superiority to John. [41] Matthew describes John as initially hesitant to comply with Jesus' request for John to baptize him, stating that it was Jesus who should baptize him. Jesus persisted, "It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness" (). In Matthew, God's public dedication informs the reader that Jesus has become God's anointed ("Christ").
Following his baptism, Jesus was led into the desert by God where he fasted for forty days and forty nights (). During this time, the devil appeared to him and tempted Jesus three times. Each time, Jesus refused temptation with a quotation of scripture from the Book of Deuteronomy. The devil departed and angels came and brought nourishment to Jesus (, , ).
The Gospel of John does not describe Jesus' baptism, [42] or the subsequent Temptation, but it does attest that Jesus is the very one about whom John had been preaching—the Son of God. The Baptist twice declares Jesus to be the Lamb of God, a term found nowhere else in the Gospels. John also emphasizes Jesus' superiority over John. In John, Jesus leads a program of baptism in Judea, and his disciples baptize more people than John (, ).
Ministry
In the synoptics as well as in John, Jesus has a ministry of teaching and miracles, at least part of which is in Galilee. [43] In the synoptics, Jesus speaks in parables and aphorisms, exorcises demons, champions the poor and oppressed, and teaches mainly about the Kingdom of God. [44] In John, Jesus speaks in long discourses, with himself as the theme of his teaching.
Jesus' purpose
Mark says that Jesus came to "give his life as a ransom for many"; [45] Luke, that he was sent to "preach the good news of the Kingdom of God", [46] and John, that he came so that "those who believed in him would have eternal life". [47]
Duration and location
John describes three different passover feasts over the course of Jesus' ministry, implying that Jesus preached for at least "two years plus a month or two". [48] The Synoptic Gospels suggest a span of only one year. [49] [50] In the synoptics, Jesus' ministry takes place mainly in Galilee, until he travels to Jerusalem, where he cleanses the Temple and is executed. [51] In John, Jesus spends most of his ministry in and around Jerusalem, cleansing the temple at his ministry's beginning.
Disciples
In all four Gospels, Jesus calls some Jewish men to be his Twelve Apostles. None of them seems to have been a peasant (an agricultural worker). At least four are described as fishermen and another as a tax collector. Three of them are presented as being chosen to accompany Jesus on certain special occasions, such as the transfiguration of Jesus, the raising of the daughter of Jairus, and the Agony in the Garden. Jesus speaks of the demands of discipleship, telling a rich man to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. He states that his message divides family members against each other. [52]
In Mark, the disciples are strangely obtuse, failing to understand Jesus' deeds and parables. [53] In Matthew, Jesus directs the apostles' mission only to those of the house of Israel (, ). Also in Matthew, Jesus confers authority on Peter in particular and on the apostles in general, founding the Christian church. Luke places a special emphasis on the women who followed Jesus, such as Mary Magdalene. [54]
Teachings and preachings
In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus speaks primarily about the Kingdom of God (or Heaven). In Matthew and Luke, he speaks further about morality and prayer. In John, he speaks at length about himself and his divine role.
At the height of his ministry, Jesus is said to have attracted huge crowds numbering in the thousands, primarily in the areas of Galilee and Perea (in modern-day Israel and Jordan respectively). [55]
Some of Jesus' most famous teachings come from the Sermon on the Mount, which contains the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer. It is one of five collections of teachings in Matthew.
In the Synoptics, Jesus often employs parables, such as the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke) and the Parable of the Sower (all Synoptics).
His moral teachings in Matthew and Luke encourage unconditional self-sacrificing God-like love for God and for all people.()()()() During his sermons, he preached about service and humility, the forgiveness of sin, faith, turning the other cheek, love for one's enemies as well as friends, and the need to follow the spirit of the law in addition to the letter. [56]
In the Synoptics, Jesus leads an apocalyptic movement. He preaches that the end of the current world will come unexpectedly, and that he will return to judge the world, especially according to how they treated the vulnerable. He calls on his followers to be ever alert and faithful. In Mark, the Kingdom of God is a divine government that will forcibly appear within the lifetimes of his original followers. Matthew describes false Messiahs, disasters, tribulations, and signs in the heavens that will portend Jesus' return, which is also described as unexpected.
Outreach to outsiders
Table fellowship is central to Jesus' ministry in the Gospels. [7] He and his disciples eat with sinners (who neglect purity rules) and tax collectors (imperial publicani, despised as extortionists). The apostle Matthew is a tax collector. When the Pharisees object to Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus replies that it is the sick who need a physician, not the healthy. [58] Jesus also defends his disciples against charges that they do not follow purity laws when eating. Jesus himself is also accused of being a drunk and a glutton. Jesus' miracles and teachings often involve food and feasting. He instructs his missionaries to eat with the people that they preach to and heal. In the synoptics, Jesus institutes a new covenant with a ritual meal before he is crucified.
Jesus' outreach to outsiders includes the Samaritans, who followed a different form of the Israelite religion, as reflected in his preaching to the Samaritans of Sychar () and in the Good Samaritan.
At various times, Jesus makes a point of welcoming sinners, children, women, the poor, Samaritans, foreigners, and possibly eunuchs.
Transfiguration and Jesus' divine role
In the synoptic gospels, Jesus leads three select disciples— Peter, John, and James—to the top of a mountain. While there, he is transfigured before them, his face shining like the sun and his clothes brilliant white; Elijah and Moses appear adjacent to him. A bright cloud overshadows them, and a voice from the sky says, "This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased". [59] The Transfiguration is a turning point in Jesus ministry. Just before it and thereafter, Jesus warns that he is to suffer, die and rise again. [60]
In Mark, Jesus' identity as the Messiah is obscured (see Messianic secret). [61] Mark states that "this generation" will be given no sign, while Matthew and Luke say they will be given no sign but the sign of Jonah. [62] In John, and not in the synoptics, Jesus is outspoken about his divine identity and mission. [43] Here he punctuates his ministry with several miraculous signs of his authority.
In John, Jesus declares that belief in the Son brings eternal life, that the Father has committed powers of judgment and forgiveness to the Son, and that He is the bread of life, the light of the world, the door of the sheep, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth, and the life, and the real vine. [64] Here Jesus uses the phrase "I am" in talking of himself in ways that designate God in the Hebrew Bible , a statement taken by some writers as claiming identity with God. [65]
Arrest, trial, and death
In Jerusalem
According to the Synoptics, Jesus came with his followers to Jerusalem during the Passover festival where a large crowd came to meet him, shouting, " Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!" [66] Following his triumphal entry, [67] Jesus created a disturbance at Herod's Temple by overturning the tables of the moneychangers who set up shop there, and claiming that they had made the Temple a "den of robbers".() Later that week, Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples — an event subsequently known as the Last Supper — in which he prophesied that he would be betrayed by one of his disciples, and would then be executed. In this ritual he took bread and wine in hand, saying: "this is my body which is given for you" and "this cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood", and instructed them to "do this in remembrance of me" (). Following the supper, Jesus and his disciples went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane.
In Mark and Matthew, Jesus is anguished in the face of his fate. [68] He prays and accepts God's will, but his chosen disciples repeatedly fall asleep on the watch. In Luke, Jesus prays briefly at the Mount of Olives, and his disciples fall asleep out of grief. [69]
In John, Jesus has already cleansed the temple a few years before and has been preaching in Jerusalem. He raises Lazarus on the Sabbath, the act that finally gets Jewish leaders to plan his death. At the Last Supper, Jesus washes the disciples' feet and there is no new covenant of bread and wine. Jesus gives the farewell discourses, discussing the Paraclete, persecution of his followers, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and more. He says a long, final prayer with his disciples before heading to a garden where he knows Judas will show up. [70]
Arrest
While in the Garden, Jesus was arrested by temple guards on the orders of the Sanhedrin and the high priest, Caiaphas (, ). The arrest took place clandestinely at night to avoid a riot, as Jesus was popular with the people at large (). Judas Iscariot, one of his apostles, betrayed Jesus by identifying him to the guards with a kiss. Simon Peter, another one of Jesus' apostles, used a sword to attack one of Jesus' captors, cutting off his ear, which, according to Luke, Jesus immediately healed miraculously. [71] Jesus rebuked the apostle, stating "all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword" (). After his arrest, Jesus' apostles went into hiding.
Trials before the Sanhedrin and Pilate
In Mark, Jesus affirms that he is the Messiah before the Sanhedrin, the only time in the Gospel that he makes such a claim. The Jewish leaders turn him over to Pilate for execution, but Pilate is reluctant to execute Jesus. In an attempt to spare Jesus' life, Pilate offers the mob a chance to free him, but they choose Barabbas instead, so that the responsibility for Jesus' execution falls on the Jews rather than on the Romans, as expressed in the Gospel of Matthew by the Jewish crowd's proclamation, “His blood be upon us and on our children.” [72] Matthew adds the details that Pilate's wife, tormented by a dream, urges Pilate not to have anything to do with Jesus, and Pilate washes his hands of responsibility. [73] Luke adds the detail that Pilate sends Jesus to Herod, who has authority over Galileans, but that Herod, like Pilate, finds him guilty of nothing treasonous. In John, Jesus makes no claim to be the Son of God or the Messiah to the Sanhedrin or to Pilate, even though this gospel proclaims Jesus' divinity from the beginning.
Death
In Mark, Jesus is stripped, flogged, mocked, and crowned with thorns. He is crucified between two thieves, and his cross states that he is being executed for aspiring to be the king of the Jews. He begins to recite Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me." He utters a loud cry and dies. According to all four Gospels, Jesus died before late afternoon at Calvary, which was also called Golgotha. In Luke, Jesus faces his crucifixion stolidly. [74] He asks God to forgive those who are crucifying him, possibly the Romans and possibly the Jews. One of the thieves states that Jesus has done nothing wrong and asks Jesus to remember him in the Kingdom, and Jesus replies that the thief will be with him in Paradise. The Synoptic Gospels tell of the darkening of the sky from twelve until three that afternoon; Matthew also mentions an earthquake (), the earth breaking open and a number of righteous dead people rising out of the grave and going into Jerusalem. John omits the natural phenomena accompanying Jesus' death. The tearing of the temple parokhet, upon the death of Jesus, is referenced by Matthew, Mark and Luke. [75]
Resurrection and Ascension
thumb, 16th c.: Resurrection of Jesus
The Gospels state that Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday. [76] All the Gospels portray Jesus' empty tomb. In Matthew, an angel appears near the tomb of Jesus and announces his resurrection to Mary Magdalene and "another Mary" who had arrived to anoint the body (). Jewish elders bribe the soldiers who had guarded the tomb to spread the rumor that Jesus' disciples took his body. [77] In Luke, there are two angels (), and in Mark the angel appears as a youth dressed in white (). The " longer ending" to Mark states that on the morning of his resurrection, Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene (). John states that when Mary looked into the tomb, two angels asked her why she was crying; and as she turned round she initially failed to recognize Jesus until he spoke her name ().
The Gospels all record appearances by Jesus, including an appearance to the eleven. [78] In Mark, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, to two disciples in the country, and to the eleven, at which point Jesus commissions them to announce the gospel, baptize, and work miracles. In Matthew, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and to the eleven on a mountain, at which points he commissions them to enlist followers, baptize, and teach what Jesus taught. Although his own mission and his disciples' missions had been to the Jews, [79] here he sends the eleven to the whole world (see Great Commission). In Luke, he appears to two disciples in the country and to the eleven. He proves to them that he has a body, opens their minds to understand the scripture about the Messiah, and directs them to wait in Jerusalem until they are invested with power. In John, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and to the eleven. He demonstrates his physical reality to doubting Thomas. Later he appears to seven disciples who are fishing, and finally talks with Peter, foretelling Peter's death and assigning him the principal role as shepherd of the new community. [80]
In Mark and Luke, Jesus ascends to the heavens [81] after these appearances. In Luke, Jesus ascends on Easter Sunday evening when he is with his disciples. In Mark, Jesus' Ascension to heaven, where he sits at God's right hand, is said to have taken place but not described as a visible event. John implies the Ascension [82] without describing it.
Historical views
Scholars have used the historical method to develop probable reconstructions of Jesus' life. Over the past two hundred years, the image of Jesus among historical scholars has come to be very different from the common image of Jesus that was based on the gospels. [83] Scholars of historical Jesus distinguish their subject from the "Jesus Christ" of Christianity. [84] Other scholars hold that Jesus as presented in the gospels is the real Jesus and that his life and influence only make sense if the gospel stories are accurate. [85] [86] [87] The principal sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the gospels, especially the synoptic gospels: Mark, Matthew, and Luke. Including the Gospels, there are no surviving historical accounts of Jesus written during his life or within three decades of his crucifixion. [88] Biblical scholars and historians accept the historical existence of Jesus. [89] [90] [91] [92] [93]
The English title of Albert Schweitzer's 1906 book, The Quest of the Historical Jesus,
is a label for the post-Enlightenment effort to describe Jesus using critical historical methods. [94] Since the end of the 18th century, scholars have examined the gospels and tried to formulate historical biographies of Jesus. Contemporary efforts benefit from a better understanding of 1st-century Judaism, renewed Roman Catholic biblical scholarship, broad acceptance of critical historical methods, sociological insights, and literary analysis of Jesus' sayings.
Constructing a historical view
Historians analyze the gospels to try to discern the historical man on whom these stories are based. They compare what the gospels say to historical events relevant to the times and places where the gospels were written. They try to answer historical questions about Jesus, such as why he was crucified.
Most scholars agree the Gospel of Mark was written about the time of the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans under Titus in the year 70, and that the other gospels were written between 70–100. [95] The historical outlook on Jesus relies on critical analysis of the Bible, especially the gospels. Many scholars have sought to reconstruct Jesus' life in terms of the political, cultural, and religious crises and movements in late Second Temple Judaism and in Roman-occupied Palestine, including differences between Galilee and Judea, and between different sects such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots, [96] [97] and in terms of conflicts among Jews in the context of Roman occupation.
Descriptions
Historians generally describe Jesus as a healer who preached the restoration of God's kingdom. [98] Most historians agree he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified by the Romans. Jewish and Roman authorities in Jerusalem were wary of Galilean patriots, many of whom advocated or launched violent resistance to Roman rule. [6] The gospels demonstrate that Jesus, a charismatic leader regarded as a potential troublemaker, was executed on political charges.
John the Baptist led a large apocalyptic movement. He demanded repentance and baptism. Jesus was baptized and later began his ministry. After John was executed, some of his followers apparently took Jesus as their new leader. [100] Historians are nearly unanimous in accepting Jesus' baptism as a historical event.
According to Robert Funk, Jesus taught in pithy parables and with striking images. [101] He likened the Kingdom of Heaven to small and lowly things, such as yeast or a mustard seed, [102] that have great effects. He used his sayings to elicit responses from the audience, engaging them in discussion.
Jesus placed a special emphasis on God as one's heavenly father.
Names and titles
A series of articles on
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Jesus Christ and Christianity
Chronology • Virgin Birth
Ministry • Miracles • Parables
Death • Resurrection
Second Coming • Christology
Names and titles • Relics • Active obedience
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Cultural and historical background
Language spoken • Race
Genealogy
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Perspectives on Jesus
Biblical Jesus • Religious
Christian •
Jewish • Islamic
Ahmadi • Scientology
Historicity • In myth
Research: historical
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Jesus in culture
Depiction • Sexuality
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Jesus lived in Galilee for most of his life and spoke Aramaic and possibly Hebrew and some Greek. [103] The name "Jesus" comes from an alternate spelling of the Latin ( Iesus
) which in turn comes from the Greek name Iesous ( ??s???
). In the Septuagint ??s??? is used as the Greek version of the Hebrew name Yehoshua
( ??????, "God delivers" from Yeho
— Yahweh [is] shua`
— deliverance/rescue) in the Biblical book of the same name, usually Romanized as Joshua
. Some scholars believe that one of these was likely the name that Jesus was known by during his lifetime by his peers. [104] Thus, the name has been translated into English as " Joshua". [105]
Christ
(which was a title before becoming a name for Jesus) is an Anglicization of the Greek term ???st??
. In the Septuagint, this term is used as the translation of the Hebrew: ?????????, Standard '' Mošía? Tiberian
Mašîª?, "Anointed One" in reference to priests (e.g. ) and kings (e.g. King David () and King Cyrus (). In Isaiah and Jeremiah the word began to be applied to a future ideal king. The New Testament has some 500 uses of the word
???st?? applied to Jesus, used either generically or in an absolute sense, namely as
the'' Anointed One (the Messiah, the Christ). The Gospel of Mark has as its central point of its narrative Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah (). indicates that the conviction that Jesus was the Messiah dates back to before the letters of Paul the Apostle. These letters also show that the title was already beginning to be used as a name. [106]
Some have suggested that other titles applied to Jesus in the New Testament had meanings in the first century quite different from those meanings ascribed today. [107]
The titles "Divine", " Son of God", "God", "God from God", "Lord", "Redeemer", "Liberator", "The Prince of Peace", "The Wonder Counsellor", and "Saviour of the World" were each applied to the Roman emperors. John Dominic Crossan considers that the application of them to Jesus by the early Christians would have been regarded as denying them to the emperor(s). "They were taking the identity of the Roman emperor and giving it to a Jewish peasant. Either that was a peculiar joke and a very low lampoon, or it was what the Romans called majestas
and we call high treason." [108]
Geza Vermes has argued that "Son of man" was not a title but rather the polite way in which people referred to themselves, i.e. a pronominal phrase. [107]
"Son of David" is found elsewhere in Jewish tradition to refer to the heir to the throne. [107]
"Son of God" was often used to designate a person as especially righteous. [107]
"Emmanuel" or "Immanuel" derives from the Hebrew name Immanu-El
, which translates as "God (is) with us" and is based on a Messianic interpretation of a verse in the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah 7:14, "They shall call his name Immanuel".
Many New Testament scholars argue that Jesus himself made no claims to being God. [112] [113] [114] [115] [116] [117] [118] Most Christians identified Jesus as divine from a very early period, although holding a variety of views as to what exactly this implied. [119]
Religious groups
Scholars refer to the religious background of the early 1st century to better reconstruct Jesus' life. Some scholars identify him with one or another group.
Pharisees
Pharisees were a powerful force in 1st-century Judea. Early Christians shared several beliefs of the Pharisees, such as resurrection, retribution in the next world, angels, human freedom, and Divine Providence. [120] After the fall of the Temple, the Pharisee outlook was established in Rabbinic Judaism. Some scholars speculate that Jesus was himself a Pharisee. [121] In Jesus' day, the two main schools of thought among the Pharisees were the House of Hillel, which had been founded by the eminent Tanna, Hillel the Elder, and the House of Shammai. Jesus' assertion of hypocrisy may have been directed against the stricter members of the House of Shammai, although he also agreed with their teachings on divorce (). [122] Jesus also commented on the House of Hillel's teachings ( Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a) concerning the greatest commandment () and the Golden Rule (). Historians do not know whether there were Pharisees in Galilee during Jesus' life, or what they would be like if there were.
Sadducees
The Sadducee sect was particularly powerful in Jerusalem. They accepted the written Law only, rejecting the traditional interpretations accepted by the Pharisees, such as belief in retribution in an afterlife, resurrection of the body, angels, and spirits. After Jesus caused a disturbance at the Temple, it seems [weasel words] to have been the Sadducees who had him arrested and turned over to the Romans for execution. After the fall of Jerusalem, they disappeared from history. [123]
Essenes
Essenes were apocalyptic ascetics, one of the three (or four) major Jewish schools of the time, though they were not mentioned in the New Testament. [124] Some scholars theorize that Jesus was an Essene, or close to them. Among these scholars is Pope Benedict XVI, who supposes in his book on Jesus that "it appears that not only John the Baptist, but possibly Jesus and his family as well, were close to the Qumran community." [125]
Apocalyptic sect
Most scholars hold that the movement Jesus led was apocalyptic, expecting God to intervene imminently to restore Israel. John the Baptist's movement was apocalyptic, and Jesus began his public career as one of his followers. [126] Scholars commonly surmise that Jesus' eschatology was apocalyptic, like John's. [127]
"Nazarene"
The Gospels record that Jesus was a Nazarene
, a term commonly taken to refer to his place of birth, but sometimes as a religious affiliation. [129]
Zealots
The Zealots were a revolutionary party opposed to Roman rule, one of those parties that, according to Josephus inspired the fanatical stand in Jerusalem that led to its destruction in the year 70. [130] Luke identifies Simon, a disciple, as a "zealot", which might mean a member of the Zealot party (which would therefore have been already in existence in the lifetime of Jesus) or a zealous person. The notion that Jesus himself was a Zealot does not do justice to the earliest Synoptic material describing him. [131]
Christian scripture as historical texts
Historians examine Christian scripture for important clues about the historical Jesus. They sort out sayings and events that are more likely to be genuine and use those to construct their portraits of Jesus. The Gospel tradition has certainly preserved several authentic fragments of Jesus' teaching.
The New Testament was at least substantially complete by AD 100, making its books, especially the synoptic gospels, historically relevant. [132] The Gospel tradition certainly preserves several fragments of Jesus' teaching. [133] The Gospel of Mark is believed to have been written c. 70 AD/CE. [134] [135] [136] Matthew is placed at being sometime after this date and Luke is thought by some scholars to have been written as early as 60 AD/CE, although others argue for a later date ranging from 70 to 100 AD/CE. [137] [138]
Biblical scholars hold that the works describing Jesus were initially communicated by oral tradition, and were not committed to writing until several decades after Jesus' crucifixion. After the original oral stories were written down in Greek, they were transcribed, and later translated into other languages. Contemporary textual critic Bart D. Ehrman cites numerous places where the gospels, and other New Testament books, were apparently altered by Christian scribes.
Critical scholars consider scriptural accounts more likely when they are attested in multiple texts, plausible in Jesus' historical environment, and potentially embarrassing to the author's Christian community. The " criterion of embarrassment" holds that stories about events with aspects embarrassing to Christians (such as the denial of Jesus by Peter, or the fleeing of Jesus' followers after his arrest) would likely not have been included if those accounts were fictional. [140] Sayings attributed to Jesus are deemed more likely to reflect his character when they are distinctive, vivid, paradoxical, surprising, and contrary to social and religious expectations, such as "Blessed are the poor." [141] Short, memorable parables and aphorisms capable of being transmitted orally are also thought more likely to be authentic.
The earliest extant texts which refer to Jesus are Paul's letters (mid-1st century), which affirm Jesus' crucifixion. Some scholars hold that the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of 114 sayings of Jesus, predates the four orthodox gospels, and was composed around mid-first century. [142] [143]
Mythical view
A few scholars have questioned the existence of Jesus as an actual historical figure. Among the proponents of non-historicity was Bruno Bauer in the 19th century. Non-historicity was somewhat influential in biblical studies during the early 20th century.
(The views of scholars who entirely rejected Jesus' historicity then were summarized in the chapter on Jesus in Will Durant's Caesar and Christ
(in 1944); they were based on a suggested lack of eyewitness, a lack of direct archaeological evidence, the failure of certain ancient works to mention Jesus, and similarities early Christianity shares with then-contemporary religion and mythology. [144])
More recently, arguments for non-historicity have been discussed by authors such as George Albert Wells and Robert M. Price. Additionally, The Jesus Puzzle and The Jesus Mysteries are examples of popular works promoting the non-historical hypothesis.
Nevertheless, non-historicity has been rejected by almost all Biblical scholars and historians. [145] [146] [147] In Jesus Outside the New Testament
(2000), Robert E. Van Voorst a Professor of New Testament Studies at Western Theological Seminary wrote, "The theory of Jesus' nonexistence is now effectively dead as a scholarly question... Biblical scholars and classical historians now regard it as effectively refuted." [148] Author Michael Grant stated that standard historical criteria prevent one from rejecting Jesus' existence. [149]
Religious perspectives
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- Some of the historians and Biblical scholars who place the birth and death of Jesus within this range include D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris. ''An Introduction to the New Testament.'' Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992, 54, 56
- Michael Grant, ''Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels'', Scribner's, 1977, p. 71; John P. Meier, ''A Marginal Jew'', Doubleday, 1991–, vol. 1:214; E. P. Sanders, ''The Historical Figure of Jesus'', Penguin Books, 1993, pp. 10–11, and Ben Witherington III, "Primary Sources," ''Christian History'' 17 (1998) No. 3:12–20.
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. Introduction, pp. 1–40
- Amy-Jill Levine, ''The Oxford History of the Biblical World'', New York, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 371, Chapter 10: Visions of Kingdoms: From Pompey to the First Jewish Revolt (63 BCE – 70 CE), M. Coogan et al. (eds.)
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. "Introduction," p. 1–30.
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "The Historical Jesus" pp. 255–260
- Crossan, John Dominic. The essential Jesus. Edison: Castle Books. 1998.
- Examples of authors who argue the Jesus myth hypothesis: Thomas L. Thompson ''The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David '' (Jonathan Cape, Publisher, 2006); Michael Martin, ''The Case Against Christianity'' (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991), 36–72; John Mackinnon Robertson
- Raymond E. Brown, ''The Death of the Messiah: From Gethsemane to the Grave'' (New York: Doubleday, Anchor Bible Reference Library 1994), p. 964; D. A. Carson, et al., pp. 50–56; Shaye J.D. Cohen, ''From the Maccabees to the Mishnah'', Westminster Press, 1987, pp. 78, 93, 105, 108; John Dominic Crossan, ''The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant'', HarperCollins, 1991, pp. xi – xiii; Michael Grant, pp. 34–35, 78, 166, 200; Paula Fredriksen, ''Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews'', Alfred B. Knopf, 1999, pp. 6–7, 105–110, 232–234, 266; John P. Meier, vol. 1:68, 146, 199, 278, 386, 2:726; E.P. Sanders, pp. 12–13; Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew (Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1973), p. 37.; Paul L. Maier, ''In the Fullness of Time'', Kregel, 1991, pp. 1, 99, 121, 171; N. T. Wright, ''The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions'', HarperCollins, 1998, pp. 32, 83, 100–102, 222; Ben Witherington III, pp. 12–20.
- Though many historians may have certain reservations about the use of the Gospels for writing history, "even the most hesitant, however, will concede that we are probably on safe historical footing" concerning certain basic facts about the life of Jesus; Jo Ann H. Moran Cruz and Richard Gerberding, ''Medieval Worlds: An Introduction to European History'' Houghton Mifflin Company 2004, pp. 44–45.
- The Oxford History of the Biblical World
- For instance Raymond E. Brown in The Birth of the Messiah (ISBN 0-385-05405-X), p. 9
- Antitrinitarianism
- James Leslie Houlden, "Jesus: The Complete Guide", Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005, ISBN 082648011X
- Prof. Dr. Saban Ali Düzgün, "Uncovering Islam: Questions and Answers about Islamic Beliefs and Teachings", Ankara: The Presidency of Religious Affairs Publishing, 2004
- Compendium of Muslim Texts
- per ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''[1]
- Edwin D. Freed, ''Stories of Jesus' Birth'', (Continuum International, 2004), page 119.
- Geza Vermes, ''The Nativity: History and Legend'', London, Penguin, 2006, page 22.
- James D. G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered, Eerdmans Publishing (2003), page 324.
- Martin A. Larson, The Story of Christian Origins (1977), p. 470.
- Howard Clarke, The Gospel of Matthew and its readers, Indiana University Press, p. 13
- Luke states that John's ministry began in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas.
- The historical Jesus : a comprehensive guide
- The Gospel of Luke : new international commentary on the New Testament
- "What the Old Testament Prophesied About the Messiah"
- {{OED|synoptic}}
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.
- Ehrman, Bart D. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 978-0-06-073817-4
- Durant, Will. Caesar and Christ. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1972
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" pp. 302–310
- {{niv|Matthew|1:1-17|Matthew 1:1–17}}
- {{niv|Luke|3:23-38|Luke 3:23–38}}
- Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I–IX. Anchor Bible. Garden City: Doubleday, 1981, pp. 499–500; I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke (The New International Greek Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978, p. 158;
- New Testament Apocrypha: Gospels and Related Writings
- Howard W. Clarke, The Gospel of Matthew and Its Readers, Indiana University Press, 2003, p. 1
- {{niv|Matthew|13:55–56|Matthew 13:55–56}}, {{niv|Mark|6:3|Mark 6:3}}, and {{niv|Galatians|1:19|Galatians 1:19}}
- The Greek word ''adelphos'' in these verses, often translated as ''brother'', can refer to any familial relation, and most Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians translate the word as ''kinsman'', ''brethren'', or ''cousin'' in this context (see Perpetual virginity of Mary).
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "Matthew" pp. 272–285
- ''For Egypt'': {{niv|Matthew|2:13–23|Matthew 2:13–23}}; ''For Tyre and sometimes Sidon'':{{niv|Matthew|15:21–28|Matthew 15:21–28}} and {{niv|Mark|7:24–30|Mark 7:24–3}}
- Early Christian accounts reflect some perplexity at Jesus being baptized, especially by a subordinate figure. See "Baptism of Christ". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "John, Gospel of." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "John, Gospel of St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. "Introduction", pp. 1–30.
- {{niv|Mark|10:45|Mark 10:45}}
- {{niv|Luke|4:43|Luke 4:43}}
- {{niv|John|20:31|John 20:31}}.
- Meier 1991 vol. 1:405
- Introduction. Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993.
- "The Thompson Chain-Reference Study Bible NIV", published December 1999, B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co., Inc.; William Adler & Paul Tuffin, "The Chronography of George Synkellos: A Byzantine Chronicle of Universal History from the Creation", Oxford University Press (2002), p. 466
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998.
- Luke 14:26, Matthew 10:37. Luke contains a harsher version than the saying in Matthew, as does Thomas. Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. p. 353
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "Mark" pp. 285–296
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "Luke" pp. 297–301
- In ''John'', Jesus' ministry takes place in and around Jerusalem.
- ''Sermon on the Mount'': {{niv|Matthew|5–7|Matthew 5–7}}; ''Prodigal Son'': {{niv|Luke|15:11–32|Luke 15:11–32}}; ''Parable of the Sower'': {{niv|Matthew|13:1–9|Matthew 13:1–9}}; ''Agape'': {{niv|Matthew|22:34–40|Matthew 22:34–40}}.
- Crossan, John Dominic. The essential Jesus. Edison: Castle Books. 1998.
- {{niv|Matthew|9:9–13|Matthew 9:9–13}})
- {{niv|Matthew|17:1–6|Matthew 17:1–6}}, {{niv|Mark|9:1–8|Mark 9:1–8}}, {{niv|Luke|9:28–36|Luke 9:28–36}}
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Mark" pp. 51–161
- "Messianic Secret", Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. pages 72–73.
- "John, Gospel of St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" pp. 302–310
- "Jesus was claiming for himself the title "I AM" by which God designates himself... he was claiming to be God." – Wayne Grudem, ''Systematic Theology'', page 546, Zondervan.
- The crowd was quoting {{niv|Psalms|118:26|Psalms 118:26}}; found in {{niv|John|12:13–16|John 12:13–16}}.
- John puts the cleansing of the temple at the start of Jesus' ministry.
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Matthew" pp. 129–270
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Luke" pp. 267–364
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "John" pp. 365–440
- The apostle is identified as Simon Peter in {{niv|john|18:10|John 18:10}}; the healing of the ear is found in {{niv|luke|22:51|Luke 22:51}}.
- (Matthew 27:24–25)
- ({{niv|Matthew|27:11–26|Matthew 27:11–26}})
- Ehrman, Bart D.. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 978-0-06-073817-4
- (Matt 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45)
- {{niv|matthew|28:1|Matthew 28:1}}; {{niv|mark|16:9|Mark 16:9}}; {{niv|luke|24:1|Luke 24:1}}; {{niv|John|20:1|John 20:1}}
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Empty Tomb, Appearances & Ascension" pp. 449–495.
- Jesus' appearances in Mark were not part of the original text. See Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Empty Tomb, Appearances & Ascension" pp. 449–495.
- {{niv|Matthew|15:24|Matthew 15:24}}
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. p. 491
- {{niv|Mark|16:19|Mark 16:19}}; {{niv|Luke|24:51|Luke 24:51}}
- {{niv|john|20:17|John 20:17}}
- Borg, Marcus J. in Borg, Marcus J. and N. T. Wright. The Meaning of Jesus: Two visions. New York: HarperCollins. 2007.
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. "Introduction," pp. 1–30.
- Pope's Book: A Lifetime of Learning
- Pope Benedict XVI, ''Jesus of Nazareth''. Doubleday, 2007. ISBN 978-0-385-52341-7
- Chesterton, G. K. The everlasting man. 1925, Part II, chapter II, also says that "the merely human Christ is a made-up figure, a piece of artificial selection".
- Extrabiblical references to Jesus
- "The nonhistoricity thesis has always been controversial, and it has consistently failed to convince scholars of many disciplines and religious creeds. ... Biblical scholars and classical historians now regard it as effectively refuted." – Van Voorst, Robert E. ''Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence'' (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000), p. 16.
- "The denial of Jesus' historicity has never convinced any large number of people, in or out of technical circles, nor did it in the first part of the century." Walter P. Weaver, ''The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century, 1900-1950'', (Continuum International, 1999), page 71.
- "about once every generation someone reruns the thesis that Jesus never existed and that the Jesus tradition is a wholesale invention", J. G. Dunn, ''Jesus Remembered'', (Eerdmans, 2003), page 142.
- "There is almost universal agreement that Jesus lived." Bernard L. Ramm, ''An Evangelical Christology: Ecumenic and Historic'', (Regent College Publishing, 1993), page 19.
- "some judgements are so probable as to be certain; for example, Jesus really existed", Marcus Borg, 'A Vision of the Christian Life', in Marcus J. Borg and N T Wright, ''The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions'', (HarperCollins, 1999), page 236.
- Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005 – article "Historical Jesus, Quest of the"
- Meier (1991), pp. 43–4
- For a comparison of the Jesus movement to the Zealots, see S. G. F. Brandon, ''Jesus and the Zealots: a study of the political factor in primitive Christianity,'' Manchester University Press (1967) ISBN 0–684–31010–4
- For a general comparison of Jesus' teachings to other schools of first century Judaism, see John P. Meier, ''Companions and Competitors (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume 3)'' Anchor Bible, 2001. ISBN 0–385–46993–4.
- Shaye J.D. Cohen, ''From the Maccabees to the Mishnah'', Westminster Press, 1987, pp. 78, 93, 105, 108; John Dominic Crossan, ''The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant'', HarperCollins, 1991, pp. xi – xiii; Michael Grant, pp. 34–35, 78, 166, 200; Paula Fredriksen, ''Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews'', Alfred B. Knopf, 1999, pp. 6–7, 105–110, 232–234, 266; John P. Meier, vol. 1:68, 146, 199, 278, 386, 2:726; E.P. Sanders, pp. 12–13; Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew (Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1973), p. 37.;
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "The Historical Jesus" pp. 255–260
- Sanders, E.P. ''Jesus and Judaism.'' Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1987; Vermes, Geza. ''Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels.'' Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1981; Fredriksen, Paula. ''From Jesus to Christ.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000.
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993.
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. page 21.
- Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, I. Howard Marshall, ''Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels'' (InterVarsity Press, 1992), page 442
- Durant, Will. ''Caesar and Christ''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1944. p. 558; John P. Meier, ''A Marginal Jew''. New York: Doubleday, 1991 vol. 1:205–7;
- "Origin of the Name of Jesus Christ". ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. Retrieved April 14, 2007.''
- Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article ''Messiah''
- Vermes, "Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels"
- Crossan, John Dominic, God and Empire, 2007, p. 28
- Vermes, "Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels"
- Vermes, "Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels"
- Vermes, "Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels"
- "A further point of broad agreement among New Testament scholars is ... that the historical Jesus did not make the claim to deity that later Christian thought was to make for him: he did not understand himself to be God, or God the Son, incarnate." – John Hick, ''The Metaphor of God Incarnate: Christology in a Pluralistic Age'', Westminster John Knox Press, page 27.
- Michael Ramsey, ''Jesus and the Living Past'' (Oxford University Press, 1980), page 39: 'Jesus did not claim deity for himself'
- C. F. D. Moule, ''The Origin of Christology'': 'Any case for a "high" Christology that depended on the authenticity of the alleged claims of Jesus about himself, especially in the Fourth Gospel, would indeed be precarious'
- James Dunn (theologian), ''Christology in the Making'', (SCM Press 1980), page 254: 'We cannot claim that Jesus believed himself to be the incarnate Son of God' and 'There is no question in my mind that the doctrine of incarnation comes to clear expression within the NT…John 1.14 ranks as a classic formulation of the Christian belief in Jesus as incarnate God.' Page xiii.
- Brian Hebblethwaite, ''The Incarnation'' (Cambridge University Press, 1987), page 74: 'it is no longer possible to defend the divinity of Jesus by reference to the claims of Jesus'.
- John A. T. Robinson, ''Honest to God'', Westminster Press (1963), Page 47: 'It is, indeed, an open question whether Jesus ever claimed to be the Son of God, let alone God.'
- Larry Hurtado, ''Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity'', page 5, describes the view that Jesus made 'both his messiahship and his divinity clear to his disciples during his ministry' as 'naive and ahistorical'.
- Larry Hurtado, ''Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity'', (Eerdmans, 2005), page 650.
- "Pharisees", Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Based on a comparison of the Gospels with the Talmud and other Jewish literature. Maccoby, Hyam ''Jesus the Pharisee,'' Scm Press, 2003. ISBN 0–334–02914–7; Falk, Harvey ''Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus,'' Wipf & Stock Publishers (2003). ISBN 1–59244–313–3.
- Neusner, Jacob ''A Rabbi Talks With Jesus,'' McGill-Queen's University Press, 2000. ISBN 0–7735–2046–5. Rabbi Neusner contends that Jesus' teachings were closer to the House of Shammai than the House of Hillel.
- "Sadducees". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Based on a comparison of the Gospels with the Dead Sea Scrolls, especially the Teacher of Righteousness and Pierced Messiah. Eisenman, Robert ''James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls,'' Penguin (Non-Classics), 1998. ISBN 0–14–025773-X; Stegemann, Hartmut ''The Library of Qumran: On the Essenes, Qumran, John the Baptist, and Jesus.'' Grand Rapids MI, 1998. See also Broshi, Magen, "What Jesus Learned from the Essenes", ''Biblical Archaeology Review,'' 30:1, pg. 32–37, 64. Magen notes similarities between Jesus' teachings on the virtue of poverty and divorce, and Essene teachings as related in Josephus' ''The Jewish Wars'' and in the Damascus Document of the Dead Sea Scrolls, respectively. See also Akers, Keith ''The Lost Religion of Jesus.'' Lantern, 2000. ISBN 1-930051-26-3.
- Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, p. 14
- Crossan, John Dominic. The essential Jesus. Edison: Castle Books. 1998. p. 146
- See Schwietzer, Albert ''The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Critical Study of its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede,'' pp. 370–371, 402. Scribner (1968), ISBN 0–02–089240–3; Ehrman, Bart ''Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium,'' Oxford University Press USA, 1999. ISBN 0–19–512474-X. Crossan, however, makes a distinction between John's apocalyptic ministry and Jesus' ethical ministry. See Crossan, John Dominic, ''The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus,'' pp. 305–344. Harper Collins, 1998. ISBN 0–06–061659–8.
- This includes the belief that Jesus was the Messiah. Brown, Michael L. ''Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Messianic Prophecy Objections'' Baker Books, 2003. ISBN 0–8010–6423–6. Brown shows how the Christian concept of Messiah relates to ideas current in late Second Temple period Judaism. See also Klausner, Joseph, ''The Messianic Idea in Israel: From its Beginning to the Completion of the Mishnah,'' Macmillan 1955; Patai, Raphael, ''Messiah Texts,'' Wayne State University Press, 1989. ISBN 0–8143–1850–9; Crossan, John Dominic, ''The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus,'' pg. 461. Harper Collins, 1998. ISBN 0–06–061659–8. Patai and Klausner state that one interpretation of the prophecies reveal either two Messiahs, Messiah ben Yosef (the dying Messiah) and Messiah ben David (the Davidic King), or one Messiah who comes twice. Crossan cites the Essene teachings about the twin Messiahs. Compare to the Christian doctrine of the Second Coming.
- .
- "Zealots". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "Jesus Christ". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "The New Testament was complete, or substantially complete, about AD 100, the majority of the writings being in existence twenty to forty years before this...the situation is encouraging from the historian's point of view, for the first three Gospels were written at a time when many were alive who could remember the things that Jesus said and did... At any rate, the time elapsing between the evangelic events and the writing of most of the New Testament books was, from the standpoint of historical research, satisfactorily short." Bruce, F. F.: ''The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?'', pp. 12–14, InterVarsity Press, USA, 1997.
- "There is no reason to doubt that we have in the Gospel tradition several authentic fragments of His Christ's teaching (albeit in Greek translation)." "Jesus Christ". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Early Christian Writings: Gospel of Mark
- The Gospel of Mark
- A Marginal Jew
- A. Harnack, ''The Date of Acts and the Synoptic Gospels'' (1911), p. 90; J. A. T. Robinson, ''Redating the New Testament'', pp. 86–92; I. H. Marshall, ''Luke'', p. 35; A. J. Mattill Jr., ‘The Date and Purpose of Luke-Acts: Rackham reconsidered, in ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly'' 40 (1978), pp. 335–350.
- "Matthew, Gospel acc. to St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "The interval then between the dates of the original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Sciptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the ''authenticity'' and the ''general integrity'' of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established." As quoted in Bruce, F. F.: ''The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?'', p. 20, InterVarsity Press, USA, 1997.
- Meier, John P., ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus'', Doubleday: 1991. vol 1: pp. 168–171.
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. Introduction, pp. 1–38
- Kenneth Keulman, Critical Moments in Religious History, Mercer University Press, p. 56
- Andrew F. Gregory, Christopher Mark Tuckett, The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers, Oxford University Press, p. 178
- Durant 1944:553–7
- Bruce, FF (1982). ''New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?'' InterVarsity Press, ISBN 087784691X
- Herzog II, WR (2005). ''Prophet and Teacher''. WJK, ISBN 0664225284
- Reinventing Jesus
- Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence
- "…if we apply to the New Testament, as we should, the same sort of criteria as we should apply to other ancient writings containing historical material, we can no more reject Jesus' existence than we can reject the existence of a mass of pagan personages whose reality as historical figures is never questioned. ... To sum up, modern critical methods fail to support the Christ myth theory. It has 'again and again been answered and annihilated by first rank scholars.' In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." M. Grant, ''Jesus: An Historian's Review'', pp. 199–200. 1977
- This section draws on a number of sources to determine the doctrines of these groups, especially the early Creeds, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, certain theological works, and various Confessions drafted during the Reformation including the Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England, works contained in the Book of Concord, and others.
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §436–40; ''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 2; Irenaeus ''Adversus Haereses'' in ''Patrologia Graeca'' ed. J. P. Migne (Paris, 1857–1866) 7/1, 93; {{niv|Luke|2:1|Luke 2:11}}; {{niv|Matthew|16:16|Matthew 16:16}}
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §606–618; Council of Trent (1547) in Denzinger-Schönmetzer, ''Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum'' (1965) §1529;{{niv|John|14:2–3|John 14:2–3}}
- ''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 9; ''Augsburg Confession'', article 2; ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 8; {{niv|Romans|5:12–21|Rom 5:12–21}}; {{niv|1_Corthians|15:21–22|1 Cor 15:21–22}}.
- Thomas Aquinas, ''Summa Theologica'', First Part of the Second Part, Question 87, Article 7, Reply to Objection 3, available here
- Apostles' Creed; Nicene Creed;Luther's Small Catechism commentary on Apostles' Creed; ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 9
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §638–655; Byzantine Liturgy, ''Troparion'' of Easter; ''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 4 and 17; ''Augsburg Confession'', article 3; ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 9.
- Apostles' Creed; Nicene Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church §668–675, 678–679; Luther's Small Catechism commentary on Apostles' Creed; {{niv|Matthew|25:32–46|Mt 25:32–46}}
- Catechism of the Catholic Church §1021–1022
- Fuller 1965, p. 15
- Apostles' Creed; Nicene Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church §441–451; ''Augsburg Confession'', article 3; Luther's Small Catechism, commentary on Apostles' Creed; {{niv|Matthew|16:16–17|Matthew 16:16–17}}; {{niv|1_Corinthians|2:8|1 Corinthians 2:8}}
- ''Augsburg Confession'', article 3; {{niv|John|1:1|John 1:1}}
- Apostles' Creed; Nicene Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church §461–463;''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 2; Luther's Small Catechism commentary on Apostles' Creed; {{niv|John|1:14–16|John 1:14, 16}}; {{niv|Hebrews|10:5–7|Hebrews 10:5–7}}
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §456–460; Gregory of Nyssa, Orat. catech. 15 in ''Patrologia Graeca'' ed. J. P. Migne (Paris, 1857–1866) 45, 48B; St. Irenaeus, ''Adversus Haereses'' 3.19.1 in ibid. 7/1, 939; St. Athanasius, ''De inc.'', 54.3 in ibid. 25, 192B. St. Thomas Aquinas, ''Opusc.'' in ibid. 57: 1–4; {{niv|Galatians|4:4–5|Galatians 4:4–5}}
- Apostles' Creed; Nicene Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church §484–489, 494–507; Luther's Small Catechism commentary on Apostles' Creed
- Barth 1956, p. 207
- MacLeod 1998, pp. 37–41
- ''Nicene Creed''; ''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 1; ''Augsburg Confession'', article 1; ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 3; Council of Nicaea I (325) in Denzinger-Schönmetzer, ''{{lang|la|Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum}}'' (1965) §126; Council of Constantinople II (553) in ibid. §424 and 424; Council of Ephesus in ibid. §255; {{niv|John|1:1|John 1:1}}; {{niv|John|8:58|8:58}}; {{niv|John|10:30|10:30}}
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §464–469; ''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 2 and 3 ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 9; Council of Ephesus (431) in Denzinger-Schönmetzer, ''{{lang|la|Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum}}'' (1965) §250; Council of Ephesus in ibid. §251; Council of Chalcedon (451) in ibid. §301 and 302; {{niv|Hebrews|4:15|Hebrews 4:15}}.
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §541–546
- Apostles' Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church §551–553; ''Augsburg Confession'', article 8; Luther's Small Catechism commentary on Apostles' Creed; ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 9; Leo the Great, ''Sermo'' 4.3 in ''Patrologia Latina'' ed. J. P. Migne (Paris, 1841–1855); {{niv|Matthew|16:18|Matthew 16:18}}
- "Peter, St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church"§1322–1419; Martin Luther, ''Augsburg Confession'', article 10; Luther's Small Catechism: ''the Sacrament of the Altar''
- "Sacrament." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- John Calvin, Calvin's Calvinism BOOK II Chapter 15 Centers for Reformed Theology and Apologetics online (1996–2002, accessed June 03, 2006); available here
- H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology Chapter 22 online (Nampa, Idah: 1993–2005, accessed June 03, 2006); available here
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- {{sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=3 Nephi|chapter=11|verse=8}}
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- "Revelation—Its Grand Climax at Hand!" –1988| chap. 27 pp. 180–181 par. 15 "God's Kingdom Is Born!"|. © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| "But who is Michael? The name "Michael" means "Who Is Like God?" So Michael must be interested in vindicating Jehovah's sovereignty by proving that no one is to be compared to Him. In Jude verse 9, he is called "Michael the archangel". Interestingly, the title "archangel" is used elsewhere in the Bible with reference to only one person: Jesus Christ. Paul says of him: "The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel's voice"
- "Insight On The Scriptures 2" –1988| p. 393 "Michael"|. © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| "Scriptural evidence indicates that the name Michael applied to God's Son before he left heaven to become Jesus Christ and also after his return. Michael is the only one said to be "the archangel", meaning "chief angel", or "principal angel". The term occurs in the Bible only in the singular. This seems to imply that there is but one whom God has designated chief, or head, of the angelic host. At 1 Thessalonians 4:16 the voice of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ is described as being that of an archangel, suggesting that he is, in fact, himself the archangel"
- "Jesus The Ruler Whose Origin Is From Early Times", ''The Watchtower'' (June 15, 1998) p. 22.| "Some centuries later came Jesus' greatest assignment up to that time. Jehovah transferred the life force of his beloved Son from heaven into the womb of Mary. Nine months later she gave birth to a baby boy, Jesus. (Luke 2:1–7, 21)"
- "Reasoning From The Scriptures" –1985 © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| p. 257 par. 1 Mary (Jesus' Mother) "Heb. 2:14, 17, JB: "Since all the children share the same blood and flesh, he Jesus too shared equally in {{nowrap|it . . .}} It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his brothers." (But would he have been "completely like his brothers" if he had been a God-man?)"
- "Insight On The Scriptures" –1988| p. 53 "Jesus Christ"|. © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| "Doubtless on many occasions during his prehuman existence as the Word, Jesus acted as Jehovah's Spokesman to persons on earth. While certain texts refer to Jehovah as though directly speaking to humans, other texts make clear that he did so through an angelic representative. (Compare Ex 3:2–4 with Ac 7:30, 35; also Ge 16:7–11, 13; 22:1, 11, 12, 15–18.) Reasonably, in the majority of such cases God spoke through the Word. He likely did so in Eden, for on two of the three occasions where mention is made of God's speaking there, the record specifically shows someone was with Him, undoubtedly his Son. (Ge 1:26–30; 2:16, 17; 3:8–19, 22) The angel who guided Israel through the wilderness and whose voice the Israelites were strictly to obey because 'Jehovah's name was within him,' may therefore have been God's Son, the Word.—Ex 23:20–23; compare Jos 5:13–15."
- Watchtower 9/1/06 1 p. 28 par. 5 "Let Your Petitions Be Made Known to God" © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| "5 Jehovah does not lay down a lot of rigid rules on how to pray. Nevertheless, we need to learn the proper approach to God, which is explained in the Bible. For instance, Jesus taught his followers: "If you ask the Father for anything he will give it to you in my name." (John 16:23) Hence, we are required to pray in Jesus' name, recognizing Jesus as the sole channel through which God's blessings are extended to all mankind."
- {{niv|John|3:16|John 3:16}}
- {{niv|Colossians|1:15|Col 1:15}}
- {{niv|romans|11:36|Rom 11:36}}
- "What Do They Believe?", Watchtower Bible and Tract Society c.f., Retrieved April 14, 2007
- "Who is Jesus Christ?", ''The Watchtower'', September 15, 2005, Retrieved December 3, 2007.
- "Insight On The Scriptures" –1988 © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| it-1 p. 1197 Incorruption "Raised to Immortality and Incorruption. Christ Jesus entered into immortality upon his resurrection from the dead, thereafter possessing "an indestructible life." (1Ti 6:15, 16; Heb 7:15–17)"
- The Watchtower © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| 10/1/06 p. 5 You Can Live Forever|"the apostle Paul explains: "Christ, now that he has been raised up from the dead, dies no more; death is master over him no more." (Romans 6:9)"|
- One God or a Trinity?
- One God or a Trinity?
- Jesus: God the Son or Son of God? Does the Bible Teach the Trinity?
- The Salvic Efficacy of Christ's Sacrifice - refuting all Trinitarians
- Jesus: God the Son or Son of God? Does the Bible Teach the Trinity?
- Christ is Coming! Bible Teaching About His Return
- Ehrman, Bart D. ''Lost Christianities'', Oxford, 2003, p. 102.
- "Christology". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- McManners, John, ed., ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity,'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990, pp. 26–31.
- Ehrman, Bart D. ''Lost Christianities'', Oxford, 2003, pp. 124–125.
- Wace, Henry, "Commentary on Marcion", Retrieved April 16, 2007.
- Ehrman, Bart D. ''Lost Christianities'', Oxford, 2003, p. 103, pp. 104–105, p. 108
- The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, p. 158
- "Isa", Encyclopedia of Islam
- Fasching, deChant (2001) p. 241
- Eastern Definitions: A Short Encyclopedia of Religions of the Orient
- Toward the Millennium: Messianic Expectations from the Bible to Waco
- Günter Grönbold, Jesus In Indien, München: Kösel 1985, ISBN 3466202701.
- Norbert Klatt, ''Lebte Jesus in Indien?'', Göttingen: Wallstein 1988.
- Ahmadiyyat in the Service of Islam
- http://www.tjresearch.info/legends.htm
- Encyclopedia of Islam
- {{harvnb|Houtsma|1913|p=260}}.
- ''Emunoth ve-Deoth'', II:5
- Simmons, Shraga, "Why Jews Do not Believe in Jesus", Retrieved April 15, 2007; "Why Jews Do not Believe in Jesus", Ohr Samayach — ''Ask the Rabbi'', Retrieved April 15, 2007; "Why do not Jews believe that Jesus was the messiah?", AskMoses.com, Retrieved April 15, 2007
- "Even Jesus the Nazarene who imagined that he would be Messiah and was killed by the court, was already prophesied by Daniel. So that it was said, "And the members of the outlaws of your nation would be carried to make a (prophetic) vision stand. And they stumbled." (Daniel 11.14) Because, is there a greater stumbling-block than this one? So that all of the prophets spoke that the Messiah redeems Israel, and saves them, and gathers their banished ones, and strengthens their commandments. And this one caused (nations) to destroy Israel by sword, and to scatter their remnant, and to humiliate them, and to exchange the Torah, and to make the majority of the world err to serve a divinity besides God. However, the thoughts of the Creator of the world — there is no force in a human to attain them because our ways are not God's ways, and our thoughts not God's thoughts. And all these things of Jesus the Nazarene, and of (Muhammad) the Ishmaelite who stood after him — there is no (purpose) but to straighten out the way for the King Messiah, and to restore all the world to serve God together. So that it is said, "Because then I will turn toward the nations (giving them) a clear lip, to call all of them in the name of God and to serve God (shoulder to shoulder as) one shoulder."(Zephaniah 3.9) Look how all the world already becomes full of the things of the Messiah, and the things of the Torah, and the things of the commandments! And these things spread among the far islands and among the many nations uncircumcised of heart. "Hilchot Malachim (laws concerning kings) (Hebrew)", MechonMamre.org, Retrieved April 15, 2007
- Messianic Jews Are Not Jews
- Contemporary American Reform Responsa, #68, "Question 18.3.4: Reform's Position On...What is unacceptable practice?", faqs.org. Retrieved April 15, 2007.
- Jesus Christ in the Baha'i Writings
- The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Introduction by Swami Nikhilananda, p. 34.
- Christ the Messenger
- Paramahansa Yogananda, ''Autobiography of a Yogi,'' 2nd ed., Crystal Clarity Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1–56589–212–7.
- Beverley, James A., Hollywood's Idol, Christianity Today, "Jesus Christ also lived previous lives", he said. "So, you see, he reached a high state, either as a Bodhisattva, or an enlightened person, through Buddhist practice or something like that", Retrieved April 20, 2007
- 101 Zen Stories; #16
- Mandaean Scriptures and Fragments: ''The Haran Gawaitha''
- Bevan, A. A. (1930). "Manichaeism". ''Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume VIII'' Ed. James Hastings. London
- Wills, Garry, ''What Jesus Meant'' (2006) ISBN 0–670–03496–7
- Crossan, John Dominic, ''The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant'', HarperSanFrancisco (1993), ISBN 0–06–061629–6; Robert Funk, ''The Five Gospels: What did Jesus really say? The search for the authentic words of Jesus'', Harper San Francisco (1997), ISBN 0–06–063040-X; Robert Funk, ''The Acts of Jesus: What Did Jesus Really Do?'', The Jesus Seminar, Harper San Francisco (1998), ISBN 0–06–062978–9; The Jesus Seminar, ''The Gospel of Jesus: According to the Jesus Seminar'', Robert Walter Funk (Editor), Polebridge Press (1999), ISBN 0–944344–74–7
- {{niv|John|13:34–35|John 13:34–35}}
- Sniegocki, John. "Review of Joseph GRASSI, ''Peace on Earth: Roots and Practices from Luke's Gospel''," Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2004 (repentance, forgiveness);
Bock, Darrell L. "Major Themes of Jesus' life", (coming of the Kingdom of God);
Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann. "Review of ''If Grace Is So Amazing, Why Do not We Like It?,''" (grace);
Hughes, F. A. "Grace and Truth", Stem Publishing 1972 (grace)
- Handbook of early Christianity: social science approaches
- The Jefferson Bible
- "Paul, St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "Christology." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "Christology." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "Christology." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "Strauss, David Frederick." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "Christian Antisemitism: A History of Hate" by William Nicholls, 1993. Published by Jason Aronson Inc., 1995; "Mature Christianity: The Recognition and Repudiation of the Anti-Jewish Polemic in the New Testament" Norman A. Beck, Susquehanna Univ. Press, 1985; "The Satanizing of the Jews: Origin and development of mystical anti-Semitism" Joel Carmichael, Fromm, 1993; "The Origins of Anti-Semitism: Attitudes Toward Judaism in Pagan and Christian Antiquity" John G. Gager, Oxford Univ. Press, 1983; "What Did They Think of the Jews?" Edited by Allan Gould, Jason Aronson Inc., 1991; "The New Testament's Anti-Jewish Slander and Conventions of Ancient Polemic", Luke Johnson, Journal of Biblical Literature, Volume 3, 1989; "Three Popes and the Jews" Pinchas E. Lapide, Hawthorne Books, 1967; "National Socialism and the Roman Catholic Church" Nathaniel Micklem, Oxford Univ. Press, 1939; Theological Anti-Semitism in the New Testament", Rosemary Radford Ruether, Christian Century, Feb. 1968, Vol. 85; "John Chrysostom and the Jews" Robert L. Wilken, Univ. of California Press, Berkeley, 1983
- ''Of Revelation and Revolution, Volume 1: Christianity, Colonialism, and Consciousness in South Africa'' by Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff 1991 University of Chicago Press; ''A Violent Evangelism: The Political and Religious Conquest of the Americas'' by Luis Rivera Pagan 1992 Westminster Press; ''The Americas in the Spanish World Order: The Justification for Conquest in the 17th century'' by James Muldoon 1994 University of Pennsylvania Press; ''An Empire Divided: Religion, Republicanism, and the Making of French Colonialism, 1880–1914 by J.P. Daughton 2006 Oxford University Press; ''Contracting Colonialism: Translations and Christian Conversion in Tagalog Society Under Early Spanish Rule'' by Vicente L. Rafael 1988 Cornell University Press; ''Christians and Missionaries in India: Cross-Cultural Communication Since 1500; With Special Reference to Caste, Conversion, and Colonialism (Studies in the History of Christian Missions)'' edited by Robert Eric Frykenberg and Alaine Low 2003 Wm. B. Eerdmans
- ,
References
- Some of the historians and Biblical scholars who place the birth and death of Jesus within this range include D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris. ''An Introduction to the New Testament.'' Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992, 54, 56
- Michael Grant, ''Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels'', Scribner's, 1977, p. 71; John P. Meier, ''A Marginal Jew'', Doubleday, 1991–, vol. 1:214; E. P. Sanders, ''The Historical Figure of Jesus'', Penguin Books, 1993, pp. 10–11, and Ben Witherington III, "Primary Sources," ''Christian History'' 17 (1998) No. 3:12–20.
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. Introduction, pp. 1–40
- Amy-Jill Levine, ''The Oxford History of the Biblical World'', New York, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 371, Chapter 10: Visions of Kingdoms: From Pompey to the First Jewish Revolt (63 BCE – 70 CE), M. Coogan et al. (eds.)
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. "Introduction," p. 1–30.
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "The Historical Jesus" pp. 255–260
- Crossan, John Dominic. The essential Jesus. Edison: Castle Books. 1998.
- Examples of authors who argue the Jesus myth hypothesis: Thomas L. Thompson ''The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David '' (Jonathan Cape, Publisher, 2006); Michael Martin, ''The Case Against Christianity'' (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991), 36–72; John Mackinnon Robertson
- Raymond E. Brown, ''The Death of the Messiah: From Gethsemane to the Grave'' (New York: Doubleday, Anchor Bible Reference Library 1994), p. 964; D. A. Carson, et al., pp. 50–56; Shaye J.D. Cohen, ''From the Maccabees to the Mishnah'', Westminster Press, 1987, pp. 78, 93, 105, 108; John Dominic Crossan, ''The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant'', HarperCollins, 1991, pp. xi – xiii; Michael Grant, pp. 34–35, 78, 166, 200; Paula Fredriksen, ''Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews'', Alfred B. Knopf, 1999, pp. 6–7, 105–110, 232–234, 266; John P. Meier, vol. 1:68, 146, 199, 278, 386, 2:726; E.P. Sanders, pp. 12–13; Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew (Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1973), p. 37.; Paul L. Maier, ''In the Fullness of Time'', Kregel, 1991, pp. 1, 99, 121, 171; N. T. Wright, ''The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions'', HarperCollins, 1998, pp. 32, 83, 100–102, 222; Ben Witherington III, pp. 12–20.
- Though many historians may have certain reservations about the use of the Gospels for writing history, "even the most hesitant, however, will concede that we are probably on safe historical footing" concerning certain basic facts about the life of Jesus; Jo Ann H. Moran Cruz and Richard Gerberding, ''Medieval Worlds: An Introduction to European History'' Houghton Mifflin Company 2004, pp. 44–45.
- The Oxford History of the Biblical World
- For instance Raymond E. Brown in The Birth of the Messiah (ISBN 0-385-05405-X), p. 9
- Antitrinitarianism
- James Leslie Houlden, "Jesus: The Complete Guide", Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005, ISBN 082648011X
- Prof. Dr. Saban Ali Düzgün, "Uncovering Islam: Questions and Answers about Islamic Beliefs and Teachings", Ankara: The Presidency of Religious Affairs Publishing, 2004
- Compendium of Muslim Texts
- per ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''[1]
- Edwin D. Freed, ''Stories of Jesus' Birth'', (Continuum International, 2004), page 119.
- Geza Vermes, ''The Nativity: History and Legend'', London, Penguin, 2006, page 22.
- James D. G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered, Eerdmans Publishing (2003), page 324.
- Martin A. Larson, The Story of Christian Origins (1977), p. 470.
- Howard Clarke, The Gospel of Matthew and its readers, Indiana University Press, p. 13
- Luke states that John's ministry began in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas.
- The historical Jesus : a comprehensive guide
- The Gospel of Luke : new international commentary on the New Testament
- "What the Old Testament Prophesied About the Messiah"
- {{OED|synoptic}}
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.
- Ehrman, Bart D. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 978-0-06-073817-4
- Durant, Will. Caesar and Christ. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1972
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" pp. 302–310
- {{niv|Matthew|1:1-17|Matthew 1:1–17}}
- {{niv|Luke|3:23-38|Luke 3:23–38}}
- Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I–IX. Anchor Bible. Garden City: Doubleday, 1981, pp. 499–500; I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke (The New International Greek Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978, p. 158;
- New Testament Apocrypha: Gospels and Related Writings
- Howard W. Clarke, The Gospel of Matthew and Its Readers, Indiana University Press, 2003, p. 1
- {{niv|Matthew|13:55–56|Matthew 13:55–56}}, {{niv|Mark|6:3|Mark 6:3}}, and {{niv|Galatians|1:19|Galatians 1:19}}
- The Greek word ''adelphos'' in these verses, often translated as ''brother'', can refer to any familial relation, and most Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians translate the word as ''kinsman'', ''brethren'', or ''cousin'' in this context (see Perpetual virginity of Mary).
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "Matthew" pp. 272–285
- ''For Egypt'': {{niv|Matthew|2:13–23|Matthew 2:13–23}}; ''For Tyre and sometimes Sidon'':{{niv|Matthew|15:21–28|Matthew 15:21–28}} and {{niv|Mark|7:24–30|Mark 7:24–3}}
- Early Christian accounts reflect some perplexity at Jesus being baptized, especially by a subordinate figure. See "Baptism of Christ". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "John, Gospel of." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "John, Gospel of St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. "Introduction", pp. 1–30.
- {{niv|Mark|10:45|Mark 10:45}}
- {{niv|Luke|4:43|Luke 4:43}}
- {{niv|John|20:31|John 20:31}}.
- Meier 1991 vol. 1:405
- Introduction. Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993.
- "The Thompson Chain-Reference Study Bible NIV", published December 1999, B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co., Inc.; William Adler & Paul Tuffin, "The Chronography of George Synkellos: A Byzantine Chronicle of Universal History from the Creation", Oxford University Press (2002), p. 466
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998.
- Luke 14:26, Matthew 10:37. Luke contains a harsher version than the saying in Matthew, as does Thomas. Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. p. 353
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "Mark" pp. 285–296
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "Luke" pp. 297–301
- In ''John'', Jesus' ministry takes place in and around Jerusalem.
- ''Sermon on the Mount'': {{niv|Matthew|5–7|Matthew 5–7}}; ''Prodigal Son'': {{niv|Luke|15:11–32|Luke 15:11–32}}; ''Parable of the Sower'': {{niv|Matthew|13:1–9|Matthew 13:1–9}}; ''Agape'': {{niv|Matthew|22:34–40|Matthew 22:34–40}}.
- Crossan, John Dominic. The essential Jesus. Edison: Castle Books. 1998.
- {{niv|Matthew|9:9–13|Matthew 9:9–13}})
- {{niv|Matthew|17:1–6|Matthew 17:1–6}}, {{niv|Mark|9:1–8|Mark 9:1–8}}, {{niv|Luke|9:28–36|Luke 9:28–36}}
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Mark" pp. 51–161
- "Messianic Secret", Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. pages 72–73.
- "John, Gospel of St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" pp. 302–310
- "Jesus was claiming for himself the title "I AM" by which God designates himself... he was claiming to be God." – Wayne Grudem, ''Systematic Theology'', page 546, Zondervan.
- The crowd was quoting {{niv|Psalms|118:26|Psalms 118:26}}; found in {{niv|John|12:13–16|John 12:13–16}}.
- John puts the cleansing of the temple at the start of Jesus' ministry.
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Matthew" pp. 129–270
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Luke" pp. 267–364
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "John" pp. 365–440
- The apostle is identified as Simon Peter in {{niv|john|18:10|John 18:10}}; the healing of the ear is found in {{niv|luke|22:51|Luke 22:51}}.
- (Matthew 27:24–25)
- ({{niv|Matthew|27:11–26|Matthew 27:11–26}})
- Ehrman, Bart D.. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 978-0-06-073817-4
- (Matt 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45)
- {{niv|matthew|28:1|Matthew 28:1}}; {{niv|mark|16:9|Mark 16:9}}; {{niv|luke|24:1|Luke 24:1}}; {{niv|John|20:1|John 20:1}}
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Empty Tomb, Appearances & Ascension" pp. 449–495.
- Jesus' appearances in Mark were not part of the original text. See Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Empty Tomb, Appearances & Ascension" pp. 449–495.
- {{niv|Matthew|15:24|Matthew 15:24}}
- Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. p. 491
- {{niv|Mark|16:19|Mark 16:19}}; {{niv|Luke|24:51|Luke 24:51}}
- {{niv|john|20:17|John 20:17}}
- Borg, Marcus J. in Borg, Marcus J. and N. T. Wright. The Meaning of Jesus: Two visions. New York: HarperCollins. 2007.
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. "Introduction," pp. 1–30.
- Pope's Book: A Lifetime of Learning
- Pope Benedict XVI, ''Jesus of Nazareth''. Doubleday, 2007. ISBN 978-0-385-52341-7
- Chesterton, G. K. The everlasting man. 1925, Part II, chapter II, also says that "the merely human Christ is a made-up figure, a piece of artificial selection".
- Extrabiblical references to Jesus
- "The nonhistoricity thesis has always been controversial, and it has consistently failed to convince scholars of many disciplines and religious creeds. ... Biblical scholars and classical historians now regard it as effectively refuted." – Van Voorst, Robert E. ''Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence'' (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000), p. 16.
- "The denial of Jesus' historicity has never convinced any large number of people, in or out of technical circles, nor did it in the first part of the century." Walter P. Weaver, ''The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century, 1900-1950'', (Continuum International, 1999), page 71.
- "about once every generation someone reruns the thesis that Jesus never existed and that the Jesus tradition is a wholesale invention", J. G. Dunn, ''Jesus Remembered'', (Eerdmans, 2003), page 142.
- "There is almost universal agreement that Jesus lived." Bernard L. Ramm, ''An Evangelical Christology: Ecumenic and Historic'', (Regent College Publishing, 1993), page 19.
- "some judgements are so probable as to be certain; for example, Jesus really existed", Marcus Borg, 'A Vision of the Christian Life', in Marcus J. Borg and N T Wright, ''The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions'', (HarperCollins, 1999), page 236.
- Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005 – article "Historical Jesus, Quest of the"
- Meier (1991), pp. 43–4
- For a comparison of the Jesus movement to the Zealots, see S. G. F. Brandon, ''Jesus and the Zealots: a study of the political factor in primitive Christianity,'' Manchester University Press (1967) ISBN 0–684–31010–4
- For a general comparison of Jesus' teachings to other schools of first century Judaism, see John P. Meier, ''Companions and Competitors (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume 3)'' Anchor Bible, 2001. ISBN 0–385–46993–4.
- Shaye J.D. Cohen, ''From the Maccabees to the Mishnah'', Westminster Press, 1987, pp. 78, 93, 105, 108; John Dominic Crossan, ''The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant'', HarperCollins, 1991, pp. xi – xiii; Michael Grant, pp. 34–35, 78, 166, 200; Paula Fredriksen, ''Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews'', Alfred B. Knopf, 1999, pp. 6–7, 105–110, 232–234, 266; John P. Meier, vol. 1:68, 146, 199, 278, 386, 2:726; E.P. Sanders, pp. 12–13; Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew (Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1973), p. 37.;
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "The Historical Jesus" pp. 255–260
- Sanders, E.P. ''Jesus and Judaism.'' Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1987; Vermes, Geza. ''Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels.'' Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1981; Fredriksen, Paula. ''From Jesus to Christ.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000.
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993.
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. page 21.
- Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, I. Howard Marshall, ''Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels'' (InterVarsity Press, 1992), page 442
- Durant, Will. ''Caesar and Christ''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1944. p. 558; John P. Meier, ''A Marginal Jew''. New York: Doubleday, 1991 vol. 1:205–7;
- "Origin of the Name of Jesus Christ". ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. Retrieved April 14, 2007.''
- Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article ''Messiah''
- Vermes, "Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels"
- Crossan, John Dominic, God and Empire, 2007, p. 28
- Vermes, "Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels"
- Vermes, "Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels"
- Vermes, "Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels"
- "A further point of broad agreement among New Testament scholars is ... that the historical Jesus did not make the claim to deity that later Christian thought was to make for him: he did not understand himself to be God, or God the Son, incarnate." – John Hick, ''The Metaphor of God Incarnate: Christology in a Pluralistic Age'', Westminster John Knox Press, page 27.
- Michael Ramsey, ''Jesus and the Living Past'' (Oxford University Press, 1980), page 39: 'Jesus did not claim deity for himself'
- C. F. D. Moule, ''The Origin of Christology'': 'Any case for a "high" Christology that depended on the authenticity of the alleged claims of Jesus about himself, especially in the Fourth Gospel, would indeed be precarious'
- James Dunn (theologian), ''Christology in the Making'', (SCM Press 1980), page 254: 'We cannot claim that Jesus believed himself to be the incarnate Son of God' and 'There is no question in my mind that the doctrine of incarnation comes to clear expression within the NT…John 1.14 ranks as a classic formulation of the Christian belief in Jesus as incarnate God.' Page xiii.
- Brian Hebblethwaite, ''The Incarnation'' (Cambridge University Press, 1987), page 74: 'it is no longer possible to defend the divinity of Jesus by reference to the claims of Jesus'.
- John A. T. Robinson, ''Honest to God'', Westminster Press (1963), Page 47: 'It is, indeed, an open question whether Jesus ever claimed to be the Son of God, let alone God.'
- Larry Hurtado, ''Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity'', page 5, describes the view that Jesus made 'both his messiahship and his divinity clear to his disciples during his ministry' as 'naive and ahistorical'.
- Larry Hurtado, ''Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity'', (Eerdmans, 2005), page 650.
- "Pharisees", Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Based on a comparison of the Gospels with the Talmud and other Jewish literature. Maccoby, Hyam ''Jesus the Pharisee,'' Scm Press, 2003. ISBN 0–334–02914–7; Falk, Harvey ''Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus,'' Wipf & Stock Publishers (2003). ISBN 1–59244–313–3.
- Neusner, Jacob ''A Rabbi Talks With Jesus,'' McGill-Queen's University Press, 2000. ISBN 0–7735–2046–5. Rabbi Neusner contends that Jesus' teachings were closer to the House of Shammai than the House of Hillel.
- "Sadducees". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Based on a comparison of the Gospels with the Dead Sea Scrolls, especially the Teacher of Righteousness and Pierced Messiah. Eisenman, Robert ''James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls,'' Penguin (Non-Classics), 1998. ISBN 0–14–025773-X; Stegemann, Hartmut ''The Library of Qumran: On the Essenes, Qumran, John the Baptist, and Jesus.'' Grand Rapids MI, 1998. See also Broshi, Magen, "What Jesus Learned from the Essenes", ''Biblical Archaeology Review,'' 30:1, pg. 32–37, 64. Magen notes similarities between Jesus' teachings on the virtue of poverty and divorce, and Essene teachings as related in Josephus' ''The Jewish Wars'' and in the Damascus Document of the Dead Sea Scrolls, respectively. See also Akers, Keith ''The Lost Religion of Jesus.'' Lantern, 2000. ISBN 1-930051-26-3.
- Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, p. 14
- Crossan, John Dominic. The essential Jesus. Edison: Castle Books. 1998. p. 146
- See Schwietzer, Albert ''The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Critical Study of its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede,'' pp. 370–371, 402. Scribner (1968), ISBN 0–02–089240–3; Ehrman, Bart ''Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium,'' Oxford University Press USA, 1999. ISBN 0–19–512474-X. Crossan, however, makes a distinction between John's apocalyptic ministry and Jesus' ethical ministry. See Crossan, John Dominic, ''The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus,'' pp. 305–344. Harper Collins, 1998. ISBN 0–06–061659–8.
- This includes the belief that Jesus was the Messiah. Brown, Michael L. ''Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Messianic Prophecy Objections'' Baker Books, 2003. ISBN 0–8010–6423–6. Brown shows how the Christian concept of Messiah relates to ideas current in late Second Temple period Judaism. See also Klausner, Joseph, ''The Messianic Idea in Israel: From its Beginning to the Completion of the Mishnah,'' Macmillan 1955; Patai, Raphael, ''Messiah Texts,'' Wayne State University Press, 1989. ISBN 0–8143–1850–9; Crossan, John Dominic, ''The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus,'' pg. 461. Harper Collins, 1998. ISBN 0–06–061659–8. Patai and Klausner state that one interpretation of the prophecies reveal either two Messiahs, Messiah ben Yosef (the dying Messiah) and Messiah ben David (the Davidic King), or one Messiah who comes twice. Crossan cites the Essene teachings about the twin Messiahs. Compare to the Christian doctrine of the Second Coming.
- .
- "Zealots". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "Jesus Christ". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "The New Testament was complete, or substantially complete, about AD 100, the majority of the writings being in existence twenty to forty years before this...the situation is encouraging from the historian's point of view, for the first three Gospels were written at a time when many were alive who could remember the things that Jesus said and did... At any rate, the time elapsing between the evangelic events and the writing of most of the New Testament books was, from the standpoint of historical research, satisfactorily short." Bruce, F. F.: ''The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?'', pp. 12–14, InterVarsity Press, USA, 1997.
- "There is no reason to doubt that we have in the Gospel tradition several authentic fragments of His Christ's teaching (albeit in Greek translation)." "Jesus Christ". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- Early Christian Writings: Gospel of Mark
- The Gospel of Mark
- A Marginal Jew
- A. Harnack, ''The Date of Acts and the Synoptic Gospels'' (1911), p. 90; J. A. T. Robinson, ''Redating the New Testament'', pp. 86–92; I. H. Marshall, ''Luke'', p. 35; A. J. Mattill Jr., ‘The Date and Purpose of Luke-Acts: Rackham reconsidered, in ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly'' 40 (1978), pp. 335–350.
- "Matthew, Gospel acc. to St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- "The interval then between the dates of the original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Sciptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the ''authenticity'' and the ''general integrity'' of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established." As quoted in Bruce, F. F.: ''The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?'', p. 20, InterVarsity Press, USA, 1997.
- Meier, John P., ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus'', Doubleday: 1991. vol 1: pp. 168–171.
- Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. Introduction, pp. 1–38
- Kenneth Keulman, Critical Moments in Religious History, Mercer University Press, p. 56
- Andrew F. Gregory, Christopher Mark Tuckett, The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers, Oxford University Press, p. 178
- Durant 1944:553–7
- Bruce, FF (1982). ''New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?'' InterVarsity Press, ISBN 087784691X
- Herzog II, WR (2005). ''Prophet and Teacher''. WJK, ISBN 0664225284
- Reinventing Jesus
- Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence
- "…if we apply to the New Testament, as we should, the same sort of criteria as we should apply to other ancient writings containing historical material, we can no more reject Jesus' existence than we can reject the existence of a mass of pagan personages whose reality as historical figures is never questioned. ... To sum up, modern critical methods fail to support the Christ myth theory. It has 'again and again been answered and annihilated by first rank scholars.' In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." M. Grant, ''Jesus: An Historian's Review'', pp. 199–200. 1977
- This section draws on a number of sources to determine the doctrines of these groups, especially the early Creeds, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, certain theological works, and various Confessions drafted during the Reformation including the Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England, works contained in the Book of Concord, and others.
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §436–40; ''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 2; Irenaeus ''Adversus Haereses'' in ''Patrologia Graeca'' ed. J. P. Migne (Paris, 1857–1866) 7/1, 93; {{niv|Luke|2:1|Luke 2:11}}; {{niv|Matthew|16:16|Matthew 16:16}}
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §606–618; Council of Trent (1547) in Denzinger-Schönmetzer, ''Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum'' (1965) §1529;{{niv|John|14:2–3|John 14:2–3}}
- ''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 9; ''Augsburg Confession'', article 2; ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 8; {{niv|Romans|5:12–21|Rom 5:12–21}}; {{niv|1_Corthians|15:21–22|1 Cor 15:21–22}}.
- Thomas Aquinas, ''Summa Theologica'', First Part of the Second Part, Question 87, Article 7, Reply to Objection 3, available here
- Apostles' Creed; Nicene Creed;Luther's Small Catechism commentary on Apostles' Creed; ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 9
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §638–655; Byzantine Liturgy, ''Troparion'' of Easter; ''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 4 and 17; ''Augsburg Confession'', article 3; ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 9.
- Apostles' Creed; Nicene Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church §668–675, 678–679; Luther's Small Catechism commentary on Apostles' Creed; {{niv|Matthew|25:32–46|Mt 25:32–46}}
- Catechism of the Catholic Church §1021–1022
- Fuller 1965, p. 15
- Apostles' Creed; Nicene Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church §441–451; ''Augsburg Confession'', article 3; Luther's Small Catechism, commentary on Apostles' Creed; {{niv|Matthew|16:16–17|Matthew 16:16–17}}; {{niv|1_Corinthians|2:8|1 Corinthians 2:8}}
- ''Augsburg Confession'', article 3; {{niv|John|1:1|John 1:1}}
- Apostles' Creed; Nicene Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church §461–463;''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 2; Luther's Small Catechism commentary on Apostles' Creed; {{niv|John|1:14–16|John 1:14, 16}}; {{niv|Hebrews|10:5–7|Hebrews 10:5–7}}
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §456–460; Gregory of Nyssa, Orat. catech. 15 in ''Patrologia Graeca'' ed. J. P. Migne (Paris, 1857–1866) 45, 48B; St. Irenaeus, ''Adversus Haereses'' 3.19.1 in ibid. 7/1, 939; St. Athanasius, ''De inc.'', 54.3 in ibid. 25, 192B. St. Thomas Aquinas, ''Opusc.'' in ibid. 57: 1–4; {{niv|Galatians|4:4–5|Galatians 4:4–5}}
- Apostles' Creed; Nicene Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church §484–489, 494–507; Luther's Small Catechism commentary on Apostles' Creed
- Barth 1956, p. 207
- MacLeod 1998, pp. 37–41
- ''Nicene Creed''; ''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 1; ''Augsburg Confession'', article 1; ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 3; Council of Nicaea I (325) in Denzinger-Schönmetzer, ''{{lang|la|Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum}}'' (1965) §126; Council of Constantinople II (553) in ibid. §424 and 424; Council of Ephesus in ibid. §255; {{niv|John|1:1|John 1:1}}; {{niv|John|8:58|8:58}}; {{niv|John|10:30|10:30}}
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §464–469; ''Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England'', article 2 and 3 ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 9; Council of Ephesus (431) in Denzinger-Schönmetzer, ''{{lang|la|Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum}}'' (1965) §250; Council of Ephesus in ibid. §251; Council of Chalcedon (451) in ibid. §301 and 302; {{niv|Hebrews|4:15|Hebrews 4:15}}.
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' §541–546
- Apostles' Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church §551–553; ''Augsburg Confession'', article 8; Luther's Small Catechism commentary on Apostles' Creed; ''Second Helvetic Confession'', chapter 9; Leo the Great, ''Sermo'' 4.3 in ''Patrologia Latina'' ed. J. P. Migne (Paris, 1841–1855); {{niv|Matthew|16:18|Matthew 16:18}}
- "Peter, St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- ''Catechism of the Catholic Church"§1322–1419; Martin Luther, ''Augsburg Confession'', article 10; Luther's Small Catechism: ''the Sacrament of the Altar''
- "Sacrament." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- John Calvin, Calvin's Calvinism BOOK II Chapter 15 Centers for Reformed Theology and Apologetics online (1996–2002, accessed June 03, 2006); available here
- H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology Chapter 22 online (Nampa, Idah: 1993–2005, accessed June 03, 2006); available here
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- {{sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=3 Nephi|chapter=11|verse=8}}
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- "Revelation—Its Grand Climax at Hand!" –1988| chap. 27 pp. 180–181 par. 15 "God's Kingdom Is Born!"|. © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| "But who is Michael? The name "Michael" means "Who Is Like God?" So Michael must be interested in vindicating Jehovah's sovereignty by proving that no one is to be compared to Him. In Jude verse 9, he is called "Michael the archangel". Interestingly, the title "archangel" is used elsewhere in the Bible with reference to only one person: Jesus Christ. Paul says of him: "The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel's voice"
- "Insight On The Scriptures 2" –1988| p. 393 "Michael"|. © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| "Scriptural evidence indicates that the name Michael applied to God's Son before he left heaven to become Jesus Christ and also after his return. Michael is the only one said to be "the archangel", meaning "chief angel", or "principal angel". The term occurs in the Bible only in the singular. This seems to imply that there is but one whom God has designated chief, or head, of the angelic host. At 1 Thessalonians 4:16 the voice of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ is described as being that of an archangel, suggesting that he is, in fact, himself the archangel"
- "Jesus The Ruler Whose Origin Is From Early Times", ''The Watchtower'' (June 15, 1998) p. 22.| "Some centuries later came Jesus' greatest assignment up to that time. Jehovah transferred the life force of his beloved Son from heaven into the womb of Mary. Nine months later she gave birth to a baby boy, Jesus. (Luke 2:1–7, 21)"
- "Reasoning From The Scriptures" –1985 © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| p. 257 par. 1 Mary (Jesus' Mother) "Heb. 2:14, 17, JB: "Since all the children share the same blood and flesh, he Jesus too shared equally in {{nowrap|it . . .}} It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his brothers." (But would he have been "completely like his brothers" if he had been a God-man?)"
- "Insight On The Scriptures" –1988| p. 53 "Jesus Christ"|. © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| "Doubtless on many occasions during his prehuman existence as the Word, Jesus acted as Jehovah's Spokesman to persons on earth. While certain texts refer to Jehovah as though directly speaking to humans, other texts make clear that he did so through an angelic representative. (Compare Ex 3:2–4 with Ac 7:30, 35; also Ge 16:7–11, 13; 22:1, 11, 12, 15–18.) Reasonably, in the majority of such cases God spoke through the Word. He likely did so in Eden, for on two of the three occasions where mention is made of God's speaking there, the record specifically shows someone was with Him, undoubtedly his Son. (Ge 1:26–30; 2:16, 17; 3:8–19, 22) The angel who guided Israel through the wilderness and whose voice the Israelites were strictly to obey because 'Jehovah's name was within him,' may therefore have been God's Son, the Word.—Ex 23:20–23; compare Jos 5:13–15."
- Watchtower 9/1/06 1 p. 28 par. 5 "Let Your Petitions Be Made Known to God" © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| "5 Jehovah does not lay down a lot of rigid rules on how to pray. Nevertheless, we need to learn the proper approach to God, which is explained in the Bible. For instance, Jesus taught his followers: "If you ask the Father for anything he will give it to you in my name." (John 16:23) Hence, we are required to pray in Jesus' name, recognizing Jesus as the sole channel through which God's blessings are extended to all mankind."
- {{niv|John|3:16|John 3:16}}
- {{niv|Colossians|1:15|Col 1:15}}
- {{niv|romans|11:36|Rom 11:36}}
- "What Do They Believe?", Watchtower Bible and Tract Society c.f., Retrieved April 14, 2007
- "Who is Jesus Christ?", ''The Watchtower'', September 15, 2005, Retrieved December 3, 2007.
- "Insight On The Scriptures" –1988 © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| it-1 p. 1197 Incorruption "Raised to Immortality and Incorruption. Christ Jesus entered into immortality upon his resurrection from the dead, thereafter possessing "an indestructible life." (1Ti 6:15, 16; Heb 7:15–17)"
- The Watchtower © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania| 10/1/06 p. 5 You Can Live Forever|"the apostle Paul explains: "Christ, now that he has been raised up from the dead, dies no more; death is master over him no more." (Romans 6:9)"|
- One God or a Trinity?
- One God or a Trinity?
- Jesus: God the Son or Son of God? Does the Bible Teach the Trinity?
- The Salvic Efficacy of Christ's Sacrifice - refuting all Trinitarians
- Jesus: God the Son or Son of God? Does the Bible Teach the Trinity?
- Christ is Coming! Bible Teaching About His Return
- Ehrman, Bart D. ''Lost Christianities'', Oxford, 2003, p. 102.
- "Christology". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
- McManners, John, ed., ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity,'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990, pp. 26–31.
- Ehrman, Bart D. ''Lost Christianities'', Oxford, 2003, pp. 124–125.
- Wace, Henry, "Commentary on Marcion", Retrieved April 16, 2007.
- Ehrman, Bart D. ''Lost Christianities'', Oxford, 2003, p. 103, pp. 104–105, p. 108
- The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, p. 158
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- "Even Jesus the Nazarene who imagined that he would be Messiah and was killed by the court, was already prophesied by Daniel. So that it was said, "And the members of the outlaws of your nation would be carried to make a (prophetic) vision stand. And they stumbled." (Daniel 11.14) Because, is there a greater stumbling-block than this one? So that all of the prophets spoke that the Messiah redeems Israel, and saves them, and gathers their banished ones, and strengthens their commandments. And this one caused (nations) to destroy Israel by sword, and to scatter their remnant, and to humiliate them, and to exchange the Torah, and to make the majority of the world err to serve a divinity besides God. However, the thoughts of the Creator of the world — there is no force in a human to attain them because our ways are not God's ways, and our thoughts not God's thoughts. And all these things of Jesus the Nazarene, and of (Muhammad) the Ishmaelite who stood after him — there is no (purpose) but to straighten out the way for the King Messiah, and to restore all the world to serve God together. So that it is said, "Because then I will turn toward the nations (giving them) a clear lip, to call all of them in the name of God and to serve God (shoulder to shoulder as) one shoulder."(Zephaniah 3.9) Look how all the world already becomes full of the things of the Messiah, and the things of the Torah, and the things of the commandments! And these things spread among the far islands and among the many nations uncircumcised of heart. "Hilchot Malachim (laws concerning kings) (Hebrew)", MechonMamre.org, Retrieved April 15, 2007
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- Crossan, John Dominic, ''The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant'', HarperSanFrancisco (1993), ISBN 0–06–061629–6; Robert Funk, ''The Five Gospels: What did Jesus really say? The search for the authentic words of Jesus'', Harper San Francisco (1997), ISBN 0–06–063040-X; Robert Funk, ''The Acts of Jesus: What Did Jesus Really Do?'', The Jesus Seminar, Harper San Francisco (1998), ISBN 0–06–062978–9; The Jesus Seminar, ''The Gospel of Jesus: According to the Jesus Seminar'', Robert Walter Funk (Editor), Polebridge Press (1999), ISBN 0–944344–74–7
- {{niv|John|13:34–35|John 13:34–35}}
- Sniegocki, John. "Review of Joseph GRASSI, ''Peace on Earth: Roots and Practices from Luke's Gospel''," Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2004 (repentance, forgiveness);
Bock, Darrell L. "Major Themes of Jesus' life", (coming of the Kingdom of God);
Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann. "Review of ''If Grace Is So Amazing, Why Do not We Like It?,''" (grace);
Hughes, F. A. "Grace and Truth", Stem Publishing 1972 (grace)
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- "Christian Antisemitism: A History of Hate" by William Nicholls, 1993. Published by Jason Aronson Inc., 1995; "Mature Christianity: The Recognition and Repudiation of the Anti-Jewish Polemic in the New Testament" Norman A. Beck, Susquehanna Univ. Press, 1985; "The Satanizing of the Jews: Origin and development of mystical anti-Semitism" Joel Carmichael, Fromm, 1993; "The Origins of Anti-Semitism: Attitudes Toward Judaism in Pagan and Christian Antiquity" John G. Gager, Oxford Univ. Press, 1983; "What Did They Think of the Jews?" Edited by Allan Gould, Jason Aronson Inc., 1991; "The New Testament's Anti-Jewish Slander and Conventions of Ancient Polemic", Luke Johnson, Journal of Biblical Literature, Volume 3, 1989; "Three Popes and the Jews" Pinchas E. Lapide, Hawthorne Books, 1967; "National Socialism and the Roman Catholic Church" Nathaniel Micklem, Oxford Univ. Press, 1939; Theological Anti-Semitism in the New Testament", Rosemary Radford Ruether, Christian Century, Feb. 1968, Vol. 85; "John Chrysostom and the Jews" Robert L. Wilken, Univ. of California Press, Berkeley, 1983
- ''Of Revelation and Revolution, Volume 1: Christianity, Colonialism, and Consciousness in South Africa'' by Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff 1991 University of Chicago Press; ''A Violent Evangelism: The Political and Religious Conquest of the Americas'' by Luis Rivera Pagan 1992 Westminster Press; ''The Americas in the Spanish World Order: The Justification for Conquest in the 17th century'' by James Muldoon 1994 University of Pennsylvania Press; ''An Empire Divided: Religion, Republicanism, and the Making of French Colonialism, 1880–1914 by J.P. Daughton 2006 Oxford University Press; ''Contracting Colonialism: Translations and Christian Conversion in Tagalog Society Under Early Spanish Rule'' by Vicente L. Rafael 1988 Cornell University Press; ''Christians and Missionaries in India: Cross-Cultural Communication Since 1500; With Special Reference to Caste, Conversion, and Colonialism (Studies in the History of Christian Missions)'' edited by Robert Eric Frykenberg and Alaine Low 2003 Wm. B. Eerdmans
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