In the past few decades many changes have occurred in the way scholars approach the study of Jesus. The main idea shifted from undisputable belief type of analysis to critical one, which analyses the person of Christ from the scientific and historical point of view. This popular subject finds its followers in many spheres of our cultural life: books, movies, and even music. During the semester I was introduced to two different works that examine Jesus – the book of Mark Allan Powell that is named Jesus as a Figure in History and television series of Frontline From Jesus to Christ. Both works are very interesting and somewhat controversial, and I will point out the subject and main ideas of the two. I believe that the main idea of the book written by Powell is well described in its name. Indeed book talks about the person of Jesus Christ from both perspectives, as a spiritual leader of the humankind and as just another figure in the infinite history of the Earth. The book is already more than five years old and today is heavily used as a textbook for introductory courses in theology.
Dr. Powell is a Head of the Historical Jesus section of the Society of Biblical Literature. He not only is a New Testament scholar in his own right; he is also a respected colleague and friend of the Jesus Scholars he discusses in his work. He not only has read their works, but he understands their positions from the inside. Powell begins his book by introducing his readers to some of the reasons why the historical quest began and why it is not something Christians should be afraid of. Obviously he has the ordinary Christian reader in mind, the reader, who may wonder at the need for such a quest. The writer delivers his ideas to the reader in easy and comprehendible way.
Case for the Resurrection of Jesus Book Review
Case for the Resurrection of Jesus By Gary R. Habermas, Michael R. Licona Zerrrouk (pen name) The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, was written by Gary R. Habermas, and co-authored by Michael R. Licona. Haberma is a distinguished professor, and the chairman of Philosophy and Theology at Liberty University, in Virginia. Habermas, using a minimal amount of facts, gives a provoking argument for the ...
In the first two chapters the author sets out the basic history of interpretation of Jesus and general trends and directions in scholarship. Which leads on to a discussion of the biblical and non-biblical sources for study of Jesus as a historical figure. This is both detailed enough to give the reader a genuine insight into the sources and yet is not burdensome. With the basics covered, Powell heads into the main section of the book by a chapter on some important figures within research, discussing their portrait of Jesus and supplying a basic critique. The rest of the book is taken up with 6 chapters discussing important scholars in current scholarship. The final chapter draws together many of the strands of thought, both on methodology and on whether Jesus should be thought of primarily in Hellenistic terms or Jewish ones that the whole book has been concerned with. Moreover, should a Jewish Jesus be an eschatological prophet or non-eschatological one? This conclusion draws out very well the main areas of debate and issues that the reader should have taken careful note of. Appropriately, Powell ends with a quote from Marks Gospel, which has Jesus asking the disciples: Who do you say I am?, and I suppose this is what the work is really all about.
The television series of Frontline From Jesus to Christ also appeared as the result of the popular in the recent years method of studying Jesus from the historic perspective. In 1998, PBS offered viewers a well-produced four-hour documentary on the latest critical thought on the life of Jesus and the development of early Christianity. The program was well produced, insightful, and interesting. The program assumed the skeptical “historical Jesus” approach as its foundation, which even from the standpoint of objectivity, let alone that of faith, has notable deficiencies. For those unfamiliar with it, “historical Jesus” research is investigation into what can be intellectually and historically accepted as fact about Jesus of Nazareth, without faith. Depicted in the film the historical Jesus research is useful, and valid. However, the speculations, findings, and methods of the field should not be accepted uncritically. For instance, the Frontline special brought together mostly religion professors, concentrating on literary criticism of the Gospels and numerous other writings.
The Essay on Chapter 5 Case Study 1
1. What do you think some possible drawbacks from recruiting from social network site might be? Some possible drawbacks from recruiting from social network site may be that it opens up the possibility for hackers to commit fraud and launch spam and virus attacks. It also can increases the risk of people falling prey to online scams that seem genuine, resulting in data or identity theft. 2. What ...
The invited experts had notable gaps in their expertise. The most glaring, to me, was a general ignorance of first-century Jewish thinking, and the antecedents, which fueled it. For instance, Jesus’ title for himself, “Son of Man,” is presented by several of the scholars as evidence that Jesus was not claiming himself to be anything but an ordinary guy. The fact is, that Jesus was a rabbi, and used the rabbinical technique known as rimmez, (allusion to Scripture) as a primary method of teaching, known to the regular synagogue-goers of the day. Still, made upon historical evidence, the series challenges familiar assumptions and conventional notions about Christian origins. Archaeological finds have yielded new understandings of Jesus’ class and social status; fresh interpretations have transformed earlier ideas about the identity of the early Christians and their communities. Through engaging on-camera interviews with twelve scholars – New Testament theologians, archaeologists, and historians – the series presents their contributions to this intellectual revolution. The scholars together represent a range of viewpoints and diversity of faiths and a shared commitment to bring new ways of thinking about Christianity to a public audience.
They discuss the value in a historical approach to Jesus and the Bible and whether Christian faith can be reconciled with such an approach. The aforementioned works about Jesus Christ serve as good example of the modern type of reasoning about Jesus. Even though these type of works do not give the monosemantic answer to the personality of Jesus, they pose even a greater value to the person who wants to study Christ, for they make the reader/viewer utilize all of the knowledge and thinking in the process of study..
