Who was Jesus?

by George Albert Wells

• ISBN13: 9780812690965
• ISBN10: 0812690966
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2013-12-01
• Publisher: Open Court

Summary

What do we know about the historical origins of Christianity? How reliable are the 27 books of the New Testament? Is Jesus a historical or a legendary figure?

Author Biography

G. A. Wells is Professor of German at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a leading authority on both German intellectual history and the origins of Christianity. His books include Goethe and the Development of Science, The Origin of Language, Religious Postures, and The Historical Evidence for Jesus.

Table of Contents

A Note on Quotations and Abbreviations	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
The Reliability of the Gospels	p. 5
Introduction	p. 5
The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles	p. 8
The Fourth Gospel	p. 10
The Gospel of Mark and the Messianic Secret	p. 11
The Question of Miracles	p. 15
Non-Christian Evidence	p. 20
The Resurrection	p. 25
The Gospel Accounts	p. 25
Paul's Account	p. 32
The Origin of the Resurrection Faith	p. 38
Conclusion	p. 43
Epilogue to Chapter Two: A Resurrection Debate	p. 46
The Virgin Birth	p. 53
Introduction	p. 53
The Birth at Bethlehem	p. 56
Matthew's Account	p. 56
Luke's Account	p. 60
Luke's Parallel Between John the Baptist and Jesus	p. 64
The Nativity as Fulfilment of Prophecy	p. 67
The Genealogies	p. 72
The Origin of the Virgin Birth Traditions	p. 78
Conclusion	p. 79
The Prelude to the Public Ministry	p. 83
Jesus and John the Baptist	p. 83
The Temptation	p. 99
The Passion	p. 111
From the Prediction to the Arrest	p. 111
The Prediction	p. 111
The Entry into Jerusalem	p. 113
Activity in Jerusalem	p. 115
The Anointing	p. 118
Gethsemane and the Arrest	p. 123
The Trial	p. 127
Peter's Denial	p. 127
The Jewish Trial	p. 132
Jesus before Pilate	p. 136
The Crucifixion	p. 146
Simon of Cyrene and the Inscription on the Cross	p. 146
Use of the Psalms	p. 148
Words from the Cross	p. 149
Matthaean and Lucan Specialities	p. 152
Conclusion	p. 154
Apocalypses, Jewish and Christian	p. 157
The Rise of Apocalyptic Thinking Among the Jews	p. 157
The Book of Daniel	p. 160
Further Jewish Apocalypses	p. 168
The New Testament Apocalypse	p. 171
Conclusion	p. 187
Notes	p. 195
Index of New Testament References	p. 213
General Index	p. 221
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