Category Archives: historical Jesus

What good is a dead Messiah?

Posted on March 8, 2013 by

How the first century Jews understood the Messiah and resurrection When we consider the resurrection of Jesus, usually two competing viewpoints come immediately to mind: either Jesus rose from the dead, or he did not. That makes sense. But there’s … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural interaction, historical Jesus, theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What can we know about the historical Jesus?

Posted on February 8, 2013 by

We’ve learned in previous posts which gospels we can trust as generally reliable historical sources, and why. So, now, what do we really know about Jesus? Let’s see what we can discover about this historical figure. Miracle worker The New … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural interaction, historical Jesus | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How reliable are the New Testament gospels?

Posted on November 30, 2012 by

Let’s recap what we’ve learned so far [see below for links to previous posts]: We’ve verified that Jesus was a real, historical person. We’ve seen that the story of Jesus was unique and not copied from existing religions. We’ve discovered … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural interaction, historical Jesus | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why did the early Christians reject the “alternative gospels”?

Posted on November 9, 2012 by

If you read our last post, you saw why the early Christians accepted the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as authentic. But we also hear people talk about the “Gospel of Thomas,” the “Gospel of Peter,” and the … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural interaction, historical Jesus | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why did the early Christians accept the New Testament gospels?

Posted on October 27, 2012 by

As promised, this week we begin looking at our historical sources for the life and teachings of Jesus. Which ones do we trust, and which ones should we reject? To help us understand why followers of Christ refused to accept … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural interaction, historical Jesus | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Was the story of Christ copied from other religions?

Posted on October 19, 2012 by

In our search for the historical Jesus, we’re first examining the most broad challenges of the critics. These claims—if true—would be devastating to the biblical Christian faith, and so we want to consider them carefully. Last week, we saw strong … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural interaction, historical Jesus | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Did Jesus really exist?

Posted on October 11, 2012 by

Was Jesus Christ a real, historical person? Did he actually exist? We begin with the most broad of questions regarding Jesus, and it’s one that we need to answer. If the answer is no, then the implications are clear. If … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural interaction, historical Jesus | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment