The Historical Evidence for Jesus
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Book Overview
In this thoroughly researched study, G.A. Wells has squarely faced the question of whether a man named Jesus lived, preached, healed, and died in Palestine during the early years of the first century of the Christian era - or indeed, at any time. Building on the biblical studies of Christian theologians, Dr. Wells soberly demonstrates that we have no reliable eyewitnesses to the events depicted in the New Testament. He publicizes a fact known to theological scholars but little-known in the average Christian congregation: that the order of books of the New Testament is not an accurate chronological arrangement. Indeed, Paul, who never saw Jesus, wrote his epistles to early Christian congregations before the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John were written. It may come as a great surprise to Christians and other monotheists, to agnostics, atheists, and humanists alike, that "the earliest references to the historical Jesus are so vague that it is not necessary to hold that he ever existed; the rise of Christianity can, from the undoubtedly historical antecedents, be explained quite well without him; and reasons can be given to show why, from about A.D. 80 or 90, Christians began to suppose that he had lived in Palestine about fifty years earlier." The Historical Evidence for Jesus is not a frontal attack on Christians per se; rather it is an easily understood but scholarly examination of the evidence for many long-accepted notions about the "biography" of the man called Jesus. This book takes up and quotes extensively from the Epistles and the Gospels of the New Testament, thus letting the evidence speak for itself in words familiar to every Bible reader. For example, Wells closely compares what Paul said about Jesus with what the author of Matthew, who lived later, wrote of him. Then he explains why these discrepancies apparently exist. Startling indeed is his proof that "earlier writers sometimes make statements which positively exclude the idea that Jesus worked miracles, delivered certain teachings, or suffered under Pilate." There is also interesting material on the topics of Jesus' supposed family, the so-called Shroud of Turin, and the myth-making that even today surrounds the figure of Jesus. Dr. Wells does not, however, attempt to demolish belief in God or the ethical precepts held by Christians. His presentation is always fair and couched in moderate tones.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:087975429X
ISBN13:9780879754297
Release Date:January 1988
Publisher:Prometheus Books
Length:277 Pages
Weight:0.90 lbs.
Dimensions:0.6" x 5.5" x 8.4"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
Researched, Original, Daring
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Religious faith is probably the single most important idea in the Western world. It has compelled people to travel to distant lands, to help those less needy, to give up fortunes to those in need and to dedicated one's life to service and/or study of a higher power. Wells does not contest this. More refreshingly, he does not address the issue with the anger, scorn or vicious condescension often found in works like this. (Don't authors who engage in this invective realize how they sabotage whatever hope there was of making a point?)Wells has been "preaching" the Gospel of a Christianity without a historical Jesus for some time. His series on this subject contains brilliant insights though the themes are repetitive. To wit, there is no external documented record of the man "Jesus" (besides an interpolated Josephus), Paul seems never to have heard of a Jesus of history, the Christ story is like others of that time, Paul was either mixed up or refining a philosophy involving the ancient "Wisdom" doctrines, etc...What bothers me about his conclusions is that for some reason a group of people believed in "Someone" enough to die for this belief. This in itself is not radical: There are numerous incidents of apparently rational people defending to the death such ideologies as fascism, communism, racism and tribalism. The actions of the first Christians make sense only if they truly believed that their Savior was a real person at one time. The weakness in Well's thesis is explaining how early believers totally misconstrued Paul's message in an amazingly twisted act of interpretation. Even more, how did the whole idea of Jesus story get started?Wells is best at using scholarship to highlight obvious changes or additions to the text, to point out contradictions or more revealingly - how the life of Jesus became more detailed as one moved further from the date he lived. Paul seems to have matched "someone" with several unrelated prophecies in the Old Testament and arrived at a new theology. He seems totally unaware of a historical "Jesus" - only a risen "Christ". This is reminiscent of the modern German school of Bibical criticism that accepts a Jesus of faith if not a Jesus of history - a preposterous viewpoint in my opinion. Not only is Wells fair, he is also just, quoting scholars with differing opinions and admitting the possibility of truth to their ideas. The book contains numerous footnotes, references to hosts of scholarly works and an excellent bibliography. This is an excellent book sure to provoke discussion.
Good introduction to bible study for non-christians
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
The book reviews existing evidence about the dates and derivations of most of the books of the new testament. Very rationally presented, a little verbose at times but solid.
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