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A Brief Summary of Jesus as a Figure in History and From Jesus to Christ In the past few decades many changes have occurred in the way scholars approach the study of Jesus. The main idea shifted from un disputable 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.
Pwell is a Head f the Historical Jesus sectin f the Society of Biblical Literature. He nt nly is a New Testament scholar in his wn right; he is als a respected colleague and friend f the Jesus Scholars he discusses in his wrk. He nt nly has read their wrk's, but he understands their positions frm the inside. Pwell begins his bk by introducing his readers t sme f the reasons why the historical quest began and why it is nt something Christians should be afraid f. bogusly he has the rdi nary Christian reader in mind, the reader, wh may water at the need fr such a quest. The writer delivers his ideas t the reader in easy and comprehensible way.
In the first tw chapters the author sets ut the basic history f interpretation f Jesus and general trends and directions in scholarship. Which leads n t a discussion f the biblical and nn-biblical sources fr study f Jesus as a historical figure. This is bth detailed enough t give the reader a genuine insight int the sources and yet is nt burdens me. With the basics covered, Pwell heads int the main sectin f the bk by a chapter n sme important figures within research, discussing their portrait f Jesus and supplying a basic critique.
The rest f the bk is taken up with 6 chapters discussing important scholars in current scholarship. The final chapter draws together many f the strands f thought, bth n methdlgy and n whether Jesus should be thought f primarily in Hellenistic terms r Jewish nes that the we bk has been concerned with. Meter, should a Jewish Jesus be an eschatological prophet r nn-eschatological ne? This conclusion draws ut very well the main areas f debate and issues that the reader should have taken careful nte f. Appropriately, Pwell ends with a quote frm Marks Gospel, which has Jesus asking the disciples: Wh d yu say I am? , and I supply this is what the wrk is really all abut. The television series f Frntline Frm Jesus t Christ als appeared as the result f the popular in the recent years method f studying Jesus frm the historic perspective.
In 1998, PBS feed viewers a well-produced fur-hur documentary n the latest critical thought n the life f Jesus and the development f early Christianity. The program was well produced, insightful, and interesting. The program assumed the skeptical "historical Jesus" approach as its foundation, which even frm the standing f bjectivity, let and that f faith, has notable deficiencies. Fr the unfamiliar with it, "historical Jesus" research is investigation int what can be intellectually and historically accepted as fact abut Jesus f Nazareth, with faith.
Depicted in the film the historical Jesus research is useful, and valid. However, the speculating, findings, and methd's f the field should nt be accepted uncritically. Fr instance, the Frntline special brought together mostly religion professors, concentrating n literary criticism f the Gospels and numerous ther writings. The invited experts had notable gaps in their expertise. The mst glaring, t me, was a general ignorance f first-century Jewish thinking, and the antecedents, which fueled it. Fr instance, Jesus' title fr himself, "Sn f Man, " is presented by several f the scholars as evidence that Jesus was nt claiming himself t be anything but an rdi nary guy.
The fact is, that Jesus was a rabbi, and used the rabbinical technique known as rimmed, (allusion t Scripture) as a primary method f teaching, known t the regular synagogue-gers f the day. Still, made upn historical evidence, the series challenges familiar assumptions and conventional nations abut Christian rights. Archaelgical finds have yielded new understandings f Jesus' class and social status; fresh interpretations have transformed earlier ideas abut the identity f the early Christians and their communities. Through engaging n-camera interviews with twelve scholars - New Testament theologians, archaeologists, and historians - the series presents their contributions t this intellectual revolution. The scholars together represent a range f viewpoints and diversity f faiths and a shared commitment t bring new ways f thinking abut Christianity t a public audience. They discuss the value in a historical approach t 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 mono semantic 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.
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Research essay sample on Nt Nly Jesus Christ
