Jesus

For other uses, see Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene (about 8-4 BC/BCE – 29-36 AD/CE)^[1], is the central figure of Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (from Greek Ιησούς Χριστός) with "Christ" being a title meaning "Anointed One" or "Messiah". The main sources regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament which are generally agreed to have been written decades after his death.

Religious scholars generally hold^[2] that Jesus was a Jewish Galilean preacher and healer who was at odds with the Jewish religious authorities (Sadducees and Pharisees), and who was crucified outside of Jerusalem during the rule of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. However, citing a lack of extant contemporaneous documents making references to him, a minority of critical Biblical scholars, and others, question the historicity of Jesus.

Most Christians affirm the Nicene Creed and believe Jesus is both the Son of God and God made incarnate, sent to provide reconciliation with God by atoning for humanity's sins, and acceptance of Jesus as Saviour saves one from sin (John 3:16). Christians generally believe Jesus was born of a virgin, crucified and buried, resurrected on the third day of death, and ascended into Heaven where he resides with God the Father until the Second Coming. Other Christians, however, do not recognize the Nicene Creed as the correct interpretation of scripture.

In Islam, Jesus (called Isa) is considered one of God's most beloved and important prophets, a bringer of divine scripture, and also the Messiah. Muslims, however, do not share the Christian belief in the crucifixion or divinity of Jesus. Islam teaches that Jesus is alive in heaven and will return to the earth as Messiah in the company of the Mahdi once it has become full of sin and injustice.

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Religious perspectives

Main article: Religious perspectives on Jesus

Jesus has an important role in two religions, Christianity and Islam. Most other religions, however, do not consider Jesus to have been a supernatural or holy being. Some of these religions, like Buddhism, do not take any official stance on Jesus' life. Most adherants of the religion Jesus himself practiced his whole life, Judaism, reject claims of his divinity and of his being the Mashiach.

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Islamic views

Main article: [[:Isa]]

In Islam, Jesus (known as Isa), is considered one of God's most-beloved and important prophets. Like Christian writings, the Qur'an holds that Jesus was born without a biological father by the will of God and for this reason is consistently termed "Isa ibn Maryam", a matronymic (since he had no biological father). Similarly Islamic belief also holds that he could perform miracles, and that he will one day return to the world to rid it of evil. However, unlike Christians, Muslims do not consider Jesus to have been God or the Son of God, and do not believe that he died on the cross. Instead, the Qur'an states that his death was only an illusion (done by God) to deceive his enemies, and that Jesus ascended bodily to heaven. Muslims believe he will return to the world in the flesh following Imam Mahdi to defeat the Dajjal (Antichrist-like figure, translated as "Deceiver") once the world has become filled with sin, deception and injustice, and then live out the rest of his natural life.

Muslims also believe that Jesus received a gospel from God (called the Injil) that corresponds to the Christian New Testament, but that it and the Old Testament have both been changed by mankind over time as such that they no longer accurately represent God's original message to mankind. In Muslim traditions, Jesus lived a perfect life of nonviolence, showing kindness to humans and animals (similar to the other Islamic prophets), without material possessions and abstaining from sin.

The Ahmadiyya Muslims believe that Jesus survived the crucifixion and later travelled to Kashmir, where he lived and died as a prophet under the name of Yuz Asaf.

Judaism's view

Main article: Jewish view of Jesus

Judaism does not consider Jesus to have met the traditional qualifications of the Messiah, seeing him as better fitting the description of the false prophets of which the Hebrew Bible warns in Deuteronomy 13 [3], sent as a test by God. Judaism maintains that there were no prophets after the prophet Malachi.

Eastern religions

Hindu beliefs in Jesus vary from those who consider him to have been just a normal man, or even purely a fable, to those who believe that he was an avatar of God. A large number of Hindus consider Jesus to have been a wise guru or yogi, some even suggesting that he spent his "lost years" learning various Hindu beliefs in India. The Hindutva historian P.N. Oak has even claimed that Jesus was in fact Krishna, and that Christianity originated as a form of his worship. Many in the Surat Shabd Yoga tradition regard Jesus as a Satguru. Mahatma Gandhi considered Jesus one of his main teachers and inspirations for Nonviolent Resistance.

Although Buddhism in general attributes no spiritual significance to Jesus, some Buddhists believe that Jesus may have been a Bodhisattva, one who has dedicated his or her future to the happiness of all beings. Some Buddhists also interpret Jesus through Zen Buddhism, sometimes basing their perspective on the Gospel of Thomas.

The Bahá'í Faith considers Jesus to be one of many "Manifestations" (or prophets) of God, with both human and divine stations.

Other views

The Ebionites believed that Jesus was a great prophet and the Messiah, but not divine. They rejected the Epistles of Paul, and asserted that Jesus did not consider the Biblical laws to be abrogated, but instead wanted his followers to abide by them, except for animal sacrifices, for which they believe he proclaimed an end. The Ebionites claimed the leadership of Saint James the Just, often referred to as the brother of Jesus, but no historical connection between James and the sect has been substantiated.

The New Age movement entertains a wide variety of views on Jesus, with some representatives (such as A Course In Miracles) going so far as to trance-channel him. Many recognize him as a "great teacher" (or "Ascended Master") similar to Buddha, and teach that Christhood is something that all may attain. At the same time, many New Age teachings, such as reincarnation, appear to reflect a certain discomfort with traditional Christianity. Numerous New Age subgroups claim Jesus as a supporter, often incorporating contrasts with or protests against the Christian mainstream. Thus, for example, Theosophy and its offshoots have Jesus studying esotericism in the Himalayas or Egypt during his "lost years".

Many Humanists, Atheists and Agnostics, whilst rejecting the concept of God, and therefore of the divinity of Christ, nevertheless respect and admire the humanity of Christ's teachings and have empathy with the moral principles articulated in (for example) the Sermon on the mount.

Cultural Portrayals of Jesus

Main Article: Jesus in Pop culture, Dramatic portrayals of Jesus

Because of the widespread belief of Christianity, Jesus has frequently been depicted in various works of art and pop culture, including both literal and allegorical portrayals.

Historicity

This 11th-century Greek image of Jesus is one of many in which a sun cross halo is used. Such depictions are characteristic of Eastern Orthodox iconography.

Main articles: Historicity of Jesus, Historical Jesus, Names and titles of Jesus, Cultural and historical background of Jesus, and Jesus-Myth

Most modern scholars hold that the works describing Jesus were initially communicated by oral tradition, and were not committed to writing until several decades after Jesus' crucifixion. The earliest extant texts which refer to Jesus are Paul's letters, which are usually dated from the mid-1st century. Paul saw Jesus only in visions, but he claimed that they were divine revelations and hence authoritative (Galatians 1:11-12). The earliest extant texts describing Jesus in any detail were the four New Testament Gospels. These texts, being part of the Biblical canon, have received much more analysis and acceptance from Christian sources than several other possible sources for information on Jesus.

Many apocryphal texts have also surfaced detailing events in Jesus' life and teachings, though were not included in the Bible due to belief that they were not divinely inspired. Chief among them the Gospel of Thomas, a "sayings gospel" or logia consisting primarily of phrases attributed to Jesus. Other New Testament apocrypha, generally considered less important, include the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, the Infancy Gospels, the Gospel of Peter, the Unknown Berlin Gospel, the Naassene Fragment, the Secret Gospel of Mark, the Egerton Gospel, the Oxyrhynchus Gospels and the Fayyum Fragment. A number of Christian traditions (such as Veronica's veil and the Assumption of Mary) are found not in the canonical gospels, but in these and other apocryphal works, such as the Acts of Pilate.

Earlier texts?

Some texts with even earlier historical or mythological information on Jesus are speculated to have existed prior to the Gospels, though none have been found. Based on the unusual similarities and differences (see synoptic problem) between the Synoptic Gospels — Matthew, Mark and Luke, the first three canonical gospels—many Biblical scholars have suggested that oral tradition and logia (such as the Gospel of Thomas and the theoretical Q document) probably played a strong role in initially passing down stories of Jesus, and may have inspired some of the Synoptic Gospels.

Specifically, many scholars believe that the Q document and the Gospel of Mark were the two sources used for the gospels of Matthew and Luke; however, other theories, such as the older Augustinian hypothesis, continue to hold sway with some Biblical scholars. Another theoretical document is the Signs Gospel, believed to have been a source for the Gospel of John.Template:Smref There is little consensus concerning how and when any of these documents were circulated, if they were at all.

The ecumenical council meetings in the 4th century that discussed which works should and should not be included in the canon were largely unconcerned with modern historical sensibilities, utilizing few techniques of objective textual analysis. Instead, their discussions generally tended to center upon theology, rather than upon historicity. However, noted scholars F.F. Bruce, Bruce Metzger and others argue that some historical details were taken into consideration regarding the New Testament canon. It may be surmised that the early church leaders took for granted that historicity was not an issue to be debated, any more than debating the historicity of the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution would be major issues today. Template:SmrefTemplate:SmrefTemplate:Smref In addition, Bible scholar Bruce Metzger wrote regarding the formation of the canonical New Testament:

"Although the fringes of the emerging canon remained unsettled for generations, a high degree of unanimity concerning the greater part of the New Testament was attained among the very diverse and scattered congregations of believers not only throughout the Mediterranean world, but also over an area extending from Britain to Mesopotamia." Template:Smref

Questions of reliability

As a result of the several-decade time gap between the writing of the Gospels and the events they describe, the accuracy of all early texts claiming the existence of Jesus or details of Jesus' life have been disputed by various parties. The authors of the gospels are traditionally thought to have been witnesses to the events included. After the original oral stories were written down, they were transcribed, and later translated into other languages. However, several Biblical historians have responded to claims of the unreliability of the gospel accounts by pointing out that historical documentation is often biased and second-hand, and frequently dates from several decades after the events described. Some say that the Gospel accounts are neither objective nor accurate, since they were written or compiled by his followers and seem to exclusively portray a positive, idealized view of Jesus. Those who have a naturalistic view of history, as a general rule, do not believe in divine intervention or miracles, such as the resurrection of Jesus mentioned by the Gospels. One method used to estimate the factual accuracy of stories in the gospels is known as the "criterion of embarrassment", which holds that stories about events with embarrassing aspects (such as the denial of Jesus by Peter, or the fleeing of Jesus's followers after his arrest) would likely not have been included if those accounts were fictional.

External influences on gospel development

A minority of scholars believe that the gospel accounts of Jesus have little or no historical basis. At least in part, this is because there are many similarities between stories about Jesus and older myths of pagan godmen such as Mithras, Apollo, Attis, Horus and Osiris-Dionysus, leading to conjectures that the pagan myths were adopted by some authors of early accounts of Jesus to form a syncretism with Christianity. Some Christian authors, such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, believed that such myths were created by ancient pagans with vague and imprecise foreknowledge of the Gospels. While these connections are disputed by many, it is nevertheless true that many elements of Jesus' story as told in the Gospels have parallels in pagan mythology, where miracles such as virgin birth were well-known.

Scholars such as A. N. Sherwin-White, FF Bruce, John Wenham, Gary Habermas and others argue for a high degree of historical reliability of the key New Testament events or the New Testament as a whole (see: Resurrection of Jesus and Christian apologetics for details). Template:SmrefTemplate:SmrefTemplate:Smref Prominent liberal scholar John A.T. Robinson argued in the 1950's to 1980's for early dates of creation for the entire New Testament and ascribed many of the key New Testament texts to their traditional authors. Template:Smref

Historical reconstructions of Jesus's life

Most scholars agree the Gospels were written after the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans. According to most critical historians, Jesus probably lived in Galilee for most of his life and he probably spoke Aramaic and Hebrew. Many have sought to reconstruct Jesus's life in terms of contemporaneous political, cultural, and religious currents in Israel, including differences between the Galilee and Judea; between different sects such the Essenes, Pharisees and Sadducees, and in terms of conflicts among Jews in the context of Roman occupation. See Cultural and historical background of Jesus and Aramaic of Jesus for more about Israel in Jesus' day and what effect this may of had on his life.

Examining the New Testament account of Jesus in light of historical knowledge about the time when Jesus was purported to live, as well as historical knowledge about the time during which the New Testament was written, has led several scholars to reinterpret many elements of the New Testament accounts. Of special interest has been the names and titles ascribed to Jesus. Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name rendered Joshua in English. It literally means "God saves". Before the J written glyph was invented (16th century), Jesus was written as Iesus in English, as seen in the 1611 KJV Bible Christ (which is a title and not a part of his name) is an Anglicization of the Greek term for Messiah, and literally means "anointed one". Historians have debated what this title might have meant at the time Jesus lived; some historians have suggested that other titles applied to Jesus in the New Testament (e.g. Lord, Son of Man, and Son of God) had meanings in the first century quite different from those meanings ascribed today: see Names and titles of Jesus.

Notes

1. ^ Biblical scholars who agree this is the range within which Jesus birth and death fall include Shaye J.D. Cohen, John Dominic Crossan, Paula Fredriksen, John P. Meier, E.P. Sanders, Geza Vermes, D. A. Carson, Paul L. Maier, N. T. Wright and Ben Witherington III, "Primary Sources," Christian History 17 (1998) No. 3:12.
2. ^ Shaye J.D. Cohen; John Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1991, p. i; Paula Fredriksen; John P. Meier; E.P. Sanders; Geza Vermes; D. A. Carson; Paul L. Maier, In the Fullness of Time Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1991, pp. 1, 99, 121, 171; N. T. Wright; Ben Witherington III, "Primary Sources," 12-20 Christian History 17 (1998) No. 3:12.
3. ^ Johnson, Paul: A History of the Jews (1987), p.144
4. ^ The Gospels of the Bible, BibleGateway.com.
5. ^ Daniel Gaztambide (2005), "So Sayeth The Lord... According to Who?".
6. ^ Stephen Voorwinde, "The formation of the New Testament", Patornet. Accessed October 25, 2005.
7. ^ F. F. Bruce, New Testament Documents: Are they reliable?, "Chapter 3: The Canon of the New Testament" (June, 1982), ISBN 087784691X, Inter-Varsity Press.
8. ^ Coey Keating (December 11, 2005), "Criteria for development of the New Testament canon in the first four centuries of the Christian Church", Fuller Theological Seminary.
9. ^ Bruce Metzger (1987), The New Testament Canon, page 254.
10. ^ Josh McDowell (1992), "Evidence for the Resurrection".
11. ^ F.F. Bruce (1959), "THE NEW TESTAMENT DOCUMENTS Are they Reliable?".
12. ^ Gary Habermas (2001), "Why I Believe The New Testament Is Historically Reliable".
13. ^ John Robinson

See also

• General Topics
  • Anno Domini and Common Era (which show how Jesus' birth has influenced the modern day calendar)
  • INRI
  • Nazarene
  • The Bible
  • Spiritism
  • Comparative religion, and its sub-school, Comparative mythology, studies, among other things, the similarities between Jesus and heroes found in traditions other than Christianity.
  • List of books about Jesus
• Jesus and History
  • Apostolic Succession of Jesus
  • Genealogy of Jesus
  • Historical Jesus
• Environment of Jesus
  • Cultural background of Jesus
  • Race of Jesus
  • Biblical Jesus

• New Testament Jesus
  • Miracles of Jesus
  • Resurrection of Jesus
  • Sermon on the Mount
• Views on Jesus
  • Religious perspectives on Jesus
  • Isa - Jesus in Islam
  • Pauline Christianity
  • Apocrypha, Christian mythology, and Folk Christianity include many stories about Jesus besides those in the Bible.
  • Christadelphians — a distinctive non-trinitarian view of Jesus that arose in the 19th century.
  • Jesus in Pop culture
• Related topics
  • List of founders of major religions
  • List of people who have been considered deities

References

• Brown, Raymond E., An Introduction to the New Testament, Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1997. ISBN 0-385-24767-2
• Cohen, Shaye J.D., From the Maccabees to the Mishnah, Westminster John Knox Press, 1988. ISBN 0-664-25017-3
• Cohen, Shaye J.D. The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties, University of California Press, 2001. ISBN 0-520-22693-3
• Crossan, John Dominic, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, HarperSanFrancisco, 1993. ISBN 0060616296
• Ehrman, Bart The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0195154622
• Fredriksen, Paula Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity, Vintage, 2000. ISBN 0679767460
• Fredriksen, Paula, From Jesus to Christ, Yale University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-300-04864-5
• Robinson, John A. T. Redating the New Testament, Wipf & Stock, 2001 (original 1977). ISBN 1-579-10527-0
• Sanders, E.P. The Historical Figure of Jesus, Penguin, 1996. ISBN 0140144994
• Sanders, E.P. Jesus and Judaism, Fortress Press, 1987. ISBN 0800620615
• Vermes, Geza Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels, Augsburg Fortress Pub, 1981. ISBN 0800614437
• Vermes, Geza, The Religion of Jesus the Jew, Augsburg Fortress Pub, 1993. ISBN 0800627970
• Vermes, Geza, Jesus in his Jewish context, Augsburg Fortress Pub, 2003. ISBN 0800636236

External links

• About-Jesus.org
• Jesus Christ (Theopedia)
• So what colour was Jesus?
• Jesus Christ at WikiChristian
• Jesus Christ Catholic Encyclopedia article
• Complete Sayings of Jesus Christ - The complete sayings of Jesus Christ in parallel English and Latin
• An Islamic perspective on Jesus
• Jehovah's Witnesses' perspective
• Latter-day Saint (Mormon) beliefs about Jesus
• What think ye of Christ? (Mormon)
• Unitarian Universalist Views of Jesus: prophet; dissident; one of many Christs
• The Historic & Reformation View of Jesus Christ: Solus Christus, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria
• Jesus Christ - Smith's Bible Dictionary article
• Template:Nndb name

Historical and skeptical views

• Overview of the Life of Jesus A summary of New Testament accounts.
• From Jesus to Christ -- A Frontline documentary on Jesus and early Christianity.
• The Words and Life of Historical Jesus by Jesus Institute
• The Jewish Roman World of Jesus
• The Jesus Puzzle
• Skeptic's Guide to Jesus