Reinventing Jesus

Reinventing Jesuscuts through the rhetoric of extreme doubt to reveal the profound credibility of historic Christianity. Meticulously researched yet eminently readable, this book invites a wide audience to take a firsthand look at the primary evidence for Christianity's origins.

Acknowledgments

13

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Introduction: Reinventing Jesus?

15

(6)

PART 1: I BELIEVE IN YESTERDAY

1. The Gospel Behind the Gospels

21

(12)

2. Oral Tradition and a Memorizing Culture

33

(6)

3. An Eccentric Jesus and the Criteria of Authenticity

39

(14)

PART 2: POLITICALLY CORRUPT? THE TAINTING OF ANCIENT NEW TESTAMENT TEXTS

4. Can We Trust the New Testament? The Quantity and Quality of Textual Variants

53

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5. Myths About Manuscripts

65

(10)

6. An Embarrassment of Riches: Recovering the Wording of the Original New Testament Text, Part 1

75

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7. The Methods of Textual Criticism: Recovering the Wording of the Original New Testament Text, Part 2

83

(20)

8. Is What We Have Now What They Wrote Then?

103

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PART 3: DID THE EARLY CHURCH MUZZLE THE CANON?

9. The Range of the Canon

121

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10. What Did the Ancient Church Think of Forgeries?

135

(16)

11. What Did the Ancient Forgers Think of Christ?

151

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PART 4: THE DIVINITY OF JESUS: EARLY TRADITION OR LATE SUPERSTITION?

12. Divine Portraits: Jesus in the Gospels

169

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13. Supreme Devotion: Jesus in the Larger New Testament

181

(14)

14. From the Pens of Fathers and Foes: Jesus Outside the New Testament

195

(12)

15. Simply Divine? The Real Issue at Nicea

207

(12)

PART 5: STEALING THUNDER: DID CHRISTIANITY RIP OFF MYTHICAL GODS?

16. Parallelomania: Supposed Links Between Christianity and Pagan Religions

219

(20)

17. The Virgin Birth of Alexander the Great?

239

(10)

18. Osiris, Frankenstein, and Jesus Christ

249

(10)

Conclusion: The Real Jesus

259

(4)

Endnotes

263

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