Why am I passionate about this?
Given my adolescent preoccupation with fundamentalist Christianity and its fixation upon Jesus as one’s “personal savior,” it was important to me, once I discovered that some doubted the historical accuracy of the gospels, to defend them. But the more I did so, the greater my doubts became. I found my former confidence untenable, and was pretty steamed about it, but I retained my fascination with the question!
Robert's book list on the historical Jesus
Why did Robert love this book?
Brandon sets forth a reasonable and compelling case for viewing the historical Jesus as one of several anti-Roman insurgents.
He collects narrative oddities that make good sense as loose ends that escaped early attempts to whitewash Christianity’s militant origins, e.g., the shifting of the blame for Jesus’ execution from the Romans to the Jews.
1 author picked Jesus and the Zealots as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
Professor Brandon explores the relationship between Jesus and the whole Jewish cause against Rome, including the Zealot movement. He provides a fundamental reinterpretation of a great part of the four Gospel narratives as these were shaped by political and social forces two generations later.
- Coming soon!