Here are 95 books that The Jesus of the Early Christians fans have personally recommended if you like
The Jesus of the Early Christians.
Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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!
This seminal work from the 19th century remains the most eagle-eyed analysis of the four gospels.
It demonstrated the absurdity and futility of all attempts to vindicate the Jesus stories as genuine history by showing their legendary character. I have learned more about historical-critical methodology from this one book than from all others, and I have pretty much read them all.
The German theologian David Friedrich Strauss (1808-1874) published his highly controversial The Life of Jesus in three volumes between 1835 and 1836. This translation, by George Eliot, is based on the fourth German edition (1840). In this work Strauss applied strict historical method to the New Testament gospel narratives and caused scandal across the Protestant world by concluding that all miraculous elements were mythical and ahistorical. Volume 3 applies modern historical criticism to 'de-mythologize' the narratives of the transfiguration, Jesus' final journey into Jerusalem, the passion, the death, and the resurrection; and investigates the historicity of Jesus' enemies. The volume…
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!
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.
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.
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!
This immensely learned expert in Old and New Testament, as well as Jewish and Christian history, shows how various items in the gospels make the best, most natural sense as clues that Jesus was first remembered as something like a Hasidic saint.
A very eye-opening rereading of the gospels through Jewish eyes. This book taught me some crucial things about the original meaning of the phrase “the son of man” and many other things.
And by the way, his name is pronounced “Ver-MESH.”
In this, Geza Vermes' best known book, there emerges perhaps the closest portrayal that we have of a genuinely historical Jesus. Freed from the weight and onus of Christian doctrine or Jewish animus, Jesus here appears as a vividly human, yet profoundly misunderstood, figure, thoroughly grounded and contextualised within the extraordinary intellectual and cultural cross currents of his day. Jesus the Jew is a remarkable portrait by a brilliant scholar writing at the height of his powers, informed by insights from the New Testament, Jewish literature, and the Dead Sea Scrolls alike.
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!
The author, also a personal friend, has written a book full of surprising insights adding up to, again, the purely mythic character of Jesus.
I had read the New Testament many, many times, but Doherty’s book repeatedly startled me with gospel details and their implications that I could not believe I had never noticed before! He argues that the first Christians believed in a celestial Christ who never lived as a man on earth.
I am a New Testament scholar, with an expertise in Pauline Theology, who has spent my working life trying to make New Testament scholarship more accessible for non-experts. After studying at Oxford University, I taught in two theological colleges before taking a few years to be a freelance writer lecturer. I am a lay theologian and have worked with most dioceses of the Church of England but now am a Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral where I oversee Theology, Learning, and Art in the life of the Cathedral. I hope you enjoy reading these books that have had such a big impact on me and my thinking.
This is a book that captured my imagination about thirty years ago. It uses New Testament scholarship to reconstruct and imagine what it might have been like to live in Judah and Galilee at the time of Jesus but never to have met him in person—hence the title the Shadow of the Galilean. It was the first book I’d come across that used scholarship to imagine what it was actually like to live then. I’ve been thinking about that book ever since and it was what inspired me to write my book.
First published in 1987 by Fortress Press, this 20th anniversary edition of this classic bestseller includes a new Afterword from the author. Here, in narrative form, is an account of the activity of Jesus of Nazareth, scrupulously constructed so that it does not undercut the insights of New Testament scholarship. What makes it different from other such attempts is that Jesus never actually appears. What we find everywhere is his shadow, his effect.
Such an approach avoids the usual pitfalls of the genre and lends this story attributed to a fictitious narrator an attraction, freshness, and power all its own.…
I am an ordained minister with over 10 years of experience serving as a pastor in both the hospital and church settings. I’m also a mom of three children, ages 2, 5, and 7. I routinely get asked for resources to help raise children in the Christian faith. As both a pastor and a mother, I am a strong advocate for teaching children a theology they won’t have to heal from. All the books I recommend are progressive, inclusive, and diverse. I’ve done extensive research when it comes to faith-based literature, and I’m passionate about finding the best books to recommend to families.
If your kid is curious and loves to know wild, random facts, this is the book for you.
This book is chock-full of interesting, obscure details about life in the 1st century. This book not only teaches kids what the world was like when Jesus was alive, but it increases their engagement with their faith. It’s fun, silly, and you’ll need more than one copy if you have multiple kids, because they’ll inevitably fight over it, just like mine.
Jesus often told stories using everyday objects to help his listeners understand life with God. But for most of us, the deep imagery and meaning behind those objects has been lost to history. This book helps kids discover the world Jesus lived in through maps, charts, graphs, and other infographic elements. They'll learn about the culture Jesus lived in-his Jewish religion, the power of the ruling Roman Empire, the role of fishermen and carpenters and shepherds. It's an invitation to explore the stories of Jesus in their cultural context, bringing new life to familiar biblical events. This beautifully illustrated book…
I've been writing poetry since second grade, although oddly it took me until after college (where I was Class Poet) to start writing poetry that *gasp* didn't rhyme. (Did I mention I grew up on Ogden Nash and Shel Silverstein?) I started attending local poetry slams and then poetry festivals like WordXWord, and listening and performing there showed me what poetry could be. Poems can crystalize in a few lines a universal truth you've felt for years but been unable to express. I think that's amazing. (I also think it's better with a dash of humor mixed in, because I'm a humor columnist and I'm biased.)
So, we often think of what is human as being vulnerable and real. Which this book is. But to me, the pinnacle of humanity is humor, and the ability to use humor even in tough times is what makes humanity great. Which this book also is. It's got tough times but it's got a whole lot of humor mixed in, from the funny bits in the sad poems, to full-on non-stop barrages of humor in poems like "Jesus Christ Super Toaster" which had me in hysterics when I saw it performed.
And I'm realizing from making my whole list, that's what I want. I want hilarious poems when I'm in a good mood, and when I'm feeling sad and human, I still want to explore that in a funny way.
A hybrid text that deals most urgently in the articulation of growth and grief. After the loss of his mother, Omar Holmon re-learns how to live by immersing himself in popular culture, becoming well-versed in using the many modes of pop culture to spell out his emotions. This book is made up of both poems and essays, drenched in both sadness and unmistakable humor. Teeming with references that are touchable, no matter what you do or don’t know, this book feels warm and inviting.
I am adopted. I am a birth mother and also a mother through adoption. I have lived through all ‘three faces’ of adoption and know how each ‘face’ affects millions of people's lives all over the world. I am passionate that conversations around adoption need to come out of the closet and the secrecy surrounding the subject must disappear. By writing my books, I am on a mission to support adoptees, birth mothers, and adoptive parents and help them realise they are not alone. After publication of my first book in the Survival Without Roots trilogy, I am humbled that people are reaching out to say that reading Book One has helped them so much.
Fiona leaves no stone unturned as she describes the journey of her years dabbling with drugs and alcohol brought on by the trauma of growing up adopted. Fiona shows a true spirit of determination to fight through her adoption traumas of rejection and abandonment. I wondered all the way through this book whether she would succeed or if her experiences would eventually be too much for one person to bear.
The true-life story of Fiona who always felt displaced, a girl looking for belonging and security. This is Me No Darkness Too Deep, explores the ups and downs when as a young woman she roller-coasted, travelling from city to city and meeting trouble at every stop. Fiona spent many years in the depths of dark and desolate places, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. She was beaten, she slept rough and was used and abused and endured the horrors of rape. Carrying the weight of being an adoptee meant that she struggled through abandonment and rejection issues.
“Eminently quotable, PeggySue Wells is a tonic — warm like your favorite blanket, bracing like a stiff drink.”
History buff and tropical island votary, PeggySue parasails, skydives, scuba dives, and has taken (but not passed) pilot training. The bestselling author of 30 books including the What To Do series, The Slave Across the Street,Bonding With Your Child Through Boundaries, Homeless for the Holidays, Chasing Sunrise, and The Ten Best Decisions A Single Mom Can Make, PeggySue’s most challenging and rewarding adventure was solo parenting seven children. With one in four homes single mom-led, PeggySue teamed with Pam Farrel to offer practical help and tangible tips to moms navigating parenting solo.
The Chosen book is good, and Jerry Jenkins’ many titles including the blockbuster Left Behind series are worth reading, but this is a backdoor to the multi-season film series, The Chosen by Jerry’s son, Dallas Jenkins. Life doesn't turn out as we imagined, and when much that is precious has been marred, your tender heart longs to honor the holy and sacred. To know that God sees you, loves you and your child unconditionally, and never forsakes you. The Chosen is heart-mending, faith-building, and life-changing. Download the free app on your phone for the world's largest crowd-funded project, and enjoy The Chosen over and over. Family-friendly.
Based on the acclaimed video series The Chosen, the most amazing story ever told--the life of Jesus-- gets a fresh, new telling from New York Times bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins.
What was it like to encounter Jesus face-to-face? How would he have made you feel, changed your way of thinking about God? Would he have turned your world upside down? Journey to Galilee in the first century. See the difference he made in the lives of those he called to follow him and how they were forever transformed. Experience the life and power of the perfect Son of God…
The reason why I recommended these books is they all have the constant theme of freedom. Each one is very unique, and they all have adventure, romance, tragedy, and fantasy. Every single book is a different journey of healing for your soul that I feel anyone would enjoy. We have two biographies that are so raw; they will rock your soul, and you can relate to them. We have one on how not to get offended, which is amazing, and another that is sci-fi, which is way better than Harry Potter ever thought about being. If you like me as an author, you will love the books that I have recommended.
This jaw-dropping autobiography from Lisa will leave you wanting more on every page.
She bears her soul with everything that she went through being on the streets, dealing drugs, running away from home, being abused, and going to prison.
Throughout the book, her transparency of what she felt will guide you on an adventure and ultimately will show you who your true identity is with with Jesus.
