Thoreau
Valued Senior Member
I strongly recommend this book for everyone, regardless of faith. The author, Dr. Barrie Wilson, is incredibly talented and knowledgable.
For you I wil transcribe the description of the book:
In How Jesus Became Christian, Barrie Wilson confronts one of hte simplest-yet undiscovered-questions of religious history: How did a young, well-respected rabbi become the head of a cult that bore his name, espoused a philosophy he wouldn't wholly understand, and possessed a clear streak of anti-Semitism that has sparked hatred against the generations of Jews who followed him? Vividly re-creating the Hellenistic world into which Jesus was borm, Wilson looks at the rivalry between the "Jesus Movement," informed by Matthew and adhering to Torah worship, and the "Christ movement," headed by Paul, which shunned Torah. Suggesting that Paul's movement was not rooted in teh teachings of the historical Jesus, but a mystical vision of Christ, he further proposes Paul founded the new religion through anti-Semetic propaganda, crushing the Jesus Movement. Sure to be controversial, this is an exciting, well-written popular religious history that cuts straight to the differences between Christianity and Judaism. How Jesus Became Christian looks at how one of the world's great religions prospered and grew at the cost of another and focuses on one of the fundamental questions that goes to teh heart of why millions worship daily; Who was Jesus Christ - a Jew or a Christian?
Barrie Wilson is professor of humanities and religious studies at York University in Toronto. A specialist in early Christian origins, this is his first book intended for a general audience. Building on contemporary critical scholorship, it addresses some of the major puzzles he has identified while teaching biblical studies over a twenty-year period.
For you I wil transcribe the description of the book:
In How Jesus Became Christian, Barrie Wilson confronts one of hte simplest-yet undiscovered-questions of religious history: How did a young, well-respected rabbi become the head of a cult that bore his name, espoused a philosophy he wouldn't wholly understand, and possessed a clear streak of anti-Semitism that has sparked hatred against the generations of Jews who followed him? Vividly re-creating the Hellenistic world into which Jesus was borm, Wilson looks at the rivalry between the "Jesus Movement," informed by Matthew and adhering to Torah worship, and the "Christ movement," headed by Paul, which shunned Torah. Suggesting that Paul's movement was not rooted in teh teachings of the historical Jesus, but a mystical vision of Christ, he further proposes Paul founded the new religion through anti-Semetic propaganda, crushing the Jesus Movement. Sure to be controversial, this is an exciting, well-written popular religious history that cuts straight to the differences between Christianity and Judaism. How Jesus Became Christian looks at how one of the world's great religions prospered and grew at the cost of another and focuses on one of the fundamental questions that goes to teh heart of why millions worship daily; Who was Jesus Christ - a Jew or a Christian?
Barrie Wilson is professor of humanities and religious studies at York University in Toronto. A specialist in early Christian origins, this is his first book intended for a general audience. Building on contemporary critical scholorship, it addresses some of the major puzzles he has identified while teaching biblical studies over a twenty-year period.