Jesus outside the New Testament : an introduction to the ancient evidence / Robert E. Van Voorst.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Van Voorst, Robert E.

Series:

Studying the historical Jesus

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jesus Christ--Biography--Sources.

Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ--Historicity.

Historicity of Jesus Christ.

Genre:

Biographies.

Sources.

Physical Description:

xiv, 248 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Grand Rapids, Mich. : W.B. Eerdmans Pub., [2000]

Summary:

Did Jesus actually exist? Can anything meaningful be said about his life and teaching? This new volume in the Studying the Historical Jesus series examines the ancient evidence outside the New Testament -- the Roman, Jewish, pre-Christian and post-Christian writings that are believed to mention Jesus. Robert Van Voorst's fascinating look at the early Christian and non-Christian record includes fresh translations of the relevant texts that deal with Jesus. His investigation leads to a range of conclusions concerning the usefulness of antique writings in reconstructing the historical Jesus.

Contents:

1. The Study of Jesus Outside the New Testament 1

A Brief History of Research 2

Did Jesus Really Exist? 6

2. Jesus in Classical Writings 19

Thallos: The Eclipse at Jesus' Death 20

Pliny the Younger: The Christ of Christian Worship 23

Suetonius: The Instigator Chrestus 29

Tacitus: The Executed Christ 39

Mara bar Serapion: The Wise Jewish King 53

Lucian of Samosata: The Crucified Sophist 58

Celsus: Christ the Magician 64

3. Jesus in Jewish Writings 75

Is Jesus Mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls? 75

Josephus: Jesus, a Wise Man Called the Christ 81

The Rabbinic Tradition: Jesus the Magician and Deceiver 104

The Toledot Yeshu: How Ancient a Polemic against Jesus? 122

4. Jesus in the Sources of the Canonical Gospels 135

L: Jesus, the Powerful Teacher and Healer 136

The Special Material of Matthew: An M Source on Jesus? 143

The Signs Source of the Fourth Gospel: Jesus the Messiah 149

Q: Jesus, the Agent of the Kingdom of God 155

5. Jesus in Christian Writings after the New Testament 179

The Agrapha: Scattered Sayings of Jesus 179

The Nag Hammadi Literature: Jesus the Revealer of Secret Knowledge 185

The New Testament Apocrypha: Traditions and Legends about Jesus 203.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-234) and indexes.

ISBN:

0802843689

OCLC:

43286799