Wednesday 17 April 2013

Good Books On The Life Of Jesus Christ

By Camille Nicholson


Every year more books on the life of Jesus Christ are published. It does not matter weather a reader believes that he was the son of God or more of an interesting historical figure, they will find more than enough to read. Over the past two thousand years no one person has been the center of so much controversy and argument.

The Bible is probably the most commonly read work on the life of Christ. Only four Canon gospels actually were directly written about the man Christians believed to be the Messiah. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are traditionally viewed as the accurate and authoritative accounts of his life and works. Yet even these gospels have a tremendous amount of controversy surrounding them.

Readers who are looking for a more intellectual approach will want to move on to works that dig deeper and ask more questions. It is important to understand that any book dealing with the life and teachings of Christ will probably ask more questions than it is able to answer. Many times readers are disappointed because they expected a definitive answer, many times that it is just not possible.

As there is no way to prove when the gospels were written the intellectual debate about their authenticity continues. Many people do find much comfort in the gospels and this is usually enough for them. Only the more scholarly authors really find it necessary to delve deeply into the debate.

Many authors spend their entire working lives studying the authenticity of their sources. It is crucial to understand how the Christian church has developed over the centuries. There is so much to learn and many aspects must be accurately synthesised. Readers must learn to critique their sources carefully and be willing to do a lot of research.

Many modern works also introduce the importance of Pagan beliefs. The Celts had been living in western Europe for centuries prior to the spread of Christianity. They had a complex and well established religious system that was nature based and well supported. These ideas could not be wiped out by the new religion and instead were quickly incorporated. A serious study of Christianity must include the adoption of the ancient ways.

The American writer William Lane Craig has produced many works on the lifetime of Jesus of Nazareth. He explores the theme from a more philosophical perspective. His works are fascinating as he introduces factors such as time travel, spacial relativity and Newcomb's Paradox. Readers may need to spend extra time on Craig's books as they are very complex and take the reader down some new and typical unexplored paths.

The controversy surrounding the founder of Christianity will continue. Books on the life of Jesus Christ have always been popular and there certainly seems to be no less interest today. Readers are fascinated about the life of the man who many believe to be the son of God.




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