Jesus of Nazareth - divine and personal saviour of evangelical piety; radical social critic; philosopher of wise words; founder of the world's greatest religion; or all-embracing welcomer of those who do not conform? The Jesus of history saw himself as none of these. This book demonstrates that Jesus must be understood within the context of first century Judaism. In particular, three factors shaped the historical Jesus: John the Baptist and his conviction that Israel's God was about to intervene in history; Jesus' early contacts with village based Essene communities; and his own eventual...

"Christ is risen" has been the Christian Easter acclamation for two thousand years. But what does it mean? What really happened to the crucified body of Jesus of Nazareth? Traditionally, Christians have believed that his tomb was found to be empty and that the accounts of his resurrection appearances should be taken at face value. Biblical literalists claim that everything happened just as the texts present it. Others now look upon the empty tomb and resurrection stories as myths, stories created to explain the inner experiences of the disciples but never intended to be taken literally. This...