How did an obscure rabbi from a backwater of the Roman Empire come to be the central figure in Western Civilization? Did his influence in fact change the world? These are the questions Thomas Cahill addresses in his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus. Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time -- a time when the Jews were struggling to...

In this national bestseller, John Dominic Crossan, the world's leading expert on the historical Jesus, reveals how Christianity emerged in the period following Jesus' death. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Crossan shines new light on the theological and cultural contexts from which the Christian church arose. He argues powerfully that Christianity would have happened with or without Paul and contends that Jesus' "resurrection" meant something...

"Millions of readers have thrilled to bestselling authors Bill O'Reilly and historian Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, page-turning works of nonfiction that have changed the way we read history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly two thousand years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally...

"This fascinating addition to our best-selling Who Was...? series does not settle questions of theology. Instead, it presents young readers with a biography that covers what is known historically about Jesus and places in his life in the context of his world when Jerusalem was part of the Roman Empire. In an even-handed and easy-to-read narrative, this title--illustrated with eighty black-and-white drawings--also explains the early origins of Christianity...

What can we believe about--and how can we believe in--Jesus Christ in light of the atrocities of the twentieth century and the drift from religion that followed? Here, James Carroll traces centuries of religious history and theology to face this core challenge to modern faith. Carroll's search is a highly personal one, beginning with a crucial received memory of Jesus that separates him from his essential identity as a Jew, and therefore as a human....

A wealthy young Jew and his family experiencing changing fortunes under Roman tyranny are affected by the life and teachings of a Nazarene named Jesus Christ.

Of the many recent books on the historical Jesus, none has explored what the latest biblical scholarship means for personal faith. Now, in Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg addresses the yearnings of those who want a fully contemporary faith that welcomes rather than oppresses our critical intelligence and openness to the best of historical scholarship. Borg shows how a rigorous examination of historical findings can lead to a new...

Many believe that the Gospel stories of Jesus are based on eyewitness testimony and are therefore historically reliable. Now, for the first time, a scholar of the New Testament, New York Times bestselling author Bart D. Ehrman (Misquoting Jesus; and Jesus, Interrupted), surveys research from the fields of psychology, anthropology, and sociology to explore how oral traditions and group memories really work and questions how reliable the Gospels can...

Elissa Wall details her life growing up in the polygamous Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints religious sect, being forced into an unwanted marriage at the age of 14, and her courage to testify against FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.--From publisher description.