Jesus of Nazareth: The Deep State of Rome


Book Description

Two irrefutable truths are the starting point of a journey in which Tomás Morales embarks us through an incontrovertible investigative logic through an extensive and necessary stretch of historical analysis that leads us to discover the roots, characteristics and universal socioeconomic conditions that end up leading to Populism and the methods it uses for its implantation and perpetuation, regardless of the historical period. Morales has gone further - he always goes further - and does not settle for characters that perhaps reach the category of a footnote in a history book, but points directly to the famous Jesus of Nazareth, proving that he is a myth commissioned whose construction was a carbon copy of the quirky Buddha mahāyāna and considering him the hero of the "most successful populist plot in history." Deconstructing the Myth of Jesus of Nazareth is the title chosen to pull the thread that will confront with the truth “2,350 million Christians, 1,350 million Muslims, 520 million Buddhists, that is, a total of 4,220 million believers, or that is, people who believe it ”and the institutions that manipulate them. Deconstructing the myth of Jesus of Nazareth is a mandatory reading that warns of the risks of faith for those who consider themselves believers and, therefore, unsuspecting collaborators of populist organizations whose legitimacy is based on History defined as “a literary genre of fiction […] A collection of stories written on request ”and that“ taking it seriously refers to the infantile postures necessary to achieve being indoctrinated and enlisted ”, and those are big words. Happy journey.




Zealot


Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A lucid, intelligent page-turner” (Los Angeles Times) that challenges long-held assumptions about Jesus, from the host of Believer Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the “Kingdom of God.” The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was executed as a state criminal. Within decades after his death, his followers would call him God. Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most enigmatic figures by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived. Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction. He explores the reasons the early Christian church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary. And he grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself, the mystery that is at the heart of all subsequent claims about his divinity. Zealot yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus’ life and mission. Praise for Zealot “Riveting . . . Aslan synthesizes Scripture and scholarship to create an original account.”—The New Yorker “Fascinatingly and convincingly drawn . . . Aslan may come as close as one can to respecting those who revere Jesus as the peace-loving, turn-the-other-cheek, true son of God depicted in modern Christianity, even as he knocks down that image.”—The Seattle Times “[Aslan’s] literary talent is as essential to the effect of Zealot as are his scholarly and journalistic chops. . . . A vivid, persuasive portrait.”—Salon “This tough-minded, deeply political book does full justice to the real Jesus, and honors him in the process.”—San Francisco Chronicle “A special and revealing work, one that believer and skeptic alike will find surprising, engaging, and original.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power “Compulsively readable . . . This superb work is highly recommended.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)




Caesar's messiah : the Roman conspiracy to invent Jesus


Book Description

"Caesar's Messiah," a real life "Da Vinci Code," presents the dramatic and controversial discovery that the conventional views of Christian origins may be wrong. Author Joseph Atwill makes the case that the Christian Gospels were actually written under the direction of first-century Roman emperors. The purpose of these texts was to establish a peaceful Jewish sect to counterbalance the militaristic Jewish forces that had just been defeated by the Roman Emperor Titus in 70 A.D. Atwill uncovered the secret key to this story in the writings of Josephus, the famed first-century Roman historian. Reading Josephus's chronicle, "The War of the Jews," the author found detail after detail that closely paralleled events recounted in the Gospels. Atwill skillfully demonstrates that the emperors used the Gospels to spark a new religious movement that would aid them in maintaining power and order. What's more, by including hidden literary clues, they took the story of the Emperor Titus's glorious military victory, as recounted by Josephus, and embedded that story in the Gospels - a sly and satirical way of glorifying the emperors through the ages.




The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Christianity in the Middle East


Book Description

This work represents the current and most relevant content on the studies of how Christianity has fared in the ancient home of its founder and birth. Much has been written about Christianity and how it has survived since its migration out of its homeland but this comprehensive reference work reassesses the geographic and demographic impact of the dramatic changes in this perennially combustible world region. The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Christianity in the Middle East also spans the historical, socio-political and contemporary settings of the region and importantly describes the interactions that Christianity has had with other major/minor religions in the region.




Jesus of Nazareth


Book Description

“This book is . . . my personal search ‘for the face of the Lord.’” –Benedict XVI In this bold, momentous work, the Pope––in his first book written as Benedict XVI––seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent “popular” depictions and to restore Jesus’ true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the Pope shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and incites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith. From Jesus of Nazareth: “. . . the great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: But what has Jesus really brought, then, if he has not brought world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God! He has brought the God who once gradually unveiled his countenance first to Abraham, then to Moses and the prophets, and then in the wisdom literature–the God who showed his face only in Israel, even though he was also honored among the pagans in various shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth. He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about where we are going and where we come from: faith, hope, and love.”




When Jesus Became God


Book Description

A fascinating volume details the two priests--Arius and Athanasius--mortal enemies who became the major players in the fateful conflict in Christendom to decide whether Jesus was God or the holiest of men until the Reformation and Alexander, the powerful bishop of Alexandria, who was determined to find a speedy resolution. Reprint.




Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?


Book Description

Major feature films such The Passion of the Christ and Risen, and books such as Bill O'Reilly's Killing Jesus raise many questions about one of the greatest controversies in history--what really happened to the crucified body of Jesus of Nazareth. Using a popular question-and-answer format, this book examines the historical evidence concerning the fate of Jesus. Did Jesus really die on the cross? If so, what became of his body? Was it stolen? Misplaced? Is the resurrection a cleverly devised plot to found a new religion? Did the disciples of Jesus hallucinate? Is the Resurrection of Jesus a myth developed decades later, after the original disciples' experience of Jesus was distorted by a subsequent generation? Or did Jesus rise from the dead, as he promised and as his disciples came to believe and sacrifice their lives to proclaim? Carl Olson carefully weighs the evidence with in-depth analysis. Whether you are a believer, a skeptic, or something in between, be prepared to have your thinking challenged by this provocative and insightful book.




The Rome that Did Not Fall


Book Description

The Rome that Did Not Fall provides a well-illustrated, comprehensive narrative and analysis of the Roman empire in the east, charting its remarkable growth and development which resulted in the distinct and enduring civilization of Byzantium. It considers: * the fourth century background * the invasions of Attila * the resources of the east * the struggle for stability * the achievements of Anastasius.




Roman Crucifixion and the Death of Jesus


Book Description

The Roman practice of crucifixion was so abhorrent that even the Romans didn't talk about it. Yet their government practiced crucifixion for centuries. What drew the crowds to the killing fields to watch people die such torturous deaths? What enabled those elite soldiers in the Roman killing squads to crucify their victims with the precision and skill of a hospital surgeon? These and many other questions are answered in this book. Of the thousands of people who fell victim to "the most pitiable of deaths," one is much better known than all the others--Jesus of Nazareth. Most Christians know something of Jesus' crucifixion because of the Gospel narratives, but to enhance our appreciation of the Savior's death, we benefit by knowing more about Roman crucifixion. Roman Crucifixion and the Death of Jesus provides a deeper understanding of how, where, and why someone could be crucified and helps to inform us of Jesus' crucifixion. Armed with a better grasp of Roman crucifixion, we can more fully appreciate Jesus' pain, his purpose, and his prayers from Calvary's cross.




Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews


Book Description

Paula Fredriksen, renowned historian and author of From Christ to Jesus, begins this inquiry into the historic Jesus with a fact that may be the only undisputed thing we know about him: his crucifixion. Rome reserved this means of execution particularly for political insurrectionists; and the Roman charge posted at the head of the cross indicted Jesus for claiming to be King of the Jews. To reconstruct the Jesus who provoked this punishment, Fredriksen takes us into the religious worlds, Jewish and pagan, of Mediterranean antiquity, through the labyrinth of Galilean and Judean politics, and on into the ancient narratives of Paul's letters, the gospels, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Josephus' histories. The result is a profound contribution both to our understanding of the social and religious contexts within which Jesus of Nazareth moved, and to our appreciation of the mission and message that ended in the proclamation of Jesus as Messiah.