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In Did Jesus Exist? historian and Bible expert Bart Ehrman confronts the question, "Did Jesus exist at all?" Ehrman vigorously defends the historical Jesus, identifies the most historically reliable sources for best understanding Jesus’ mission and message, and offers a compelling portrait of the person at the heart of the Christian tradition. Known as a master explainer with deep knowledge of the field, Bart Ehrman methodically demolishes both the scholarly and popular “mythicist” arguments against the existence of Jesus. Marshaling evidence from within the Bible and the wider historical record of the ancient world, Ehrman tackles the key issues that surround the mythologies associated with Jesus and the early Christian movement. In Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, Ehrman establishes the criterion for any genuine historical investigation and provides a robust defense of the methods required to discover the Jesus of history.

Rev. ed. of: Ancient evidence for the life of Jesus. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Jesus Christ is arguably the most famous man who ever lived. His image adorns countless churches, icons, and paintings. He is the subject of millions of statues, sculptures, devotional objects and works of art. Everyone can conjure an image of Jesus: usually as a handsome, white man with flowing locks and pristine linen robes. But what did Jesus really look like? Is our popular image of Jesus overly westernized and untrue to historical reality? This question continues to fascinate. Leading Christian Origins scholar Joan E. Taylor surveys the historical evidence, and the prevalent image of Jesus in art and culture, to suggest an entirely different vision of this most famous of men. He may even have had short hair.

The discovery of the so-called Nag Hammadi Library rocked the world. Among the texts discovered in 1945 were some Gospels that modern eyes had never seen. Since then, studies regarding the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth have made significant advances. As this new light was cast on one of history's most influential figures (if not the most influential), a dark cloud of doubt moved in almost simultaneously. Had the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John reflected the real Jesus, or was this new attention on the ""hidden"" Gospels about to unveil the ""hidden life"" of the Revealer? The canonical Gospels say very little about the early years of Jesus' life. In fact, Mark and John say nothing. The so-called apocryphal Gospels, on the other hand, say a whole lot. After an analysis of the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke (Part 1), the information found in the so-called apocryphal Gospels is synthesized in story form (Part 2). What should we think of this hidden life? In the end, the reader must decide. But this hidden life is hidden no longer. Of course, that all depends on whether the events they describe actually happened. ""Antonio Pinero's colloquial retelling of legends about Jesus' birth and childhood is taken not only from the New Testament but, more particularly, from a synthesis of many apocryphal gospels. The book is a fascinating introduction to Jesus' career prior to his ministry and is aimed at readers unfamiliar with these 'hidden' years. Editorial chapters provide helpful introductory material. --J. Keith Elliott, Emeritus Professor, The University of Leeds, UK; Editor of A Synopsis of Apocryphal Nativity and Infancy Narratives ""Professor Antonio Pinero deserves to be better known in English-speaking New Testament scholarly circles. In this volume, Professor Pinero plays to his strengths by bringing together discussion of both the canonical Gospels and the non-canonical early Christian gospels. There is plenty here to agree with, as well as a number of things to disagree with, regarding Professor Pinero's various historical and theological assessments, but all readers will benefit from being able to have access to such illuminating and challenging discussion in one compact volume."" --Stanley E. Porter, President, Dean, and Professor of New Testament, Roy A. Hope Chair in Christian Worldview, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Antonio Pinero is Chair and Professor Emeritus of Greek Philology at the Complutense University of Madrid. He is an internationally-renowned New Testament scholar, specializing in the language and literature of early Christianity. In 2007, Antonio won the I Finis Terrae Award for his book Los cristianos derrotados.

#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)