What Have They Done with JESUS?
From inside cover: “Strange theories about Jesus seem to ooze from our culture with increasing regularity. Ben Witherington, one of the top Jesus scholars, will have none of it. There were no secret Gnostic teachings in the first century. With leading scholars and popular purveyors of bad history in his crosshairs, Witherington reveals what we can—and cannot—claim to know about the real Jesus. The Bible, not outside sources, is still the most trustworthy historical record we have today.
Utilizing a fresh "personality profile" approach, Witherington highlights core Christian claims by investigating the major figures in Jesus’s inner circle of followers: Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Thomas, Peter, James the brother of Jesus, Paul, and the mysterious "beloved disciple."
In each chapter Witherington satisfies our curiosities and answers the full range of questions about these key figures and what each of them can teach us about the historical Jesus. What Have They Done with Jesus? is a vigorous defense of traditional Christianity that offers a compelling portrait of Jesus’s core message according to those who knew him best.
Publisher: HarperISBN: 0061120014
ISBN-13: 9780061120015
Product Description
Of late, Jesus has been in the media and news outlets repeatedly. But who is this Jesus everyone is buzzing about? Sensational claims about Jesus have been made, yet there is little or no hard evidence to support such outrageous claims. Pop-culture has tried to reinvent Jesus.
Biblical scholar Ben Witherington masterfully refutes the recent claims and implications of Bart Ehrman, the Gospel of Judas, "lost Christianities", and secret first-century "Gnostic" teachings. Dr. Witherington focuses on the impact of Jesus upon his earliest followers, the so-called inner circle from a historical point of view: Mary, James, Jude, Peter, the Beloved Disciple, Mary Magdalene, Junia (Joanna)and Paul, those who knew him, (or in Paul's case knew other eyewitnesses) and his character best to reveal the truth and reliability of the biblical accounts.
Ben Witherington 111 is professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. The author of more than thirty books, including The Brother of Jesus, he has twice won the Christianity Today award for one of the best biblical studies books of the year, and he has presented seminars for churches, colleges, and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Witherington writes for many church and scholarly publications, is a regular contributor to Christianity Today and Beliefnet.com , and has been featured widely in the national media.