Abstract
This paper discusses four fundamental reasons for researching the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth, and why this is particularly important today. The author explains from a Christian viewpoint that the ways Christians think, worship, and practice must be explicitly related to the Jesus of Nazareth who actually lived in Palestine. The author provides the historical background for the ongoing controversy about Jesus' life, and suggests that Christians need to use all available tools for historical analysis in order to actualize Jesus for the Church and its opponents today.

From the Paper
"In the post-modern world of today, much of humanity demands factuality that is based upon empirically-corroborated and observed scientific theory. Over the last few centuries, scientific thought and method have fundamentally altered humankind's understanding of our surroundings by demonstrating that everything around us is governed by certain naturalistic and physical laws. Such fundamental changes in our understanding of reality have come into direct conflict with many previous notions inherent within Christian doctrines and teachings."

Tags:skepticism, challenge, Judaism, Bible, Enlightenment, scripture, rational, development, apostle

Abstract
This paper underscores that cross-reference sources, especially the writings of ancient historians, substantiate that Jesus, his followers and his teachings actually existed. Next, the author relates the reliability of the New Testament as a source because it reports many events that are evidenced in other genuine texts from this period. The paper concludes that, even though the historical evidence supports the existence of Jesus the man, Jesus' claim of divinity cannot be credited directly. However, given the world-wide spread of the beliefs of Christianity, the need to verify this debate may be moot.

From the Paper
"Other texts point to the fact that Jesus did exist. In looking for evidence supporting that Jesus lived, we should not overlook the importance of religious documents, either. The New Testament is perceived as reliable because it contains many events that are recorded in other texts from its era. It is also worth noting that those that knew Jesus are also to be considered in proving his existence. Their testaments to his life have survived and they are accounts of what life was like with Jesus during his ministry. There is no reason to believe that these accounts are anything but non-fiction."

Tags:facts, actuality, pliny, divinity, personhood

Abstract
In this biography, the writer deals with the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, upon whose teachings and actions Christianity is based. The writer looks at the historical and traditional testimony of of the teachings and life history of Jesus.

From the Paper
"Perhaps the most single influential person that has every walked the Earth is the man called Jesus. He is believed by his followers generally called Christians which means followers of the savior to have been the fulfillment of the Judaic messianic prophesy to have been both God and man and to have risen from the dead ransoming all believing souls to heaven. His teachings are often in direct conflict with society and have influenced countless people all over the world. No archaeological evidence of his ..."

Tags:jesus, of, nazareth, messiah, christ, chritian, history

Abstract
This paper explores different theories on who Jesus of Nazareth actually was. The paper begins by providing different religious viewpoints on who Jesus was. The rest of the paper explores what can be reliably asserted about Jesus based on factual historical evidence. Various scholars' interpretations of Jesus from the bible are also discussed.

From the Paper
"When we begin to look at the historical Jesus of Nazareth we look at him through historical methods. These historical methods use critical analysis of gospel texts as the main source for Jesus' biography. The infallibility of the Bible is not used in these methods. Nor are religious axioms. The "eschatological", or apocalyptic, elements of the gospels were not believed to be significant as ideas, so in the 19th century Jesus was turned into a figure that was acceptable to agnostics and atheists. Many atheists might say that Jesus never even existed; maybe not how Christians want us to believe he existed - as a Savior, but can they deny that Jesus, the man of flesh and blood, walked the earth? That would be more difficult to disprove since so many individuals wrote about this man."

Tags:christianity, history, messiah, disciples, apostles, bible, scholars

From the Paper
"This paper will offer a comparison and contrasting of the "Righteous Teacher," as suggested in the translation of the restored Scroll of Habakkuk recovered from the first cave at Qumran in 1948, and the figure of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of the New Testament, as presented in the Gospel of Matthew; specifically, the "Sermon on the Mount" in Chapters 5, 6, and 7, which was His first discourse, on the Righteousness of the Kingdom.



The Midrash Pesher of Habakkuk, as Brownlee titles it, is perhaps a mixed metaphor in terms of biblical commentary. In the strictest sense, midrash is seen as scholarly, rabbinical commentary on and interpretation of the books of the Hebrew Scriptures, and Jewish religious observance and practice in the light thereof. The Midrashic tradition traces its origin to the..."

Abstract
This paper discusses how Jaroslav Pelikan, in his book, "Jesus through the Centuries", investigates the enormous impact Jesus has had on the evolution of Western culture. The paper notes that, although Pelikan never manages to break free from the Christian worldview, his book does offer a rich and scholastic chronology of the role Jesus played in Western social, political, economic, philosophic, and artistic histories. The paper describes "Jesus through the Centuries" as an ambitious undertaking which treats Jesus as a symbolic figure and historical force, and which mentions theology only when necessary to substantiate Pelikan's main ideas.

From the Paper
"The introduction to Jesus through the Centuries describes the conceptual framework for the book as evoking "The Good, the True, and the Beautiful." Chapter One, "The Rabbi," elucidates some of the problems with literal interpretations of the New Testament in understanding Jesus' life and times. Here Pelikan emphasizes the time lag between the actual birth and life of Jesus and the historical legacy he left. The New Testament, according to Pelikan, "resembles a set of paintings more closely than it does a photograph," (p. 9). The author therefore differentiates between early Christian tradition and the Christian scriptures which evolved later. Similarly, Pelikan notes how different and sometimes conflicting translations of scripture affected the titles given to Jesus of Nazareth. "

Tags:nazareth, judaism, christianity, prophet

Abstract
This paper strives to confront some of the challenges and claims set forth by many skeptics regarding the resurrection of Jesus, which often hinder many Christians from attaining an absolute belief in Christianity and all that it embodies. Skepticism in the resurrection of Jesus is not strictly contemporary and such doubts surrounding it are believed to have started surfacing directly proceeding the event itself. The paper briefly examines the history of this skepticism's placement in modern context (from the twentieth century and onwards), presents a retrospective reflection upon the world we live in, scrutinizes the presuppositions of scientific thought - of the world functioning strictly under naturalistic laws, interpretations of pagan myths, and analyzes a comparison of the literal and metaphorical-allegorical interpretations of the resurrection (for e.g. was the resurrection of Jesus bodily or metaphorical?).

From the Paper
"The most recent of "scholarly" criticism of the resurrection and of the very historicity of Jesus is that of Tom Harpur's The Pagan Christ: Recovering the Lost Light. Tom Harpur makes some radical claims on the very historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth: "can we say with any authority that Jesus of Nazareth actually existed as a historical person? I have very grave doubts we can." He believes that Christianity took a wrong turn in the fourth century C.E., he then asserts that there are many parallels with the Jesus of the New Testament including his resurrection and pagan myths: "by the antecedent careers of such world saviours as Dionysus, Osiris, Horus, ... Zoraster, Krishna" . Despite the fact that if there is no historical Jesus there is no literal resurrection or any resurrection at all and quite simply no true Christianity, Harpur still argues he is a Christian, but in a new cosmic sense just as pagans were thousands of years ago. "

Tags:Nazareth, pagan, myths, New, Testament

Abstract
This paper explains that, as the Second Adam, Jesus re-enacted the scene in the Garden of Eden and reversed the choice of the First Adam through perfect obedience to God, the Father, who came into the world without the curse of sin, which has passed from Adam down to the last mortal, by being conceived of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Divine Trinity and born of a virgin, Mary of Nazareth. The author points out that Jesus speaks of God, the Father, as His Father in a most distinct way. God is the Father of others in that He is of the same nature as His Father, His divine sonship being clearly recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. The paper relates that every mortal is confronted with a choice to accept or reject the offer of salvation by Jesus Christ, who claims to be the Son of God and God the Son; the choice involves everlasting happiness or everlasting punishment, and it is not a mere option that can be rationalized.

From the Paper
"In the company of His first disciples, Jesus walked on the sea, calmed the storm and cast out demons (Mark 6:47-50, Mark 1:23-28, 4:35-41). After 40 days and 40 nights of fasting in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted by the devil to prove that He is the Son of God by turning stones into bread and hurling Himself down from the top of a temple (Matt 4:4-6). He preached that men should come to God trustingly as little children, "for such is the kingdom of God (Mark 10:13-16)." He taught obedience to God the Father from His own example of perfect obedience, even to the point of dying on the cross (Philippians 2:8), as His part in the divine plan, for which alone He became flesh."

Tags:synoptic, adam, disciples, trinity, choice

Abstract
This paper describes one of the most well-known parables the "Prodigal Son" or "Lost Son" (Luke 15:11-32), which encompasses all the ideas of Christian doctrine. The author discusses the literal and the spiritual or metaphorical interpretations of the message of the story and relates the way that Franco Zeffirelli directed the telling of this parable in his movie "Jesus of Nazareth". The author concludes that Zeffirelli probably chose to include this scene in the movie as a way to visually demonstrate the response that Jesus' listeners had when incorporating the story into their own lives.

From the Paper
"Because Jesus' mission on Earth was to spread the word of God and wash away people's sins, the purpose of this particular parable is to show that even the most corrupt individual can still enter the Kingdom of Heaven if he or she places full faith in the Lord and asks to be forgiven for his or her sins. In order to be permitted to enter the Lord's Kingdom, one must trust and believe completely in the words of Jesus and the omnipotent supremacy of God over all things human and earthly."

Tags:preaching forgiveness repentance mission, broken friendship

Abstract
This paper examines twelve specific questions that address the film "Jesus of Nazareth" (directed by Franco Zeffirelli, 1977). These questions all require the reader to examine the portrayal of specific events in the film. There is a heavy emphasis on providing a personal response to these questions.