Essay - Book Report: the Historical Figure of Jesus by E.p. Sanders...

Book Report: The Historical Figure of Jesus by E.P. Sanders

The Historical Figure ***** Jesus is an account of the life of Jesus the man. Th***** is in contrast to the life ***** Jesus as presented by the bible.

********** author looks at what we really know about *****'s life. The emphasis is not about saying whether he is or is not t***** son of God, instead it just looks at what historians know about the ***** of Jesus. The book is in no way an attack on Chr*****tian*****y, it simply accepts that Jesus was a man and attempts to compile his life as a man.

At ***** same time, the book is not a biography ***** Jesus, ***** is more a look ********** what h**********rical information exists ***** what it shows us about *****.

***** author describes when the search for historical information began in the 18th century, show*****g us how scholars of the ***** approached the subject and ***** *****y found.

The author also shows how the approach to understanding the history of Jesus changed, up until the recent 20th century where the trend emerges where Jesus is accepted as an enigma, with historians almost wanting to believe that nothing real can be known ***** Jesus.

***** does not declare to know everything about Jesus's life, but he does piece toget*****r what historical ********** there is.

Through this knowledge he covers the basic teachings of Jesus and the basic ***** of ***** ***** until his execution.

Sanders also looks at Jesus in ***** context of ***** is ***** about the time period in which he existed. This is a refreshing ***** that adds a new dimension to the story of Jesus ***** ***** not *****lways considered. We see Jesus in ***** setting ***** the historical Palestine, with the historical ***** ***** including the fact that the Roman Empire ruled over Palestine.

***** also ********** the historical aspect in that the time period was one when miracles and magic were accepted occurrences. This is an *****teresting point in understanding ***** miracles that Jesus is said to have performed and Sanders discusses these miracles in ***** context.

***** work is also a considered *****. Sanders' goal was to use h**********rical data to understand the life of Jesus. He does this in a methodical way with a focus on providing *****n accurate *****. This means that his account is not a full account but also that it ***** free from bias. At some points Sanders makes assumpti*****s, but in each case he reports them as *****sumptions and provides justification for them.

Overall the ***** ********** a ********** perspective of ***** life and times of Jesus with his life put *****to the perspective of the environment in which he lived. T***** approach gives a very different view ***** the man than ********** biblical texts offer. While ***** may see this as anti-Christian, Sanders makes no claims to *****. The book is instead a look into the man that ***** was.

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