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Presents an alternative interpretation of early Christian history that claims that Jesus intended to establish a royal dynasty, based on his descent from King David, for the spiritual and political redemption of the Jews.
In this “compulsively readable exploration of the tangled world of Christian origins” (Publishers Weekly), religious historian James Tabor illuminates the earliest years of Jesus’ teachings before Paul shaped them into the religion we know today. This fascinating examination of the earliest years of Christianity reveals how the man we call St. Paul shaped Christianity as we know it today. Historians know almost nothing about the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus, when his followers regrouped and began to spread his message. During this time Paul joined the movement and began to preach to the gentiles. Using the oldest Christian documents that we have—the letters of Paul—as well as other early Christian sources, historian and scholar James Tabor reconstructs the origins of Christianity. Tabor shows how Paul separated himself from Peter and James to introduce his own version of Christianity, which would continue to develop independently of the message that Jesus, James, and Peter preached. Paul and Jesus illuminates the fascinating period of history when Christianity was born out of Judaism.
The first book of the Bible presented in an authentic translation that allows the English reader to "peer through" to the Hebrew and "come as close as we will probably ever come to the original text." This translation allows readers to experience the original Hebrew and the rich resonance of alliteration, pun, word play, and idiom that are so essential to the meaning of the Bible itself. These elements of the text are more than merely stylistic; they allow the reader to understand the echoes and meaning of the text in a way never before available. Beyond the content, the flow and verbal rhythm of the original Hebrew is conveyed, not through English style but through a reflection of its basic...
A recent major archeological discovery in Jerusalem is revolutionizing understanding of Jesus and the earliest years of Christianity. The authors have examined a sealed tomb in Jerusalem, where they have found the earliest evidence for a belief in the resurrection of Jesus, based on what appears to be the oldest Christian iconography ever discovered.
The 1993 government assault on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, resulted in the deaths of four federal agents and eighty Branch Davidians, including seventeen children. Whether these tragic deaths could have been avoided is still debatable, but what seems clear is that the events in Texas have broad implications for religious freedom in America. James Tabor and Eugene Gallagher's bold examination of the Waco story offers the first balanced account of the siege. They try to understand what really happened in Waco: What brought the Branch Davidians to Mount Carmel? Why did the government attack? How did the media affect events? The authors address the accusations of illegal weapo...
'The Jesus Dynasty' is a gripping and controversial investigation into the life of Jesus and the true origins of Christianity. James Tabor argues that, far from setting himself up as a world messiah, Jesus was driven by a very different agenda - to establish himself and his family as the rightful rulers of Israel.
Pathbreaking study provides a stunning reappraisal of the early history of this controversial human freedom. A Noble Death challenges the often unquestioning attitudes we have toward suicide and traces the evolution of these attitudes from the time of Socrates to the present day. Droge and Tabor reveal the extraordinary fact that early Christians and Jews did not absolutely condemn suicide, but instead focused on whether or not it was committed for noble reasons. In.
A recent major archeological discovery in Jerusalem is revolutionizing understanding of Jesus and the earliest years of Christianity. The authors have examined a sealed tomb in Jerusalem, where they have found the earliest evidence for a belief in the resurrection of Jesus, based on what appears to be the oldest Christian iconography ever discovered.
Paul makes the singular claim to have been the "last but not the least" of the Apostles of Jesus. Paul never met Jesus, but he makes high claims for his experiences of mystical revelations that include his ascent to heaven and his claim to not only have "seen" Jesus in his glory, but to have regularly communicated with the one he calls the Risen Christ. Early Christianity, as it unfolds, stands or falls on the claims of this single man whose Message and Mission are distinct from that of James, Peter, and John. In this book Paul's Ascent to Paradise becomes an entrée into his whole world of Hellenistic mystical religious experience. This "history of religions" approach to Paul supersedes the dogmatic approaches of Christian theology and dogma. It is refreshing, gripping, dramatic, bold and fascinating. For Paul the "appointed time of the end had grown very short," to use his words. Everything has to be viewed through that apocalyptic lens and one is transported back to Paul's social world, the "battles of the apostles," and either his triumph or his failure--depending on the judgment of history.