Summary Of The Shadow Of The Galilean

In Chapter 2 of Encountering the New Testament the author talks about a few of the different practices that unified the Jews as well the different religious groups that had different beliefs. Judaism was unified in the beliefs that they had been chosen by God, they were waiting for the messiah to come, they respect the synagogues, they shared the same laws and traditions of elder. Although these beliefs were unifying there were seperate religious groups and leaders that held different beliefs. Probably the most well known group of religious leaders were the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a small group of religious leaders that believed in God, and the coming messiah. Although many of the Pharisees did live good lives many of them were

[v] Edershiem, Alfred. Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database: Biblesoft, Inc.

It is possible to write on the life of Jesus from the information gathered from the bible. I will be dividing my essay into three parts. In the first part of the paper, I will talk about the nature of the gospels, John’s views vs. the Synoptic, discuss if the authors of the gospels are eyewitnesses and how they used written sources. Also I will talk about the Q source. Then I will elaborate on the topic of how Matthew and Luke were similar. Then I will continue on by discussing how the Old Testament uses Moses, Samuel and Elijah to interpret Jesus, and finally whether or not the Sermon on the Mount happened. In the second part of my paper, I will talk about Jesus’s birth and childhood, his miracles, his resurrection, and what Jesus did to cure people, spirits and how they are interpreted to the prophet, magician and the mad man compared to Saul and Elijah. The final part of the paper I will talk about what Jesus talked about as regards to the Kingdom of God vs. the Kingdom of the Romans and what he intended by speaking of the end of the world. I will also speak of the reasons behind the Romans executing him. My sources for this paper will be the New Jerusalem Bible Readers edition as my primary source and lecture notes from Professor Trumbach.

Whether one chooses to view the text by title of The Acts of Paul, The Acts of Thecla, or The Acts of Paul and Thecla, shows how one is likely to view the tale itself. An entirely different perspective can be formed from reading the various versions by different names. For instance, when reading The Acts of Paul, the story is focused on Paul and his contributions to Christianity. When reading The Acts of Paul and Thecla or simply The Acts of Thecla, a new perspective is formed viewed in a feminine light. This version focuses on Thecla’s dedication to an ascetic lifestyle and portrays the influence a woman can have in the Christian tradition. The acts of Paul and Thecla are widely disputed on a number of aspects. In question is the

The book The Shadow of the Galilean by Gerd Theissen is a historical fiction, creating a fictitious account of the life of Jesus through a narrative of a third person. This story brings an interesting, more relatable version to the reader as they go through the thoughts and travels of Andreas, a Jewish merchant, the protagonist of the book. Most events of this story are historically accurate which allows readers to better conceptualize the ideas that Theissen brings forward within the story by creatively tying it in to the life of Andreas. Through this book we are able open up another world to a reader, expanding the possibilities

The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form. By Gerd Theissen. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007, 212 pp., $15.50.

The novel, “The Shadow of the Galilean,” written by Gerd Theissen is a fictitious narration attempting to depict the validity of Jesus, the gospel, and what is was like to live during the first century in Palestine through a historical perspective. The novel takes you on a dual journey not only with Andreas, but also with letters written from Theissen to his fictional reader Dr.Kratzinger.

A complex relationship between Jews and Christians has existed from the beginning of Christianity. The displacement of the Jews throughout their history has not dampened the maintenance of their exceptional identity. They keep their individuality by adherence to the way of the Torah ("Lecture 2," 2014). Christianity and Judaism share a common ground in that they are both ancient religions, much of the Jewish and Christian laws have had to be revitalized to fit the changing times. Much like the Pope of the Catholic religion, in the Jewish faith the Pharisees have been the effective leaders in such decisions. There is a forever binding relationship of the two faiths in that Jesus cannot be fully understood without the benefit of knowledge of the Jewish premise (Koch, 2011). Therefore, an understanding of the two religions is of the utmost importance in these vastly different cultures.

In this essay, I will justify why Jesus, a historical figure, is molded in ancient texts to fulfill biased endeavors in spirituality without proven or creditable sources. This initial warping of Jesus carries over pre-organized beliefs and conclusions about who he was and what he did. First, I will discuss the obvious biases of each Gospel writer and explain why they are partial in displaying Jesus, each story simply benefiting their own belief and purpose. After, comparing and contrasting the Gospel’s varying images of Jesus, I will show the continuous inconsistency on who Jesus was and what he represents tracing back to the original penmanship in 65-90 CE. Next, I will explain why the sources used to write all four Gospels are unreliable

In Philippians, chapter 3, the Apostle Paul is yet again confronted with a segment of the Christian community that believes in adherence to the Torah and the circumcision of Gentiles (Harris, 2014). Similar to his letter to the Galatians when his was compelled to address this issue, the Apostle Paul sharply denounces the need to adhere to the Torah after Jesus’ sacrificial death. Therefore, in order to establish his credibility to address this issue, he restates his ancestry and history as zealous Jewish Pharisee to highlight his knowledge of the Torah and Jewish religious traditions.

The Sadducees, Pharisees and the Scribes were deeply concerned about Jesus. They knew at once that he was “utterly different and could not be silenced” (Hester, 1963, p. 155).

The problem for the Pharisees was that, Jesus had disobey the laws by healing on the Sabbath. Something that was against the laws. They believe that the healings should have taken place on a different day, and not the Sabbath. Since the Sabbath was a day when no one ought to work. Jesus made a decent point, that if is okay for the Pharisees to take care of their animals on the Sabbath, which is consider doing a chores, then he should be allow to heal a daughter of Abraham. He did not only see them as pretenders, yet those that did not practice what they preach. Besides, they were not abiding by the laws either.

It could be ascertained that there are significant differences among the accounts narrated in the above passages. But nevertheless, their similarities and differences combine to give a credible overview of Jesus’ earlier Galilean Ministry.

We previously examined how Luke’s gospel, in comparison to Matthew’s gospel, is relational, familiarly written and how it appealed to his Gentile audience. Luke has several noticeable differences in his gospel as compared to the others. In Luke’s gospel, he graciously provides a more complete narrative of Jesus. Since Jesus’ birth and ministry to His crucifixion and resurrection, Luke fill’s in some of the details that had been left out of the preceding gospels and draws his audience in even the more by presenting Jesus in a more humane manner. Emphases on Jesus teachings concerning salvation in relation to His fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the promised Messiah were evident.

Mason, S. (2001). Flavius Josephus on the Pharisees: A Composition-Critical study. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, Inc.