Essay about The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey

Although the Bible’s description of Jesus and his crucifixion has not been changed, the perception of the people about Jesus has been changing throughout the ages. The poem “The Dream of the Rood” is good example of a unique view of Jesus and his crucifixion. The poem is referred as “one of the first and most successful treatments of the crucifixion” in Old English poetry (Burrow 123).

In the book Simply Jesus, N.T. Wright makes three different claims throughout. N.T. Wright's first claim is about the “perfect storm”. The “perfect storm” takes up a large section of the first few chapters, and in those chapters N.T. Wright writes about that to enter the “perfect storm” you must step out of your own storm that is happening in your life, you must jump back into the “perfect storm” just as Jesus did in his own life. N.T. Wright fails to fully support the idea of the “perfect storm” throughout the book. Wright writes about the two myths that create the “storms”, the first is “… the high-pressure system of conservative Christianity” and the second is “... the new classic modernist myth…”. N.T. Wright loses his credibility to his claims by never giving evidence that disproves they myths. N.T. Wright states that the stories in the bible “...’really did happen’. And there the matter ends…. Facts or no facts”. N.T. Wrights claims are never fully

Some scholars argue that evidence of Jesus of Nazareth 's existence can only be found within the writings of the New Testament. They believe that the New Testament is a biased and unreliable source for the existence of Jesus. They therefore claim that Jesus did not exist. The historical existence of Jesus is necessary to demonstrate the truth of Christianity. While Christian scholars do not discount the reliability of the New Testament as a historical document, they are also able to point to other historical documents and consider non-Christian writings which support the existence of Jesus. In this paper I will argue that Jesus the Nazarene was an actual, historical person and that this can be demonstrated through extra-Biblical resources.

• Writes about James, brother of Jesus, who was called the Christ. Stoned to death in A.D. 62. Pg.78

) This goes to show that God would have frowned upon you if you did not treat the less fortunate as equals. He did not like that the rich would oppress the poor because he, himself had come from humble beginnings. He was not the from the poorest class but he understood what it was like to have very little. He also relates the bible to how we should take after the people in need.

Something that got my attention that Brain Mueller said during the Thrive Family Business Conference was how prominent poverty is in our community. His view of poverty is that God never intended for it, but it is an effect of our rebellion from God through sin. I have never thought of poverty in the sense of sin. I grew up in a very privileged suburb in Colorado and only dealt with poverty when I would go to Downtown Denver. I am surrounded or effected by poverty a lot more since attending Grand Canyon University. Having this culture shock has taught me to appreciate what I have and my opportunities. God has blessed me a lot in my life with a great family, house, and life. I have amazing parents who have taught me to do well for myself, the

“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27) is one of the most fundamental questions that Jesus asked his disciples. It is a question, from my personal viewpoint, that has a simple answer. Jesus is Lord! Needless to say, there is more to the identity of Jesus, but it is my belief that Jesus is the Messiah, the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is the promised Savior foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets. There is an endless list that gives Jesus titles such as Ruler and King, Master and Teacher, Savior and Christ, but in Acts 2:36 Luke writes, “God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Jesus is the one who went to the Cross to bring humankind forgiveness, redemption, and salvation.

     Who is this man Jesus? Where was he from? What did he do for others and us? A great source of reference to answer this question would be someone who had direct contact with him in everyday life. Someone who saw the daily wonders he created would be the best source for information. Matthew, the apostle, is believed to have written the gospel of Matthew. He was able to experience firsthand all of the amazing miracles that Jesus performed. God inspired his words, and his gospel relates to the other three gospels in overall context. They were written in different formats and styles, but the overall message and story remains constant throughout all four gospels. This creates a strong

In cases of severe poverty and suffering, people may often find themselves asking, “where is God?” People often challenge the church as well as God’s power and wonder how such suffering could be. God has a plan for everyone and provides faith for those in impoverished situations, but can not control every poor decision made that sends such an unfortunate number of humans into despair. Jesus, who was poor himself, focused on the poor and suffering people, and any legitimate church will provide help to those who have historically been marginalized or deprived of their rights. All church doctrine should grow out of the perspective of the poor. Defending the rights of the poor is seen as the central aspect of the gospel.Chapter four of Elizabeth

The new testament contains four (4) accounts of the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection as presented by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, The 3 accounts are similar, while Johns bible presents Jesus in a unique way. These differences exist because Matthew and Luke got their information from Mark and John got his information from another source, maybe John did not have access to the other gospels or he chose not to use them. No one really knows the source of John’s gospel and we don’t know for sure who wrote the gospels. Scholars refer to the authors as Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, this may not even be their real names. The Gospel were not first hand accounts except for Mark. John did not seem to have known the existence of the other

ideas of God the Father, Jesus the Son of God and the Holy Spirit in

The religion Christianity is grounded through the wisdom and miracles of Jesus Christ. Many may call him Jesus or Christ but in actuality Jesus is Christ which means anointed one. Jesus Christ was no average person, he is the God the Father who came to this world and fulfilled the Old Testament laws and prophecies, died on the cross, and rose from the dead physically. As savior that came on earth to restore his people he performed many miracles which were recorded in the Gospels by the eyewitnesses. Jesus Christ is the divine in nature as well as human. Thus, he has two natures and is worthy of worship and prayer. Christianity teaches that there is only one God in all existence. Although philosophies have tried to prove otherwise the reality is that God made the universe, the Earth, and created man starting with Adam and Eve. According to Genesis 1:27 it states that “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. Image means the likeness of God 's character, rationality, etc. Since we are made in the image of God, every person has an opportunity to be more like him less like sinful ways of the world.

All throughout the beatitudes there seems to be the theme that it does not matter what is on the outside, but God sees and is only concerned with the inside of his children. Their hearts and their souls. It doesn't appear God cares much for material wealth or success in the world, but more so for what is in mans heart. Luke suggests ‘the poor' should be monetarily poor, and if they have any wealth they should give it all up to those more needy to give glory to God. Money and wealth may be seen by some as a sign of being in God's favor with darker signs and adversity a sign of some sort of punishment. Which should not be the case at all, Matthew seems to add "in spirit" more to identify wealth and social status is not the standard by which God will judge. Money and wealth do have an

     Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the first Beatitude. It tells us that we should accept people for who they are and not the material things they have. You should not treat a person who lives in a nice house and drives a nice car any different then someone who lives in a less desirable house and drives an old car. You should treat everyone how you would like to be treated. Just because someone can not afford some of the things as you might be able to does not mean that they are a bad person. We should accept everyone into our community.

When discussing and proving the person of Christ, there are two basic laws that must be addressed and proven. First you must prove that Christ is one hundred percent human (humanity), then you must prove that at the same time Christ is one hundred percent God (deity).