Jesus: A Brief History

Preface and Acknowledgments

Prologue: Jesus, a Jew from Galilee

1. Jesus and Christian Beginnings (First to Fourth Centuries)

A Strange Case: Paul and his Letters

Anonymous Narratives: Three Gospels and One Sequel

An Author Called John: A Fourth Gospel, More Letters, and an Apocalypse

Christianity’s Earliest Writings: Literary Diversity, Theological Unity

Christianity’s Transformation: From a Jewish Sect to a Gentile Religion

Emerging Christianity: A “Catholic” Church

“Gnosticism”: The Nag Hammadi Library

Living as Christians in the Roman Empire: The Threat of Persecution

Christianizing the Roman Empire: Constantine the Great

Material Culture: Manuscripts, Architecture, and the Visual Arts

2. Jesus and the Triumph of Christian Orthodoxy (Fourth and Fifth Centuries)

The Council of Nicaea I (325): The Relation of the Son to God the Father

The Council of Constantinople I (381): God as Trinity, One Substance, Three Persons

Transition: From the Trinity to the Incarnation

The Council of Ephesus (431): The Incarnate Son, One Person, Not Divided

The Council of Chalcedon I (451): The Incarnate Son, One Person, Two Natures

Early Monasticism: From Martyr to Monk

Material Culture: Manuscripts, Architecture, and the Visual Arts

3. Jesus and Medieval Christian Orthodoxy (Fifth to Fifteenth Centuries)

Rome, the Papacy, and the Eastern Church: A Church Dividing

The Iconoclastic Controversy: Can Images of Jesus be Created and Venerated?

The Filioque Controversy: Does the Holy Spirit also Proceed from the Son?

Jesus as the Christ of Eastern Orthodoxy: Creed, Liturgy, and Spirituality

The Crusades: Warriors for Christ

Beyond Monasticism: Monks, Mendicants, and Mystics

Scholastic Theology: The Trinity, the Incarnation, and the At-one-ment

Jesus as the Christ of Roman Catholicism: Creed, Liturgy and Spirituality

 Rome and the Papacy: Exile, Schism, and Dissent

Material Culture: Architecture and the Visual Arts

4. Jesus and Challenges to Christian Orthodoxy (Since the Fifteenth Century)

The Renaissance:: Back to the Classics

The Reformation: Back to the Bible

The Enlightenment: Not Revelation, but Reason

Material Culture: Architecture, Visual Arts, and Printed Books

5. Jesus and the Historical Quest (Since the Eighteenth Century)

Pre-Quest Period: Christ = Jesus (before 1778)

Old Quest Period: Christ // Jesus (1778–1906)

No Quest Period: Christ // Jesus (1906–1953)

New Quest Period: Christ > Jesus (1953–1985)\

Third Quest Period: [Christ] Jesus (since 1985)

Dramatic Arts: From Passion Plays to Jesus Films

6. Jesus and Christological Diversity (Since the Eighteenth Century)

Modern Protestant Theology: Liberalism (Nineteenth Century)

Modern Protestant Theology: Neo-Orthodoxy (Twentieth Century)

Modern Catholic Theology: Two Vatican Councils (Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries)

Beyond Liberalism and Neo-Orthodoxy: Process Theology (into the Twenty-First Century)

Liberation Theology: Latin America (into the Twenty-First Century)

Black Theology: The United States and Beyond (into the Twenty-First Century)

Feminist Theology: The United States and Beyond (into the Twenty-First Century)

Womanist Theology: The United States and Beyond (into the Twenty-First Century)

Theology in the Third World: Latin America, Africa, Asia (into the Twenty-First Century)

Dramatic Arts: Christ-Figure Films and Literary Imagination

7. Jesus and World Religions (Since the First Century)

Judaism: Jesus, a Jew, but No Messiah

Islam: Jesus, a Prophet, but No Son of God

Religions of South and East Asia: Jesus, the Outsider

Material Culture: From Stone to Celluloid

Epilogue: Jesus, a Global Christ

Select Bibliography and Further Reading

Index