Saint Saul - A Skeleton Key to the Historical Jesus

In Saint Saul, Donald Harman Akenson offers a lively and provocative account of what we can learn about Jesus by reading the letters of Paul. As the only direct evidence of Jesus we have that were composed before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE forever altered the outlook of the Christian and Jewish faiths, Akenson claims that these letters are the most reliable source of information. He dismisses the traditional method of searching for factsabout Jesus by looking for parallels among the four gospels because they were handed down to us as a unit by a later generation. Akenson painstakingly recreates the world of Christ, a time rich with ideas, prophets, factions, priests, savants, and god-drunk fanatics. As an eminent historian, Akenson approacheshis subject with a fresh eye and a scholarly rigor that is all too rare in this hotly disputed field.

About the author

Donald Harman Akenson is Professor of History at Queen's University, Kingston (Canada), and Beamish Professor of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool, England. A senior editor at McGill-Queen's University Press, he is an award-winning author of numerous books on a wide range of topics, including Surpassing Wonder: The Invention of the Bible and the Talmuds.

Summary

This work offers an account of what we can learn about Jesus by reading the letters of Paul - the only direct evidence of Jesus we have from before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. Rather than comparing the gospels, the text recreates the Yeshua (Jesus) of the times.

Product details

• Authors: Donald Harman Akenson, D. H. Akenson
• Publisher: Oxford Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 20.06.2002
• EAN: 9780195152388
• ISBN: 978-0-19-515238-8
• Dimensions: 236 mm x 153 mm x 20 mm
• Weight: 503 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Christianity; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Biographies, autobiographies; RELIGION / Judaism / General, RELIGION / Christianity / General, RELIGION / Biblical Meditations / General, Christianity, Judaism, Bible readings, selections & meditations, Bible readings, selections and meditations, The historical Jesus