Messiah is one of the most popular and most contested terms in Christian reflection, with many often reading the concept back into early Old Testament texts. Joseph Fitzmyer carefully and comprehensively contradicts this misreading, tracing the emergence of messianism to a much later date - 2nd century B.C.
Addresses the issue of what the New Testament actually teaches-- and it's not what most people think.
Presents what is known about the actual life of Jesus, and traces the progress of the Church's interpretation of his life and work
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What does research on the historical Jesus have to do with Christian faith? What does the term "Son of Man" mean? Have scholars been looking for the wrong Jesus? What is the evidence for Jesus' existence outside the Bible? These are just some of the issues discussed by several of today's most famous experts in the debates raging about the historical Jesus--who he was, what he said and what he i…