The Jesus Myth
Is the New Testament story of Jesus history or pure legend? Clearly seeking to provoke controversy, Wells (The Jesus Legend: What's in a Name?) contends that the accounts of Jesus in the canonical Gospels contradict not only one another but also the earliest Christian documents, which never present Jesus as an itinerant preacher, a miracle worker, born of a virgin or executed under Pilate. Combining literary criticism, textual criticism and historical criticism, Wells examines the evidence about Jesus by probing the Gospels and independent testimonies of Jesus's life from the first century A.D. such as the Gospel of Thomas and Q. The author also examines the letters of Paul and contends that Paul bases his portrait of Jesus on the Jewish figure of Wisdom, who sought acceptance on earth but was rejected and returned to heaven. In a detailed and convincing fashion, Wells argues that the Gospel stories of Jesus are myths composed to satisfy the religious longings of the Gospel writers' audiences.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.