Looks like the cover story of this week's Newsweek is "How Jesus Became Christ". From Jesus to Christ is a pretty balanced account of the early development of the Church as it centers on Jesus' death and resurrection.
a few comments:
1. I was surprised at how many Americans believe Jesus rose from the dead, and how many say they believe he was sent to absolve the world of its sins (75%! See page 2 of the web version of the article). It reminds me that informing people what they should believe about Jesus doesn't really cut it. As the article itself states, the disciples weren't all that clear themselves about the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection, and their confusion lasted for quite some time. I'd rather someone follow Jesus and work things out as they go along than get it all straight first before being "allowed" to trust him.
2. The article picked up on some very foundational points in terms of how the early disciples of Jesus saw his death and resurrection. It was the focal point of history and of the scriptures. It forced them to wrestle with the Old Testament and sometimes find meanings there that could only make sense to someone looking back after Jesus' resurrection. The article didn't really mention the fact that for many Christians, we take the Bible to be the work of many people, and at the same time to be God's words. The way the early apostles reflected on Jesus' life/death/resurrection is also God's reflection and interpretation of what happened.
Your thoughts?
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