Who was Jesus--really? For centuries, the Christian church has taught that Jesus is the divine Son of God, crucified for sinners and raised from the dead. In recent years, however, that picture of Jesus has come under widely publicized attack from sources ranging from critical scholars to Internet pundits to popular historians and others. The new portraits of Jesus seem persuasive. You can't help but wonder . . . Did Christianity merely copy its beliefs from earlier mythology? Did the church suppress alternate gospels? Did Jesus never die on the cross or rise from the dead for sinners? Is the New Testament hopelessly riddled with errors? New York Times bestselling author Lee Strobel helps you separate truth from media hype, sound scholarship from bias, and fact from speculation. Digging below the surface, this book provides credible, informed answers to today's most pressing questions about Jesus.

Geza Vermes is the greatest living Jesus scholar. In "The Real Jesus", Vermes, best known for his work on the Dead Sea Scrolls, comments on a variety of contemporary religious themes such as "The Da Vinci Code", Mel Gibson's infamous film "The Passion of the Christ", Benedict XVI's book "Jesus of Nazareth" and the "Gospel of Judas". Informed by the work of a world-class scholar, the short articles in this book open to the general reader the findings of some of the major discoveries of the twentieth century such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. This collection of shorter popular pieces, many of which appeared in "The Times" and other newspapers, makes Vermes' research on Christian origins, the Dead Sea Scrolls and most importantly Jesus the Jew accessible to a wider readership.

An enlightening follow-up to the bestselling book The Case for Christ, In Defense of Jesus follows award-winning journalist Lee Strobel as he explores the most explosive arguments against the identity of Christ as the Messiah. Has modern scholarship debunked the traditional Christ? Has the church suppressed the truth about Jesus to advance its own agenda? What if the real Jesus is far different from the atoning Savior worshiped through the centuries? In Defense of Jesus explores such hot-button questions as: Did the church suppress ancient non-biblical documents that paint a more accurate picture of Jesus than the four Gospels? Did the church distort the truth about Jesus by tampering with early New Testament texts? Do new insights and explanations disprove the resurrection? Have fresh arguments disqualified Jesus from being the Messiah? Did Christianity steal its core ideas from earlier mythology? Evaluate the arguments and evidence being advanced by prominent atheists, liberal theologians, Muslim scholars, and others. Sift through expert testimony. Then reach your own verdict with In Defense of Jesus. This title is also available in Spanish, En defense de Jesús.

Jesus did not die just so you can go to church on Sunday. This book will give you a clear understanding of the real Jesus. Many people’s Christianity is not really about Jesus; it’s something they inherited culturally. You will learn that your relationship with Jesus is deeper than your last attendance in church. You will put Him in the center of everything you do. Which Jesus do you follow? What does He believe? Or perhaps just as important, What do you believe about Him? In The Real Jesus, the debut book from pastor and beloved worship leader Jonathan Stockstill, you will have an encounter with the real-life Son of God—the One who loves you more than you could ever imagine. After reading The Real Jesus, you will: Understand the difference between the mistaken, miscast, misinterpreted Jesus of our culture and the blood-and-bones Jesus of the Bible Discover a Jesus you may never have truly known—even if you have been following Him for years or decades Enter into a more raw, real, and relevant relationship with the One who loves you and calls you by name This book will equip you to see Jesus as He really is and truly understand what it means to be His disciple.

This book examines the claims and assumptions of critical scholars in this concise survey of the historical roots of Gospels criticism from Reimarus to Bultmann and beyond.

Presents a new perspective on the real life of Jesus based on biblical and historical scholarship and debunks many arguments arising out of the "Jesus Seminar."

Matt Mikalatos liked Jesus a lot. In fact, he couldn’t believe how much they had in common. They shared the same likes, dislikes, beliefs, and opinions. (Though Jesus did have better hair.) So imagine Matt’s astonishment when he finds out that the guy he knows as Jesus . . . isn’t. He’s an Imaginary Jesus: a comfortable, convenient imitation Matt has created in his own image. The real Jesus is still out there somewhere . . . and Matt is determined to find him. In this hilarious, fast-paced, sort-of-true story hailed as “Monty Python meets C. S. Lewis,” Matt embarks on an incredible chase to find the real Jesus and ask him the one question that his Imaginary Jesus has never been able to answer. It’s a wild spiritual adventure like nothing you’ve ever read before . . . and it might bring you face-to-face with an imposter in your own life. This new edition now contains a discussion guide, an interview with the author, and other bonus features! (Previously published as Imaginary Jesus.)

The book consists primarily of interviews between Strobel (a former legal editor at the Chicago Tribune) and biblical scholars such as Bruce Metzger. Each interview is based on a simple question, concerning historical evidence (for example, "Can the Biographies of Jesus Be Trusted?"), scientific evidence, ("Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus' Biographies?"), and "psychiatric evidence" ("Was Jesus Crazy When He Claimed to Be the Son of God?"). Together, these interviews compose a case brief defending Jesus' divinity, and urging readers to reach a verdict of their own.