Saturday, June 30, 2001
Jesus Through the Centuries
by Jaroslav Pelikan
Yet another treasure snapped up at the Friends of the Seattle Public Library book sale. This book is a brief look at the perception of Jesus through the centuries by the "Christian" culture. While Jesus Himself has not changed over the centuries, the way His followers perceive Him has. Pelikan breaks the book up into 18 different roles that have at one point in history been the dominant perception of Jesus of Nazareth. In each chapter, Pelikan explains the concept, showcases those who held it and shows how it in turn is reflected in their actions. It's fascinating how so many can take the same source material, the Bible, and see different things in it. It's also a bit humbling as I'm forced to realize that my own beliefs about Jesus are not necessarily a pure doctrine delivered directly to me by the Holy Spirit, but rather are teachings that have been handed down and flavored by generations of scholars, philosophers and teachers. And maybe even a prophet or two. This is a must read for those interested in Jesus and history, which is why it's going on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Yet another treasure snapped up at the Friends of the Seattle Public Library book sale. This book is a brief look at the perception of Jesus through the centuries by the "Christian" culture. While Jesus Himself has not changed over the centuries, the way His followers perceive Him has. Pelikan breaks the book up into 18 different roles that have at one point in history been the dominant perception of Jesus of Nazareth. In each chapter, Pelikan explains the concept, showcases those who held it and shows how it in turn is reflected in their actions. It's fascinating how so many can take the same source material, the Bible, and see different things in it. It's also a bit humbling as I'm forced to realize that my own beliefs about Jesus are not necessarily a pure doctrine delivered directly to me by the Holy Spirit, but rather are teachings that have been handed down and flavored by generations of scholars, philosophers and teachers. And maybe even a prophet or two. This is a must read for those interested in Jesus and history, which is why it's going on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf
// posted by John @ 4:19 PM 
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