From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Christ

Summary: From Jesus Christ to Jesus

Over reviewers have summarized the book. I am not an expert in xianity, but I am a decent judge of evidence. While not an easy read by any means, this is a very intelligent book, with the feel of a very stiff and merciless cross-examination of the gospels and xianity. By the time she finishes, the reader is left with Jesus, not Christ. To not read this book is to carry on with your head buried in the sand--perhaps comforting, but not really interested in the true nature of things.

Summary: Rice's Jesus is one that Fredricksen would not recognize

"Yet in some respects Rice's Jesus is one that Fredricksen would not recognize, as Rice is perfectly clear in her portrayal of Jesus as both divine and human, and most definitely as the only begotten Son of God born of the virgin Mary." Ben Witherington



Dr. Fredriksen Thoughts:
In expressing 'Some Thoughts,' in Society of Biblical Literature Forum, Dr. Fredriksen wrote, "The point, of course, is that the Gospels themselves are no more 'anti-Semitic' than are the Dead Sea Scrolls, or Isaiah or Jeremiah ..., once they are in full voice. ... they are read through the 'contra Iudaeos' tradition. This reading, enshrined in centuries of church teachings and Christian interpretation, ... forgets that the historical Jesus was a first-century Jew engaged in disputes with other first-century Jews over issues important in first-century Judaism. Paula Fredriksen's first book, 'From Jesus to Christ': The Origins of the New Testament Images of Jesus, was followed by Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity, and, 'Jesus, Judaism, and Christian Anti-Judaism: Reading the New Testament After the Holocaust,' spell her agenda to which she is devoted.

Historians on Josephus Vs Gospels:
Speaking as a historian, Harold Attridge, Yale Divinity School, explains the problem, "... in understanding Jesus, as a historian, begins with the fact that we have rather limited sources for reconstructing his life. Those sources are primarily the gospel traditions that we have in the New Testament, some apocryphal materials from the early Christian tradition, and some sources external to the New Testament. Those sources external to the New Testament are particularly valuable because they're not directly statements of faith, the way the New Testament materials are. Chief among those external sources is Josephus, a Jewish historian who wrote at the end of the first century and who in book 18 of his "Antiquities of the Jews," has a small passage about Jesus. ... Professional historians, I think, try to assemble all of the evidence that's available for reconstructing an event.

Fredriksen Vs Rice's Christ:
In a recent review posted by Ben Witherington of Anne Rice's 'Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt,' he wrote, "Rice gets to critique liberal Jesus scholars, amongst others. Rice also tells us the story of her conversion and return to Roman Catholicism, which entailed a return to investigate questions which had haunted her all her life - how did Christianity actually come about? ...I would give myself utterly to the task of trying to understand Jesus himself and how Christianity emerged."
To the reconverted Roman Catholic novelist quest, Witherington anticipated statement, seven years earlier was, "Where did all of this vast array of christological thinking come from? Ultimately, we have argued, it in many cases goes back to Jesus himself, or to the earliest Jewish Christian followers of Jesus."

Hebrew prophets Vs Fredriksen:
Christian doctrine, claims Witherington, interprets salvation as God's gradual self revelation to mankind through the Patriarchs especially Abraham, through Jewish prophets, and ultimately in the teachings of Jesus Christ. True faith of His love of mankind even to the extent of intervening into history as the only begotten Son, being tempted and suffering, as prophesied by Isaiah. The meaning of the life, death, and resurrection of the Christ, debated by the Jewish scholar, as the means of God's redemptive purpose, as foretold in biblical history, and revealed by the Hebrew prophets is refuted by Fredriksen.

Dr. Paula Fredriksen:
Fredriksen holds a Ph.D. in history of religions, ancient Christianity, and Greco-Roman religions from Princeton University and a theology diploma from Oxford University. She served as historical consultant for the BBC production The Lives of Jesus and was a featured speaker and historical consultant for "The Life and Times of Jesus. Specializing in the history of early Christianity, Paula Fredriksen is author of half a dozen books and a few dozen articles on early Christianity. Among her numerous awards and honors are a National Endowment for the Humanities grant and a Visiting Professorship of Ancient Christianity, at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She received the Yale Press Governors' Award for Best Book in 1988.