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Definition:
The name Jesus is a Greek equivalent to a common Jewish name of the first
century, Yeshua, and Christ is the Greek title Christos, which means
Messiah
or Anointed One.
Did Jesus exist? There is some debate about that. There are only two pieces of extra-biblical evidence of Jesus which have any reliability, and only one of those has any decent reliability, but that is a very short passage by Josephus. There is, thus, not enough evidence to regard his existence as a given, but there is enough to consider it reasonably possible.
If Jesus existed, what did he do? That is difficult to say, because the biblical accounts cannot be assumed to be 100% reliable. However, it seems likely that he would have been some sort of teacher, prophet, and miracle worker - just like many other people around the same time.
In Christian mythology, it is generally believed that Jesus was an incarnation of God who came to earth to redeem the sins of humanity. He was executed by crucifixion, but arose from the dead after three days. Anyone who believes this is saved from eternal torment in hell.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
What is Christianity?
What are the various Christian groups, denominations, sects and heresies? What are some key concepts in Christian theology? What are some of the most important events in Christian history? All of this and more are covered in the Christianity FAQ.What is the Philosophy of Religion?
Sometimes confused with theology, the Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical study of religious beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and religious history. The line between theology and the philosophy of religion isn't always sharp, but the primary difference is that theology tends to be apologetical in nature, committed to the defense of particular religious positions, whereas Philosophy of Religion is committed to the investigation of religion itself, rather than the truth of any particular religion.What is Theism?
What is the difference between monotheism and monolatry? Between pantheism and panentheism? How about between animism and shamanism? Or theism and deism? What the heck is henotheism?What is Religion?
A system of human beliefs, ideals and practices which is harder to define than it may at first appear. Read more about how dictionaries, scholars and others have tried to define and explain religion.
Further Reading:
The Messiah Before Jesus
Was Jesus really an innovative figure in Judaism, or was he instead the inheritor of a previously established belief system about the nature of the role of a Messiah? Traditional Christian opinions have ranged widely on this issue, with some saying that Jesus claimed a unique Messiah role, and others arguing that this was only claimed later by the Christian community, because it was totally unknown in Judaism. Knohl, however, argues that such a figure was not only known, but was filled by others before Jesus. He was not the first, and perhaps did not expect to be the last Messiah. Read Review...The First Messiah
About 100 years before the probable lifetime of Jesus, a man came to Jerusalem who eventually came to be called "The Teacher of Righteousness." Given the name Judah by author Michael O. Wise, this all-but-forgotten preacher and prophet prefigured the stories surrounding Jesus in a startling number of ways. Equally messianic figures, they both were arrested and condemned by authorities due to their religious claims. Read Review...Hidden Gospels: How the Search for Jesus Lost its Way
In recent years, there has been a plethora of writings about "lost" gospels - documents of early Christian communities which are supposed to offer an alternative perspective on the nature of Christianity and, perhaps, the nature of Jesus. But do these "lost" gospels really offer us anything? Do they tell us anything about the earliest years of Christianity, or does their popularity instead tell us more about ourselves? Read More...The Human Christ: The Search for the Historical Jesus
Who was Jesus? Innumerable people - scholars and lay people alike - have wanted to answer that question and have therefore embarked upon a "quest for the historical Jesus." What has been the result of their efforts? According to Charlotte Allen, not very much. Allen argues that these "quests" reveal much more about the psychology and ideology of the questors and little or nothing about Jesus. Read More...
