Monday, November 13, 2017

Was Jesus the first Christian?

Jesus Before Christianity ~ by Albert Nolan, 1976, 1992, religion
Nolan's portrait introduces readers to Jesus as He was before He became enshrined in doctrine, dogma, and ritual, a man deeply involved with the real problems of His time, which are the real problems of our time as well.

"The most accurate and balanced short reconstruction of the life of the historical Jesus." ― Harvey Cox
Coincidence?

A Jewish friend said to me, "Jesus was the first Christian."  I told her Jesus was always and only a Jew.  Christianity evolved over many years, from the first Jewish followers of Jesus through its spread to the non-Jewish population of the Roman Empire and beyond.  It was years after the death of Jesus before the name Christian was tacked on.  The word comes from the Greek Christos (Χρήστος), which is the translation of the Hebrew word for Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ).  A few days later, I mentioned to a different friend that I had run across a book entitled Jesus Before Christianity and had decided to buy it, since the library doesn't have a copy.  She said, "I'm reading the book right now and will let you borrow it when I'm finished."  So now I have her book.

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