Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia

by Leslie Houlden (Editor)

Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture distills 2,000 years of thinking about Jesus into two intriguing volumes. In more than 200 A–Z entries, internationally recognized scholars summarize views of Jesus from the Gospel writers to contemporary theologians. Not only does the book explore Christian liturgy and worship―including the long-lasting 4th- and 5th-century schisms over whether Jesus is human or divine―but it examines the position of Jesus in the traditions of other world religions, such as Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. Even outside religion, little has been untouched by Jesus's influence. Jesus affected social and political theory in his time and continues to do so today. The encyclopedia also explores his changing image in art, sculpture, music, and literature, pulling disparate fields of study into one powerful resource. Scholars, students of theology and world religions, and other interested readers will all welcome this unique resource.

Genres: Christianity, Theology

1032 pages, Hardcover

First published December 8, 2003

Reviews

[RA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting encyclopedia on the title topic. There is some selection of the topics (i.e. there are many topics one would not expect to find them, but there they are, and some would expect to find them there, but they aren't), so the encyclopedia is not exhaustive, but many of the topics are well treated and at the bottom line is an interesting lecture (not to be taken in a single bite). The perspective is somewhat neutral, i.e. neither pro-Christian, nor anti-Christian, rather what I perceived as an unbiased attempt of showing how Jesus was perceived throughout history and reflected in thought and culture.