The Mystery Of The Historical Jesus
The Mystery Of The Historical Jesus: The Messiah in the Qur’an, the Bible, and Historical Sources
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A new pioneering and comprehensive study of the story of Jesus:
- Jesus in the Qur’an, Christian writings, and historical sources
- The scriptural Jesus in the light of history
- The life and teachings of the historical Jesus
- The time and places in which Jesus lived
- Jesus and the Jews and the Romans
- The historical Jesus versus the theological one
- Differences and similarities between the Qur’an and Christian sources and their significance
Jesus remains one of the most studied characters in history. In the two millennia since his birth, countless writers have published numerous books and articles on every aspect of his life, personality, teachings, and environment. Depending on the backgrounds, goals, and trainings of their respective authors, these works relied on the New Testament, other Christian sources, Jewish writings, or other historical sources, or on combinations of these writings. The Qur’an is rarely mentioned, let alone seriously considered, by the mainly Christian authors of these studies. This explicit or implicit neglect reflects a presumed historical worthlessness of the Qur’an.
Muslim scholars have also written extensively about Jesus. Contrary to their Western counterparts, they have studied in detail what the Qur’an and other Islamic sources say about Jesus. The Christian image of Jesus is often cited to be dismissed, usually on the basis of what Islamic sources say, but at times also because of its incoherence and inconsistency. Like Western scholars who have ignored the Qur’an, Muslim writers have shown no interest in independent historical sources.
The first study of its kind, this book fills a gap in the literature on the historical Jesus by taking the unique approach of considering together the Qur’an, the Gospels, and other religious and historical sources. This genuinely new contribution to the scholarship on the historical Jesus shows that, unlike the New Testament accounts, the Qur’anic image of Jesus is both internally consistent and reconcilable with known history. While showing that our understanding of how the New Testament was formed and our growing knowledge of history confirm that the Christian Jesus is unhistorical, this study makes a strong case for the historicity of the Jesus of the Qur’an.
Its friendly style makes this comprehensive book suitable for the general reader as well as the specialist. Readers with interest in the historical Jesus, the Messiah in the various scriptures, modern Qur’anic exegesis, or comparative religion will find this compelling study highly informative and thought-provoking. No specialist knowledge of any scripture or history is required for reading the book.
Book Details
Author: Louay Fatoohi
Pages: 557
Size: 244mm x 170mm
Publication Date: September/2007
Publisher: Luna Plena Publishing, UK
ISBN: 978-1-906342-01-2
1. Approaches to the Study of History in the Qur’an and the Bible
1.1. The Secular Approach
1.1.1. The Unavailability of Independent Evidence
1.1.2. Similarities Between the Bible and Other Sources
1.1.3. Similarities Between the Qur’an and Jewish and Christian Writings
1.1.4. The Question of the Paranormal
1.2. The Biblical Approach
1.2.1. Internal Biblical Discrepancies
1.2.2. Unfactual Biblical Statements
1.2.3. The indefinability of the “Bible” and “Scripture”
1.2.4. The False Superiority of the Canon
1.3. The Secular-Biblical Approach
1.4. The Qur’anic Approach
1.4.1. Islamic Sacred Texts
1.4.2. The Authenticity of the Qur’an
1.4.3. The Qur’an and Other Scriptures
1.4.4. Contextual Displacement as a Form of Scriptural Textual Manipulation
1.4.5. Refuted Accusations
1.5. The Approach of This Book
2. Mary Before the Annunciation
2.1. Mary Before the Annunciation in the Apocrypha
2.1.1. The Account of the Gospel of the Birth of Mary
2.1.2. The Account of the Infancy Gospel of James
2.1.3. The Account of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew
2.2. Mary Before the Annunciation in the Qur’an
3. Prophet Zechariah: Mary’s Guardian
3.1. Zechariah in the New Testament
3.2. Zechariahs in the Apocrypha
3.3. Prophet Zechariah in the Qur’an
3.3.1. Prophet Zechariah in Chapter 3 (The Family of ‘Imran)
3.3.2. Prophet Zechariah in Chapter 19 (Maryam)
4. Prophet John
4.1. John the Baptist in the New Testament
4.2. John the Baptist in History
4.3. Prophet John in the Qur’an
5. More Than Annunciation
5.1. The Annunciation in the New Testament
5.2. The Annunciation in the Apocrypha
5.3. The Annunciation and the Inducement of the Virginal Conception According to the Qur’an
5.3.1. Gabriel’s Visit and the Inducement of the Virginal Conception in Chapter 19
5.3.2. Gabriel’s Visit and the Annunciation in Chapter 3
6. The Virginal Conception (whole chapter online or PDF)
6.1. The Virginal Conception in Christian Sources
6.2. The Arguments Against the Virginal Conception
6.2.1. The Scriptural Arguments
6.2.1.1. Unknown Story
6.2.1.2. Contradictory Accounts
6.2.1.3. Different Infancy Narratives
6.2.2. The Historical Arguments
6.2.3. The Scientific Arguments
6.3. The Accusation of the Illegitimacy of Jesus
6.4. The Qur’an’s Affirmation of the Virginal Conception
7. The Ruh (Spirit)
7.1. The Hebrew Ruach in the Old Testament
7.2. The Greek Pneuma in the New Testament
7.3. The Arabic Ruh in the Qur’an
7.3.1. Gabriel
7.3.2. The Spirit of the Creation of Man
7.3.3. Inspiration
8. Joseph: Mary’s Husband?
8.1. Joseph in Christian Sources
8.1.1. Joseph and Mary
8.1.2. Joseph and Jesus
8.2. The Non-historicity of Joseph According to the Qur’an
9. Did Jesus Have Brothers and Sisters?
9.1. Paul and Jesus’ Brothers
9.2. Jesus’ Brothers and Sisters in the Gospels
9.3. The Church and Jesus’ Brothers and Sisters
9.4. James
9.4.1. Paul and James
9.4.2. James in Other New Testament Books
9.4.3. James in History
9.5. The Qur’an’s Implicit Rejection of Jesus’ Siblings
10. Jesus’ Birth
10.1. Jesus’ Birth in the Canonical Gospels
10.2. Jesus’ Birth in Apocryphal Sources
10.3. The Star of Bethlehem
10.4. Jesus’ Birth in the Qur’an
10.5. Birth Under A Palm Tree
10.6. Jesus’ Date of Birth
11. Massacre of Truth
11.1. Herod’s Massacre in Christian Sources
11.2. The Non-historicity of Herod’s Massacre According to the Qur’an
11.3. A Massacre That Never Was
11.3.1. The Scriptural Arguments
11.3.2. The Historical Arguments
11.4. The Massacre That Did Happen
12. Was Jesus A Nazarene From Nazareth?
12.1. Jesus’ Birth and Growing up places
12.2. “Nazarene” in the New Testament
12.3. The Nazarenes of the Qur’an
13. The Messiah
13.1. The Messiah in the Old Testament
13.2. The Christ in the New Testament
13.2.1. Self-proclamation and the Public Acceptance of Jesus’ Messiahship
13.2.2. Faces of the Messiah
13.2.2.1 Son of David
13.2.2.2 Miracle Worker
13.2.2.3 King of the Jews
13.2.2.4 Founder of an Imminent Kingdom
13.2.2.5 Salvational Figure
13.2.2.6 Suffering Messiah
13.2.2.7 Virtuous Teacher
13.2.3. The Messiah’s Entry into Jerusalem
13.3. Al-Masih in the Qur’an
14. The Divine Son of God That Jesus Never Was
14.1. The Jewish “Sonship of God”
14.2. The Christian “Sonship of God”
14.2.1. Sonship of God, Messiahship, and Miracle Working
14.2.2. Sonship of God and Blasphemy
14.2.3. Christian Sons of God
14.2.4. The Unique Son of God
14.2.5. The Eternal Son of John
14.2.6. When Did Jesus’ Sonship of God become Special?
14.3. The Prevailing of the Johannine Theology
14.4. The Trinity
14.5. Son of Man
15. The Human Jesus
15.1. Muslim Messenger and Prophet
15.1.1. Islam
15.1.2. Messenger and Prophet
15.2. Human Servant of God
15.3. Forerunner of Prophet Muhammad
15.4. The Exclusiveness of Divinity
15.4.1. The Oneness of God
15.4.2. No Offspring of God
15.4.3. False Sonship of God
15.4.4. The Fallacy of the Trinity
16. Miracles
16.1. Wonder Workers at the Time of Jesus
16.2. Jesus’ Miracles in the New Testament
16.2.1. The Categories of Jesus’ Miracles
16.2.1.1. Healing Miracles
16.2.1.2. Nature Miracles
16.2.1.3. Prophecies
16.2.1.4. Clairvoyance
16.2.2. Different Gospel Accounts
16.2.3. The Significance and Purpose of Miracles
16.2.4. Miracles and Faith
16.2.5. Miracles between Publicity and Secrecy
16.3. Jesus’ Miracles in Apocryphal Writings
16.4. Jesus’ Miracles in the Qur’an
17. The Injil (Gospel)
17.1. The Term “Gospel” Before and After Christianity
17.2. The Injil: Jesus’ Divine Book
17.3. The Meaning of “Injil”
17.4. The Paraclete
17.5. The Injil and the Law
17.5.1. Jesus and the Law in the New Testament
17.5.2. The Injil’s Modification of the Law
18. The Crucifixion in the New Testament and Historical Sources
18.1. Inconsistencies in the New Testament Accounts of the Crucifixion
18.2. Historical Problems in the New Testament Accounts of the Crucifixion
18.3. Who Killed Jesus?
18.4. The Crucifixion in History
18.5. Alternative Scenarios
18.6. The Date of the Crucifixion
19. The Qur’an and the Cross Fiction
19.1. The Fiction of Jesus’ Crucifixion
19.2. The Crucifixion of Jesus’ Substitute
19.3. After the Crucifixion
19.4. The Theology of the Crucifixion
19.4.1. The New Testament and Theology of the Cross
19.4.2. The Qur’an’s Rejection of the Theology of the Cross
20. A Second Coming?
20.1. The Second Coming in the New Testament
20.1.1. The Unfulfilled Imminence of the Second Coming
20.1.2. The Second Coming and Other Apocalyptic Events
20.1.3. The Dangerous Politics of the Second Coming
20.2. The Second Coming in Sayings Attributed to Prophet Muhammad
20.3. The Qur’an’s Silence on Jesus’ Second Coming
21. Christians in the Qur’an
21.1. The Oldest Roman Mentions of the “Christians”
21.2. Christians in the Qur’an
21.2.1. The Hawariyyun
21.2.2. The Nasara
22. The Qur’anic Historical Jesus
Appendix A: History in the Qur’an
Appendix B: Apocryphal Gospels
The Infancy Gospel of James
The Gospel of the Birth of Mary
The Arabic Gospel of the Infancy
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew
Appendix C: Abbreviations
References
Classical and Ancient Writings
Index of Other Religious Texts
Copyright © 2007 Louay Fatoohi
Blog: http://www.louayfatoohi.com
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