‘Two thousand and twenty years after the birth of Christ, we remain the children of the Christian revolution: the most disruptive, the most influential and the most enduring revolution in history.’
Tom Holland
It is often observed that no historical figure has had a greater impact on the world than Jesus Christ. Why is that? And what difference does his impact make to the world today?
It is also often said that Jesus was a ‘revolutionary’, and numerous books have appeared in recent years claiming just that – from the wild and sensational to the serious and respectable.
This book, written by influential authors reflecting a diversity of expertise and points of view, considers the claims that continue to be made about Jesus, whether by believers or nonbelievers.
Contributors:
Julian Baggini
Philosopher, journalist and co-founder of The Philosophers’ Magazine. Author of The Godless Gospel: Was Jesus a Great Moral Teacher? (Granta 2020).
Terry Eagleton
Distinguished Professor of English Literature, Lancaster University. Author of Radical Sacrifice (Yale 2018).
Robin Gill
Emeritus Professor of Applied Theology, University of Kent. Editor of the journal Theology and of The Cambridge Companion to Christian Ethics (CUP 2011).
Amy-Jill Levine
University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies, Vanderbilt Divinity School and College of Arts and Science. Author of The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus (Harper One 2006).
Tarif Khalidi
Professor of Islamic and Arabic Studies, American University of Beirut; formerly Professor of Arabic and a fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. Translator of The Qur’an (Penguin Classics 2013), and author The Muslim Jesus (Harvard 2003).
Nick Spencer
Senior Fellow, Theos, London Author of The Evolution of the West (SPCK 2016).
Joan E. Taylor
Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism, King’s College London. Author of What Did Jesus Look Like? (Bloomsbury 2018).
Rowan Williams
Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge and 104th Archbishop of Canterbury (2002-12). Author of God With Us: The meaning of the cross and resurrection – then and now (SPCK 2017).
A. N. Wilson
Novelist, journalist and broadcaster. Author of The Book of the People: How to read the Bible (Atlantic 2015).
Table of Content
Introduction
Tom Holland
Jesus and the mechanics of empowerment
Joan Taylor
Was Jesus an ethical revolutionary?
Robin Gill
Jesus the storyteller:
the revolutionary power of parables
Amy-Jill Levine
Jesus Christ, game changer
Nick Spencer
Jesus and the scum of the earth
Terry Eagleton
Christ the King in the Fourth Gospel
A N Wilson
Worshippers of revolution:
Islamic perspectives on Jesus
Tarif Khalidi
The genius of ambiguity
Julian Baggini
Jesus and the beginnings of Christian theology
Rowan Williams
About the author
Tom Holland is a bestselling author and broadcaster. His recent publications include Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind (Little, Brown 2019), Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar (Little, Brown 2015) and In the Shadow of the Sword: Global Empire and the Rise of a New Religion (Little, Brown 2012).