The Mystery of the Historical Jesus

The Mystery of the Historical Jesus

by Louay Fatoohi
The Mystery of the Historical Jesus

The Mystery of the Historical Jesus

by Louay Fatoohi

Paperback

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Overview

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. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781906342012
Publisher: Luna Plena Publishing
Publication date: 09/11/2007
Pages: 568
Product dimensions: 6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 1.15(d)

About the Author

Louay Fatoohi was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1961. He and his wife migrated to the UK in 1992. He lives in Birmingham, England. He obtained a BSc in physics from Baghdad University, Iraq, in 1984 and a PhD in astronomy from Durham University, UK, in 1998. Originally from a Christian family, Louay reverted to Islam in his early ‎twenties. In addition to being his faith ‎of choice and way of life, Islam is ‎for him is a subject of deep intellectual interest. He has authored over twenty books in English and Arabic, edited and translated two manuscripts, and published tens of articles. Louay is interested in ‎Qur'anic ‎and Islamic studies in general, but his main areas of research are as follows: ‎ • Comparative study of history in the Qur'an, Jewish and Christian ‎scriptures, and independent ‎historical sources‎ • Sufism • History of the Qur'anic text and revelation • Quranic Exegesis

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

1 Approaches to the Study of History in the Qur'an and the Bible

2 Mary Before the Annunciation

3 Prophet Zechariah: Mary's Guardian

4 Prophet John

5 More Than Annunciation

6 The Virginal Conception

7 The Rūḥ (Spirit)

8 Joseph: Mary's Husband?

9 Did Jesus Have Brothers and Sisters?

10 Jesus' Birth

11 Massacre of Truth

12 Was Jesus A Nazarene From Nazareth?

13 The Messiah

14 The Divine Son of God That Jesus Never Was

15 The Human Jesus

16 Miracles

17 The Injīl (Gospel)

18 The Crucifixion in the New Testament and Historical Sources

19 The Qur'an and the Cross Fiction

20 A Second Coming?

21 Christians in the Qur'an

22 The Qur'anic Historical Jesus

References

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