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The Historical Christ and the Jesus of Faith: The Incarnational Narrative as History » (1st Edition)

Book cover image of The Historical Christ and the Jesus of Faith: The Incarnational Narrative as History by C. Stephen Evans

Authors: C. Stephen Evans
ISBN-13: 9780198263975, ISBN-10: 019826397X
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Date Published: May 1996
Edition: 1st Edition

Author Biography: C. Stephen Evans

C. Stephen Evans is William Spoelhof Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College.

Book Synopsis

The New Testament contains a story about Jesus of Nazareth. The Christian Church has always understood this narrative as the story of the Son of God, who redeemed the fallen human race by his life, death, and resurrection. Contemporary historical scholarship has, however, called into question the reliability of the church's version of the story; can such a story be historically true? After a careful reconsideration of the Enlightenment epistemologies that underlie much historical scholarship, this book argues that it can.

1	The Incarnational Narrative and the Problem of Its Historicity	1
2	Modernity's Responses to the Problem	27
3	Why the Events Matter: 1. History, Meaning, and Myth	47
4	Why the Events Matter: 2. God's Atoning Work	80
5	Awareness of the Narrative: Do We Need to Know?	98
6	Is the Incarnation Logically Possible?	116
7	Miracles: Their Possibility and Knowability	137
8	Critical History and the Supernatural	170
9	Epistemology and the Ethics of Belief	203
10	The Incarnational Narrative as Historical: Evidence for Belief	231
11	The Incarnational Narrative as Historical: Grounds for Belief	259
12	Putting the Two Stories Together	283
13	Historical Scholarship and the Layperson: A Case Study	302
14	Conclusions: Deeper Encounters with Historical Scholarship and Prospects for Apologetics	321
	Works Cited	356
	Index	368