Title: Salt & Light: The Complete Jesus
Author: Jonathan Geoffrey Dean
Genre: Christianity, Biblical History
Book Blurb:
What did Jesus do?
What did Jesus say?
Who was Jesus?
Salt & Light: The Complete Jesus is the highly acclaimed and award-winning definitive statement concerning Jesus of Nazareth, history's most compelling figure. The single most important book about the Historical Jesus in the last 30 years, more comprehensive than Josh McDowell's Evidence that Demands a Verdict and more powerful than C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. However, even today, there is still general confusion surrounding Jesus:
Was (Is) Jesus God?
Did Jesus even exist?
Did he rise from the dead?
What are we to make of the miracles?
Is he Peter's Jesus or Paul's Christ? Or both?
Is there evidence for Jesus outside the Bible?
Should we still believe? If so, believe what?
What does ALL the evidence point to?
Salt & Light does not shy away from addressing these and other tough questions. For the first time ever, after years of research using the complete body of early Christian literature and recent modern scholarship, including new and exciting discoveries in many areas such as early manuscripts, science, New Testament studies, archaeology, and history, the real Jesus emerges. Dean offers an eminently readable yet powerful portrait of the authentic Jesus full of astonishing facts for both believers and sceptics alike. So come along for an utterly fascinating journey and meet the historical Jesus, learn about his mission, and discover his teaching!
Compelling • Authentic • Complete
A note from the author:
This book results from over ten years of directed reading in the (mostly) New Testament academic sphere undertaken to satisfy my curiosity. I cheerfully admit to having no formal background in this field. Still, I have an academic research background in other areas (Artificial Intelligence and Capital Markets) – I consider myself an independent scholar. I cover and distil all relevant topics, such as the Synoptic Problem, Secret Mark, the Didache and so on and integrate them into a complete, easy-to-read narrative. I also survey ALL sources both in and outside the Christian tradition; in other words, I do not take the New Testament uncritically at face value as a useful source. I overcome the well-known contradictions (I am surprised at how well the sources dovetail) and present the reader with the honest historical Jesus. Along the way, I have contributed one or two new ideas.
My Review:
As a believer, I was very interested to read this book. I respect a strong premise and this book was going to break through the walls between science, history, and Jesus Christ. I read it intently trying to see if Dean was 100% successful in proving his thesis.
The historical information is presented in an approachable way, much like many Christian writers from the past. The documented information is hard to deny and even as a believer, I learned new things I didn’t know before. The pacing makes it easy to pick up and read for hours or a couple of minutes at a time. I enjoyed the images accompanying the writing, too.
A wonderful treatise on the life and death of Jesus. A book both believers and nonbelievers will find enjoyable. A recommended read for anyone looking for truth and light.
My Rating: 5 stars
Buy it Now:
Author Biography:
Hi, I am Jonathan, the author. Thanks for your time; hopefully, you will read (and review) my book. I guarantee you will enjoy and learn from it - the topic is timely and fascinating. Although nominally Christian-themed, this book is more of a hard-headed exploration of the subject, the definitive biography of the man called Jesus of Nazareth. What can we say about him? And what can we NOT say about him? I build upon new and diverse academic research (I include a full bibliography) but bring it together into a very readable form intended for ALL people (believers and non-believers) like you. I also carefully search and evaluate sources about Jesus, something I have never encountered in my extensive reading in this field. Therefore, I break new ground, which provides some fascinating results! I intend this book to be the ONE book you need to understand the authentic Jesus of Nazareth, his life and mission. It is full of exciting facts and colour pictures, so join me on this fascinating journey.
Social Media Links:
Website www.saltandlight.ca
Reviewed by: Mrs. N