File:2000 * Chilton.jpg

Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography (2000) is a book by Bruce Chilton.

Abstract

In Chilton's view, Jesus was a pious Galilean rabbi and Kabbalah teacher, who promoted a form of spirituality based on a more direct relation with God the Father.

"Beginning with the Gospels, interpretations of the life of Jesus have flourished for nearly two millennia, yet a clear and coherent picture of Jesus as a man has remained elusive. In Rabbi Jesus, the noted biblical scholar Bruce Chilton places Jesus within the context of his times to present a fresh, historically accurate, and revolutionary examination of the man who founded Christianity. Drawing on recent archaeological findings and new translations and interpretations of ancient texts, Chilton discusses in enlightening detail the philosophical and psychological foundations of Jesus’ ideas and beliefs. His in-depth investigation also provides evidence that contradicts long-held beliefs about Jesus and the movement he led. Chilton shows, for example, that the High Priest Caiaphas, as well as Pontius Pilate, played a central role in Jesus’ execution. It is, however, Chilton’s description of Jesus’ role as a rabbi, or "master," of Jewish oral traditions, as a teacher of the Cabala, and as a practitioner of a Galilean form of Judaism that emphasized direct communication with God that casts an entirely new light on the origins of Christianity. Seamlessly merging history and biography, this penetrating, highly readable book uncovers truths lost to the passage of time and reveals a new Jesus for the new millennium."--Publisher description.

Editions and translations

Published in New York, NY: Doubleday, 2000. Reprinted in New York, NY: Image Books, 2002; New York, NY: Doubleday, 2008.

Table of contents

• 1. A Mamzer from Nazareth
• 2. Pilgrimage to Jerusalem
• 3. The Talmud of John
• 4. The Prodigal Returns
• 5. The Spirit Chaser
• 6. Chasid in the Holy City
• 7. Capernaum's Delight
• 8. Beyond the Pale
• 9. Three Huts
• 10. The Sword of Rome
• 11. "A Cave of Thugs"
• 12. At the Tomb of the Dead
• 13. King of the Jews
• 14. The Kabbalah of Crucifixion
• Epilogue

External links

• Google Books (partial text)