Christian Mythic Narrative

<p>The Resurrection of Christ formed the culmination of his ministry. It was Mary Magdalene who first received news of the event, having come upon the empty tomb guarded by an angel. There Jesus came to her, bidding her...

<p>When he arrived at Jerusalem, Jesus went directly to the Temple and declared that his Father's house was not be profaned. For Passover, Jesus took his apostles to an upper room, celebrating the Seder meal with them...

<p>Jesus’s ministry was neither haphazard nor inefficient. Rather, it was careful, systematic, organized, and impressive, as Jesus arranged his followers into bands of fellow leaders, preachers, and attendants who...

<p>What was the “Good News” that Jesus brought to the human race? It was the news that God continued to be present and interested in human lives. It was the news of God’s readiness to forgive the guilty, to respond with...

<p>Jesus’s life and work were the sources of tremendous controversy: here was a man claiming not only to be a great teacher, but Lord over the Sabbath; a man claiming not only to be an eloquent teacher, but “the way...

<p>Jesus’s miracles, well-known to many, pointed to his authority as the Son of God. Among his most famous was the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Who is this man who had the authority not only to heal paralytics and...

<p>Jesus began his ministry by slowly and carefully revealing himself as the Messiah. He took up the identity of a recognizable Jewish figure a prophet and rabbi... yet to all who encountered him, he seemed like more...

<p>John the Baptist, having first encountered Jesus while still in Elizabeth’s womb, leaping with joy at Mary’s visitation, served as the forerunner to the Messiah. Living in the desert and preaching Christ’s coming, he...

<p>In the city of Bethlehem, Joseph's ancestral home and the place to he and Mary had been called for a census, the Christ-child was born. His humble beginnings are well-known, having been born in a stable, unnoticed...

<p>What does it really mean for God to have become incarnate? Why was it so necessary for Jesus to take on human flesh? How was his doing so a particular response to the problem of human guilt and shame? Here we pause...

<p>The narrative continues in Nazareth of Galilee, where Mary, a young Jewish girl set aside by God from the moment of her Immaculate Conception, met with great astonishment the angel Gabriel: “Hail, Mary, full of...

<p>The destruction of the temple and the end of the Davidic kingly line marked the beginning of the time of the “diaspora,” when Jews would be scattered across many lands. Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch in Syria became...

<p>Renowned for his wisdom, Solomon ruled over a kingdom finally at peace, allowing him to build a new Jewish temple on Mount Zion. Within it resided the Holy of Holies, which housed the Ark of the Covenant, and priests...

<p>Even after the Israelites were firmly established in the Promised Land, they had yet to conquer the Canaanite peoples. In the years that followed, tribal leaders such as Samuel, Jephthah, Gideon, Deborah, and Barak...

<p>Having entered into a covenant with God, the Israelites begin to make their way to Canaan, the Land of Promise. Their journey would take forty years, led by Moses, his brother Aaron, his sister Miriam, and his...