About jesustheheresy.com
At this website and associated blog, you are invited to explore new perspectives on Jesus the god-man. Layered into this site are multiple levels of heresies that challenged then shaped Christianity, varied canonical and non-canonical views on multiple aspects of Christian faith and practice, and God's approach of messy vitality to building a written Word.
In an era of heightened economic and political dysfunction, we look not for Jesus the tycoon or Jesus the homeless. Not for Jesus the Republican nor for Jesus the Democrat. Not for the capitalist, neither for the socialist. But rather, we look for a Jesus who inspires the faithful and facinates the skeptical. To recover a Jesus pertinent for today...
Herewith are some frequently asked questions and our responses?
Jesus the heresy? Are you serious?
Webster defines a heretic as an individual who does not conform to an established view, doctrine or principle. Someone who is out of the mainstream of his or her time. In the first century AD, Jesus was a heretic because he challenged the orthodoxy of 1st century Judaism. Any serious reading of the New Testament demonstrates that the teachings and actions of Jesus represent a continued challenge to conventional Christianity – even today at the dawn of the 21st century.
As an evangelical Christian, will jesustheheresy.com challenge or reinforce my faith?
Possibly both. Some of the research and the conclusions offered may be disconcerting. You may disagree and that’s ok. But we trust that, even as you are challenged, your faith will be deepened. It has for us.
As a skeptic, what will I find to be of interest?
Undoubtedly, you may find evidence to reinforce your critique of Christianity. However, don’t be surprised if Jesus the heretic finds some way to grab hold of you, too.
I thought there is a harmony of the gospels. What do you mean by contrasting, even conflicting, accounts of Jesus?
In the centuries-long effort to establish cohesive doctrine, Christian theologians of various persuasions typically have attempted to wring consistency from the New Testament – in support their particular doctrinal positions. jesustheheresy.com argues for a different interpretation – based on illuminating rather than covering over apparent conflicts arising from Jesus’ ministry and within the early church. We pose a simple question: Does the strength of Christianity lie in enforced conformity or in diversity?
Why is it important to know how the Bible canon came to be?
After all, it’s been with us for nigh on to two millennia. Deciding the contents of the Holy Bible did not occur automatically – but as the result of debates within the Jewish and Christian communities extending back to the 1st century AD. The first official church-wide action to adopt a sacred biblical canon occurred primarily in reaction to Martin Luther at the Roman Catholic Council of Trent in 1546. While many Protestant churches have also adopted a canon (typically without the Apocrypha), no canon is specifically recognized even to this day by Lutheran confessional statements.
Does this web site provide a link to information about antiquities of the Levant?
Yes, information that was previously available on a separate website is now best accessed by clicking on:
jesustheheresy.com/levant-antiquities.
Is there more detailed back-up to the information as summarized on this web site?
Yes, PDF documentation can be found by clicking to the right for Academy.
theauthor … in younger years at the stream flowing into the Pool of Siloam. As an unnamed blind man once said, “A man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”
Who is jesustheheresy.com?
This website and associated publications are authored by Eric D. Hovee who lives in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. Educated in economics and urban studies at the University of Pennsylvania, his vocation is as an independent consultant practicing both regionally and in communities across the Americas. The son of a WWII radar officer turned engineer turned Baptist minister turned engineer, this present Hovee also serves as a periodic minister and teacher.
His avocation is the pursuit of the history, culture and theology of the three great monotheistic faiths of the Levant — Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And more specifically, the Jesus of history and of faith, as experienced down through the last two millennia. Married with five daughters, Mr. Hovee has 11 grandchildren - holding steady at present.
Get in Touch?
Via Twitter, our handle is @jesustheheresy
Or for email, contact theauthor@jesustheheresy.com