From Jesus to Christianity: How Four Generations of Visionaries & Storytellers Created the New Testament and Christian Faith [Hardcover]

L. Michael White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2004

The Story of the New Testament and Christian Origins

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Joining an already distinguished lineup of narrators of early Christianity that includes Bart Ehrman, John Dominic Crossan and Gregory Riley, White contributes this rather predictable and pedantic story of the ways in which early Christianity developed its religious identity and its literature (the New Testament). White, who teaches Christian origins at the University of Texas at Austin and who co-wrote the PBS special From Jesus to Christ, chronicles the evolution of early Christianity as a family history. The first "generation" (30–70 C.E.) saw the death of Jesus, the rise of Paul and the end of the Jewish revolt against Rome. In the second (70–110 C.E.), tensions developed between the Jesus sect and Judaism, a separation that became permanent in the third generation (110–150 C.E.), when Jesus' followers broke away from their Jewish roots and began to develop their own institutional identity and intrareligious squabbles. Finally, by the fourth generation (150–190 C.E.), Christianity had assumed an integral role in the social and intellectual context of the Roman Empire. White uses sidebars to provide helpful summaries of the authorship, provenance, date and themes of various writings and to offer useful lists of further readings. However, his bland presentation uncovers nothing especially new in the story of early Christianity.
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Review

“A splendid feast of a book, rich with insights from archaeology and cultural history.” (Wayne A. Meeks, Woolsey Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Yale UniversityWayne A. Meeks, Woolsey Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Yale University )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (November 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060526556
• ISBN-13: 978-0060526559
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #893,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Blockbuster for Historians and People of All Faiths, November 27, 2004

By 

Wonishmom "Curious Reader" (Hershey, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Jesus to Christianity: How Four Generations of Visionaries & Storytellers Created the New Testament and Christian Faith (Hardcover)

I received a preview copy of this just-published book from the publisher. Ignore the opening remarks by Publisher's Weekly (they show a lack of depth and understanding) - this great book is for everyone from religious scholars to the curious amongst us. The book provides historical and cultural context for a group of books we today call The Bible. You will gain appreciation and understanding of the religion and of the Jesus movement whether you are a practicing Christian or an interested historian. Whereas Dan Brown's Da Vinci code weaves some interesting fiction, L.M. White's book gives us a tangible explanation for how Christianity grew from a Jewish offshoot movement into one of the world's great religions. Fascinating reading for anyone interested in history, religion or politics.

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last - Jesus and Christianity by an Actual Historian, November 4, 2005

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David H. Birley (Rock Hill, SC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: From Jesus to Christianity: How Four Generations of Visionaries & Storytellers Created the New Testament and Christian Faith (Hardcover)

There is a fundamental failing common to books about Jesus that appears to be almost unavoidable: the author tends to bring personal religious prejudices to the process. Some seek to cause the reader to see Jesus in a particular positive light, and others strive to marginalize him as a mere speck in history, but throughout that, religious undercurrent is constantly running. Imagine my surprise, then, when I opened L. Michael White's extraordinary work From Jesus To Christianity and discovered that he managed to maintain his integrity as a historian. New Testament is used liberally throughout the book as a reference, but surely there is little else in existence that claims more authenticity when it comes to telling of the life, times and teachings of Jesus.

Starting with the trials and travels of Paul, Professor White analyses the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles. He examines the most likely places and times where various letters were written and why. He explains by the evidences and even the form of the structure of the individual letters the purpose, for whom they were intended, and even by whom they may have been carried to their destination.

Next he approaches the gospels in a manner you may never have seen before. For starters, he presents them in the most likely order in which they may have been written. Then he explains the geographic and social context in which they came to life.

Over all, this is the most extraordinary book I have ever read of its type. Professor White has created a volume that every serious student of Christianity should read carefully to get a clearer understanding of the time, geography, and the social setting in which the New Testament and all its stories came into being. As a practicing Christian, I personally found that this greater understanding was a comforting reinforcement to my personal faith.

62 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Summation Of Early Christian History, February 10, 2005

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John D. Cofield - See all my reviews
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This review is from: From Jesus to Christianity: How Four Generations of Visionaries & Storytellers Created the New Testament and Christian Faith (Hardcover)

From Jesus to Christianity is a well-written and organized look at the first four generations of what started as "the Jesus Movement" and eventually became the Christian religion. White writes clearly about what is often an extremely confusing subject, the years during which orthodoxies became heresies and then orthodoxies again with sometimes bewildering speed.

I especially appreciated the tables which White provides summarizing the information available about the books of the New Testament and some of the early Christian leaders. These provide a handy reference point to which to turn when the intricacies of some doctrinal points become too complex to follow easily.

From Jesus to Christianity will allow Christians and non-Christians alike to gain a better understanding of the early years of that faith, and a better appreciation of the lives of those early men and women who labored so mightily to help that faith survive.