Books like Who is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan

This book traces how the idea that Jesus of Nazareth was God emerged and evolved in the early church, revealing the historical, textual, and theological steps that shaped the doctrine of Jesus’s divinity.

Combines peasant anthropology, ancient history, and textual analysis to reveal the historical Jesus.

A.N. Wilson examines the historical reality of Jesus of Nazareth, separating fact from myth through gospel analysis, archaeology, and contemporary scholarship, offering a balanced view for believers and skeptics alike.

The death of Jesus is one of the most hotly debated questions in Christianity today. In his massive and highly publicized The Death of the Messiah, Raymond Brown -- while clearly rejecting anti-Semitism -- never questions the essential historicity of the passion stories. Yet it is these stories, in which the Jews decide Jesus' execution, that have fueled centuries of Christian anti-Semitism.Now, in his most controversial book, John Dominic Crossan shows that this traditional understanding of the Gospels as historical fact is not only wrong but dangerous. Drawing on the best of biblical, anthropological, sociological and historical research, he demonstrates definitively that it was the Roman government that tried and executed Jesus as a social agitator. Crossan also candidly addresses such key theological questions as "Did Jesus die for our sins?" and "Is our faith in vain if there was no bodily resurrection?"Ultimately, however, Crossan's radical reexamination shows that the belief that the Jews killed Jesus is an early Christian myth (directed against rival Jewish groups) that must be eradicated from authentic Christian faith.

John Dominic Crossan's nonfiction biography of Jesus presents the historical figure as a courageous revolutionary, philosopher, and political agitator who challenged the prevailing social order, offering a powerful, controversial portrait for Christian readers.

What did Jesus teach regarding the eschatological tribulation? Brant Pitre's answer to this basic question has ramifications for Jesus' understanding of his own identity and mission. Pitre examines key texts pertaining to Jesus' perception of his own death. In line with Jewish eschatological teachings of his day, Jesus taught that an eschatological tribulation would precede the final ingathering of God's exiled people and interpreted his own death as a key triggering event in that sequence. This comprehensive treatment of the Great Tribulation includes a provocative critique of N.T. Wright's understanding of exile and has important consequences for Jesus' messianic self-understanding.