Jesus and Christian Origins
Directions toward a New Paradigm
Edited by Ben Wiebe
Imprint: Cascade Books
Ben Wiebe served for over twenty years in ministry and taught courses for McMaster University and Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Ontario) over several years. From 1994 to 2015 he taught for short terms (fourteen times) in India at Union Biblical Seminary in Pune and at South Asia Institute for Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS) in Bangalore. His writing includes the book, Messianic Ethics: Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom of God and the Church in Response; essays in journals, including Restoration Quarterly, Interpretation, Horizons for Biblical Theology, Indian Journal of Theology, Dharma Deepika and the Stone-Campbell Journal. He is married to Patti and they are the parents of three children and eight grandchildren. The Hamilton area in Ontario has been home for over three decades.
“Ben Wiebe and the authors in this volume set out a new methodological paradigm for constructing the Jesus of history and the origins of Christianity. They declare that both the four Gospels and early exterior sources are to be probed in this reconstruction. Their focus is on historical and psychological methods, which from their perspective can establish substantial historical authenticity. This work should be on the book list of all pertinent courses and is a must read for those interested in contemporary, international, cutting edge perspectives on these matters.”
—Thomas H. Olbricht, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Religion, Pepperdine University
“Jesus and Christian Origins penetrates deeply into how New Testament studies are done . . . This book is both an introduction to how history and Jesus fit into the New Testament while at the same contributing to each topic discussed. A remarkable achievement!”
—Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary