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About Yeshua of Nazareth, a.k.a. Jesus Christ:

Overview:

A combination of Yeshua of Nazareth's (a.k.a. Jesus Christ's) personal teachings, the teachings of Paul, the teachings about Jesus by his disciples and by various groups in early Christianity, and the inclusion of Pagan Greek philosophy led to the development of the largest religion in the world: Christianity.

Today:

	About one in three humans worldwide identify themselves as a Christian -- a ratio that is very slowly dropping, primarily due to the increase in the number of Muslims, Agnostics, Atheists, and "NOTAS". NOTAS is a term referring to "None Of The Above; persons who are not affiliated with any organized religion.
	About 70% of American adults identify themselves as Christians -- a ratio which is still substantial, even though it is dropping about 10 percentage points a decade. Part of the loss is due to individuals becoming NOTAs. Many youths are leaving their church in their late teens -- typically when they go off to college -- and never returning.

It is generally acknowledged that more books have been written about Jesus than about any other individual in history. Even though our office library contains over 25 feet of books which deal entirely with Jesus, this is a miniscule fraction of the books written about Jesus during the past few decades.

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As a newborn, Jesus was probably given the Hebrew name Yehoshua or Yeshua. He might have been called Yeshu by his family and friends in his home region of the Galilee. We will generally use Jesus throughout this web site because this is the name with which most people are most familiar and comfortable. We do acknowledge that some consider it disrespectful to call a person by a foreign translation of his name. It is worth remembering that his family, friends, disciples and followers never called him Jesus. We do occasionally use one of his actual  names: Yeshua in our essays.

Jesus has been arguably the most influential human in history. Christianity has generated enormous passion in people. The approximate year of his birth divided history into the interval before his birth (BC and BCE) and the current era (AD and CE). The religion has given untold numbers of people hope for a life beyond death. Christian beliefs have also motivated billions of people to commit innumerable selfless acts. However, this passion has sometimes motivated horrendous events up to and including attempted hate-based genocides of entire people groups. Today, in much of the world, it has led to such widespread evils as anti-semitism, homophobia, and transphobia (hatred and oppression of Jews, of persons with a homosexual orientation, and of transgender persons.

In recent history, people have been slaughtered, in part: 

	Because they simply try to follow Jesus' teachings (as in the past mass murder of Christians by the Muslim central government and Arab militias in the Sudan) and the recent atrocities by the Islamic State (a.k.a. ISIS).
	Because they followed the "wrong" denomination (as in Catholics and Protestants killing each other in Northern Ireland).
	Because they added books to the Bible (as in American Protestants attacking Mormons during the 19th century in a small-scale genocide because they consider the Book of Mormon to be inspired by God.)
	Because they were not Christians (as in the genocide of Muslims in Bosnia by members of the Serbian Orthodox church, and in Kosovo by the former Serbian Orthodox-affiliated government of Yugoslavia)
	Because they were Christians (as the more limited mass murder of Serbian Orthodox and Roman Catholics in Bosnia and Kosovo by Muslims) and extremely common harassment, attacks, murders, and mass murders elsewhere in the world; or
	Because they belong to the same Christian denomination but are of different ethnic backgrounds (as in the genocide in Rwanda. mainly by Roman Catholics exterminating other Roman Catholics).

 Topics covered in this section:

	Some rather important questions: Did Jesus really exist? One cannot ask a more fundamental question than that!: Part 1: Range of views. Skeptics. Indicators of existence & non-existence. Part 2: Indicators (cont'd). Author's view. Part 3: Mythic Hero source. You Tube video. The Jesus Myth Theory: (a.k.a. JMT, Christ Myth Theory, CMT) The proposition that Jesus of Nazareth, as described in the New Testament, never existed Comparing interpretations of the Gospel by conservative and progressive Christians: Overview Additional material Various people's views about Jesus: Essays that visitors to this web site have written. Was Jesus without sin during his ministry on earth? Jesus ministry: problems and constraints An essay donated by Alton Thompson Was Jesus gay? (In the U.S. today, it is difficult to conceive of a more incendiary question than that!) Was Jesus married? This is perhaps the second most incendiary question Responsibility for Jesus' execution From the Gospels to the Holocaust Where is Jesus' body now? In Heaven, in a Jerusalem warehouse, lost?
	Links between Jesus' life, and other religions: Was Jesus' life patterned after other heroes, god-men or saviors?   Two essays donated by Tom Drake-Brockman: "Happy Krishmas: Jesus, the Buddha, and reincarnation" "Spiritual Humanism & the meaning of life: Jesus, the Buddha, suffering & service to others"
	About Jesus' life: The evolution of Jesus' names Calling the Messiah "Yahshua" within the Christian Sacred Name Movement (SNM) Search for the historical Jesus -- WWJL (What Was Jesus Like?) Events in Jesus' life about which people disagree ETOTWAWKI: The end of the world as we know it, as prophesied by Jesus and Paul: Part 1 Part 2 Virgin conception (a.k.a. virgin birth) of Jesus Biblical references, ancient creeds & beliefs, beliefs of clergy Current Christian views on the conception and paternity of Jesus The Immaculate Conception: A Roman Catholic doctrine concerning original sin and Mary the mother of Yeshua Were Jesus' "brothers" and "sisters" full siblings, half siblings, cousins or friends? Jesus' birth: The Christmas story -- when and where was Jesus' birth; myths, folklore, Festivus, etc. What did Jesus look like? Mel Gibson's movie: "The Passion of the Christ" Easter topics Jesus' burial shroud: Has it been preserved as the Shroud of Turin? Resurrection of Jesus: Did Jesus bodily rise again after he died? His ascension towards Heaven
	Events in our future: The rapture: When believers rise up to meet Jesus in the sky. Is it fact or fantasy?

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. Dr. James D. Price, "Yehoshua, Yeshua or Yeshu; Which one is the name of Jesus in Hebrew?," at: http://www.direct.ca/
2. Cryptonomic, "God and Jesus' many names," at: http://www.faithforum.org/

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Copyright © 2001 to 2016 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2016-AUG-26
Author: B.A. Robinson

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