Jesus of History, Christ of Faith: (Student Text)

This beautiful piece of work s filled with pretty pictures and wonderfull lessons on history. The books uses carefully chosen historical facts to back up it's commentary. While explaining the life of the ancient Jews during Jesus' time, the book uses this carfully chosen historical fact, "The Jews were great walkers." The book is filled with these beautifully stated facts. Another example: "A day for the Jew begins at sunset." The book goes on to contrast the difference between Jesus and the Jews. Examples of this are the comparison between the Jew's narrow-minded love for only eachother, and Jesus' love for everyone. The Jew's view on the inferiority of women, the ill, the homeless, and the crippled, and Jesus' acceptance of them. The Jew's journey in the desert and failing to stay true to God, and Jesus' success in staying faithful. The brilliant comparisons lead to the book's conclusion that the key to faith is recognizing flawed Judaism and accepting Jesus as the new and improved version.
It is fact.

My son needed this book for school. The service was great and it arrived in time for new quarter.

This book is based on a very flawed Christology that denies the divinity of Jesus. It brings doubt, not faith. It has been found by the American bishops to not be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I am appalled that there are Catholic high schools who are still using this text.

My son needed this book for class and I was very pleased that I could promptly purchase a new one via Amazon. I had access to it elsewhere but it was only available in poorly used condition.

This book is a fine expression of faith- for liberal Protestants. For Catholics, "JOHCOF" represents the indoctrination of new generations with the same confusion everyone has felt in the recent frenzy in the Church. Used as a teaching tool, this is especially deadly to the Faith. Every thing a Catholic would have learned just half a century ago is openly rebuked in this mess. To the writers, Jesus is just a man who lived in Galilee. Every thing supernatural- from the miracles to the appearance of the star and the magi at Christ's birth are all analyzed from a "scientific" viewpoint to try and explain away the Divinity of Christ and the historicity of the Gospels. The Church teaching on the authors of the Pentateuch and much of the New Testament are thrown aside; this book prefers to make use of secular "scholars" in cracking the origins of the Bible. The whole book is about "Jesus the Jew," and makes it appear as though He never renounced the immense errors of Judaism. It adds a vocabulary word- "anti-Semitism" for anyone who espouses the traditional teaching on Christ's criticism of the Pharisees and the Jews' eventual murdering of Christ out of envy- both sound Catholic doctrines. The book lacks any element of the rich sacred Catholic Tradition as well. There are hundreds of images of Jews worshipping in their synagogues and Mohammedans in their mosques but you will find not a single image of the Roman Mass, the only Sacrifice that actually goes to the True God, as used by the Holy Church for 2,000 years. The book teaches the very anti-Christian heresy of syncretism, and denies that the Church is the only way to salvation in Heaven. No teachings about Catholic doctrines such as Purgatory, and nothing about the Popes and the teachings of the Holy Office against heresy. No teachings about the usage of Latin as the universal language of the Church, the language used in the Mass, which is the offering of the Sacrifice at Cavalry, not a meal like the Protestants have. The Catholic Church is just an accident left over by the life of a Jewish man 2,000 years ago, if this book is to be taken at face value. The only time the Catholic Church is mentioned at all is in the last few pages- to mention the wonderful "fruits" of the "Second Vatican Council," the source of all this confusion. When will these people stop kidding themselves and cut this charade out? It is a shame that something coming out of "St. Mary's Press" is such a sorry peace of work, but there is no doubt this book would hit the Index Librorum Prohibitorum if Pope St. Pius X saw this abominable Modernist piece being circulated. Stick to the doctrinal security of the Roman Catechism, and avoid this large editorial on what liberal laypeople want the Church to teach. Pray for an end of this grand mockery... the Catholic Church is the Church of the Christ of Faith, Jesus of History established Her in A.D. 33 and She is the Defender of the Sacred Deposit of the Faith, not these Modernists.