The Life of Jesus

by Ernest Renan

Overview

This was the first biography of Jesus to present him as a gifted and spiritual man, but as a man only, who was entirely human. He had wisdom, taught using parables, but being human, the Jesus of Renan was clever and opportunistic in his approach to achieving his aims. As time goes on, Jesus is shown to become increasingly enthusiastic and fanatical in the eyes of the author, to the point of deliberately allowing himself to be killed. Although one cannot prove this book to be more accurate than the traditional story (it is a matter of interpretation and opinion), it does offer a different view of Jesus that has been both criticized and praised. Renan had studied to be a priest by attending Catholic seminaries, had taken the minor orders of the Roman Church, but in 1845 abandoned the faith. This work sparked fierce controversy because of his priesthood connection and it caused him to be dismissed from the Chair of Hebrew at the College de France. This was the first in a series of four books meant to outline the complete history and formation of the Christian faith. Considered a classic work to this day, it is still widely referenced.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781585092857
Publisher:	Book Tree, The
Publication date:	04/25/2007
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

ERNEST RENAN was born in Tréguier, Brittany, on February 27, 1823. Following the death of his father five years later, Renan was left in the care of his older sister, Henriette, who saw to her brother's education and became his confidante and chief supporter until her death in 1861. Renan attended various Catholic seminaries, and even took minor orders; but in 1845, he promptly abandoned his priestly vocation as well as his Catholic faith. Thereafter, Renan would reject the claims of orthodox religion.

While still in the seminary, Renan displayed unusual brilliance in linguistics; in 1848, he won the Volney Prize for his Essay on the Semitic Languages. After receiving his doctoral degree, Renan was appointed professor of Hebrew at the College de France in 1862. But he used the occasion of his inaugural lecture to denounce Christ's divinity, and was promptly dismissed. Renan's teaching post was later restored to him, however.

Renan wrote extensively on early Christianity: his most famous work is The Life of Jesus, published in 1863. A profound analysis of the New Testament and other ancient accounts of Jesus' life, it depicts Christ as a simple teacher who became increasingly fanatical and deluded by his self-proclaimed Messianic purpose. The Resurrection, long cherished as the central mystery of Christianity, began his­torically as nothing more, Renan argues, than a rumor propagated by Christ's followers to keep the memory of their crucified leader alive. The Life of Jesus, while de­nounced by orthodox Christians, gained wide attention: more than 60,000 copies were sold within the first year of publication. The Life of Jesus was but one in a series of works collectively titled The History of the Origins of Christianity (1863-1881), whose main purpose was to show that the Christian religion was an outgrowth of human processes, not a divine purpose. Renan continued to publish and to teach at the Collège de France; he later became administrator of the Collège, and in 1878 was elected to the French Academy. Ernest Renan died in Paris on October 2, 1892.

Renan's other published works include: The Apostles (1866), The Christian Church (1879), and Marcus Aurelius and the End of the Ancient World (1880).