Early Christianity, the Calendar, and the Life of Jesus By Steven L. Ware Publisher: Concordia Publishing House Whether you pick up and read this book, will be determined primarily by how important it is to your faith that the precise moment of Jesus birth was. For some, it will be vitally important, and this book will let them down. For those who are interested in these matters, but it doesn’t affect their faith, this is an interesting read, that will highlight much of the debate, and issues around matching a multitude of calendars and historical events. It is accepted that the Christian calendar created by Exiguus is incorrect in its placement of Jesus birth. There is little agreement amongst scholars as to what the correct date should be, nor has there been even from early Christian writers. Steven Ware is not convincing in his argument of the most likely date. While interesting, it is not a book that will change history, rather add to the already crowded explanation of a topic that we will never know the answer to. Steven L. Ware, Ph. D., is Professor of Historical Theology at Nyack College/Alliance Theological Seminary in New York City and Nyack, NY. As a member of both the Evangelical Theological Society and the American Society of Church History, he has presented widely to both academic and church audiences on questions of Biblical history, the chronological dates of Jesus' life, the Paschal calendar, and historical foundations of the Christian faith. Ideally suited to academics, historians and scholars. Thanks to Netgalley & Concordia Publishing House for my copy. This review can also be found on my blog, Books-Reviewed.
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AuthorHeath has degrees in Ministry and Leadership. He has written several articles on Christianity. Archives
December 2014
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