The Early Jesus Movement and Its Parties: A New Way to Look at the New Testament

by Harry W. Eberts, Paul R. Eberts

Overview

What have generations of New Testament scholars been hiding from us over all the ages?

Harry and Paul Eberts challenge readers to rethink the New Testament.

Most scholars have presumed there was a reasonably unified movement among the Christian churches led by Peter, Paul, James, and Philip immediately following Jesus' death and resurrection. The Eberts suggest that at least four parties vied with each other to attract converts to the belief that Jesus is the Christ: Peter/James/Stephen, Philip, and Apollos/ and Paul and Barnabas.

Up to now, most scholars have presumed the Gospels to be at least somewhat "additive" in developing the character of Jesus. The Eberts suggest that each Gospel represents the viewpoint of one of the four parties, thus presenting differing views of the meaning of Jesus' life, his death, and his resurrection.

There has been the regular presumption that St. Paul's letters were unified statements of his views of beliefs, behaviors, and practices in the early churches. The Eberts instead suggest that the letters show a shifting over time in Paul's theology and ethics as the apostles struggled with the other three Christian parties and with Gentiles to convert nonbelievers to Christianity.

Harry and Paul Eberts are brothers devoted to researching the New Testament. Both are Yale Divinity School graduates.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940014764490
Publisher:	YBK Publishers
Publication date:	06/09/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	833 KB

About the Author

Harry and Paul Eberts are brothers who have devoted themselves to researching the New Testament. Both of them graduated from from Heidelberg College in Ohio, and from Yale Divinity School. Harry received his STD from San Francisco Theological Seminary; Paul received his PhD from the University of Michigan.

Harry was ordained by the Presbyterian Church, USA, and served churches in Granville, Marietta, Wooster, and Akron, OH; Pasadena, CA and Evanston, IL. Harry also taught at San Francisco Theological Seminary, and taught and worked with ministers, elders and seminary students of the Coptic Evangelical Church in Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt.

Paul has taught sociology at the University of Michigan, the State University of New York in Binghamton, and Cornell University, and has been on discipline-related committees of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., the American Sociological Association, and the Rural Sociology Society.