Who Do You Say I Am?: Meeting the Historical Jesus in Prayer Book

Christians have always turned to the scriptures as a reliable source of knowledge about Jesus, but in recent years the historical accuracy of the gospels has come under considerable scrutiny. The question has even garnered significant media attention, particularly in the case of the "Jesus Seminar", a group of scholars who gather periodically to discuss and vote on the authenticity of Jesus' words and deeds. Their claims, which often seem calculated to shock, have disturbed some Christians and even shaken the faith of others.

In this innovative work Fr. William Barry shows why this need not be the case. "I believe that research on the historical Jesus need not be a threat but can be a spiritual resource for us Christians", he says. Drawing on the highly acclaimed work The Marginal Jew by John Meier, he helps us sift the evidence to discover what we can know with historical certainty about Jesus. But Barry leads us beyond the facts of history to an encounter with the risen Jesus, sharing both his own experience of prayer as well as the stories and accounts of other contemporary Christians who have come to know the risen Lord. He guides us in a prayerful dialogue that bridges the gap between the Jesus of history and the Jesus we experience in faith.