To what sources other than the New Testament can we turn for information about the life of Jesus and the beginnings of the Christian church? In this book,
F. F. Bruce notes a variety of nonbiblical sources, and attempts to sort out and evaluate the “evidence” they present.
Bruce does not attempt here to answer the question “Are the New Testament documents reliable?” Rather, his purpose is to locate, present, and interpret the nonbiblical “evidences” on their own terms.
Eleven chapters treat various kinds of evidence, mostly non-Christian, and all non-canonical, for the life of Christ. Among these are the wildly entertaining and the matter-of- fact; those obviously spurious and those with a ring of truth; some sayings concocted to defend the Jews against the Christians, others to distinguish the Christians from the Jews, and still others to separate both from Islam.
In each case, Bruce quotes freely from an English text of the passage in question and then offers and defends an interpretation of it, turning his attention mainly to the question “Is it likely that this account is an accurate report?”
Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament is a unique combination of fresh, interesting style and careful, well-researched scholarship. Bruce’s analysis of these non-biblical sources offer the reader new insight into the world of early Christianity.
F. F. Bruce is the author of many critical and devotional works, and serves as Editor for The New International Commentary on the New Testament.