The Christ Files DVD
Description
Who was Jesus - really?
Has the real Jesus been so buried by tradition and legend that he is now lost to people living in the 21st century?
Historian Dr John Dickson sets out to discover what we can know for certain about the life of one of history's best known and most influential figures.
In a captivating journey across the globe, Dr Dickson examines ancient documents and consults the world's most respected historians and scholars.
Beginning with the Gnostic Gospels, he criss-crosses continents on a search back through time for the historical sources that reveal the real Jesus - a search for The Christ Files.
Table of contents
- Episode One
- Gnostics and Romans
- Examining manuscripts stretching from AD 250 to 75, Greco-Roman historians and the Gnostic gospels give us a picture of how the ancient world viewed Jesus of Nazareth.
- Episode Two
- Jews and Christians
- Starting with the records of Jesus' own people, the Jews, we arrive at the early Christian sources, letters and biographies assembled between AD 90 and 48.
- Episode Three
- Lost Sources and Oral Traditions
- With a 20-year gap between Jesus' death and the earliest written accounts of his life, we turn to the source of information considered most reliable in the 1st century - oral tradition.
- Episode Four
- Archaeologists and Artefacts
- Having uncovered a solid picture of the historical Jesus, archaeology helps us piece together the world in which Jesus lived, giving context to the things he said and did.
- Extended Interviews
- The Gospels and Eyewitness Testimony
- Prof Richard Bauckham
- St Andrew’s University, Scotland
- Gnosticism and the Gnostic Gospels
- Prof Marcus Bockmuehl
- St Andrew’s University, Scotland
- Jesus and the Essenes
- Prof James Charlesworth
- Princeton University, USA
- Oral Traditions
- Prof James Dunn
- Durham University, England
- Galilee in the Time of Jesus
- Prof Sean Freyne
- Trinity College, Dublin
- Understanding Jesus Through Archaeology
- Prof Sean Freyne
- Trinity College, Dublin
- The Gospels as History
- Prof Martin Hengel
- University of Tubingen, Germany
- Jesus in the Roman Empire
- Prof Alanna Nobbs
- Macquarie University, Australia
- The Story of the Dead Sea Scrolls
- Dr Adolfo Roitman
- The Shrine of the Book, Israel
- The Apostle Paul
- Prof Peter Stuhlmacher
- University of Tubingen, Germany
- The Gospel Source 'Q'
- Prof Christopher Tuckett
- Oxford University, England
- A Jewish View of Jesus
- Prof Geza Vermes
- Oxford University, England
- Jesus and the Old Testament
- Right Rev Dr Tom Wright
- Bishop of Durham, England
- A Conversation about the Talmud
- Dr Ben Outhwaite
- Cambridge University Library, England
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Additional Information
| Author | John Dickson |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9780310328681 |
| Dimensions | 0mm x 0mm |
| Pages | 0 |
| Publisher | Zondervan |
| No of Bible studies | N/A |
| Format | DVD video |
| Bible Book | N/A |
Customer Reviews
Great documentary about the historical Jesus.
I enjoyed watching this DVD very much; I thought it was helpful as a Christian, but also to give away to seekers. The content is well presented and the presenter is engaging. The documentaries tackle the historical Jesus, but is not overtly "Christian", so would be good for people with intellectual questions who are put off a church setting. 
A lively look at the evidence for the historical Jesus
This is a great resource. It’s a lively look at the reliability of the historical evidence for Jesus. As presenter Dr John Dickson reminds us, unlike any other world religion, Christianity is founded on historical events. It stands or falls by the reliability of those claims.
Dickson examines the historical sources we have for Jesus. He starts with those furthest from the events (which allows him to debunk Dan Brown-style theories based on the Gnostic Gospels) and moves to the closer and more reliable sources, ultimately to the canonical Gospels (with a great discussion of the reliability of eyewitness evidence). The series ends cleverly with Tom Wright talking about the OT background to the Gospel and especially the OT background to the last supper which allows some pointers to the soteriological significance of the cross.
Along the way we are treated to interviews with a veritable bevy of top NT scholars – James Dunn, Richard Bauckham, Tom Wright, Marcus Bockmuehl, James Charlesworth, Martin Hengel and Geza Vermes among others.
The style of that the Discovery channel (without all that irritating repetition and without the build up to an ultimately disappointing reveal that seems to characterize documentaries on the Discovery Channel!). Dickson is an animated presenter (for British readers, he’s somewhat in the style of Adam Hart-Davis). The jump from serious interview with a NT scholar to a presentational gimmick can be slightly jarring in places. But the programmes hold your attention.
One of the great things about this product is its adaptability. The core product is 4 half-hour programmes. But there is also a one hour version (as shown on Australian TV) plus thematic chunks plus both shorter and extended interviews. If you’re teaching on the Gospels you can invite Richard Bauckham or Tom Wright or Vermes to contribute!
I could see myself using the DVD to supplement an evangelistic course like Christianity Explored. If someone asks about the reliability of the Gospel opr the historical evidence for Jesus then this would be a great resource to give to them. The slight difficulty with this is that, while Dickson himself is careful to be accessible, the interviewed scholars use jargon from the start.
I can also seeing myself using it to teach students. It would be a introduction to year one students or people training for leadership who need some background to the Gospels or who need to know how to counter arguments against their historical reliability without needing a whole course on the quest for the historical Jesus.
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