Jesus: the Evidence [antikvár]

AUTHOR'S PREFACE Jesus: the Evidence came into being through an unexpected and welcome invitation from London Weekend Television to write a book to accompany their three-part film series of the same name. While this was of course an irresistible challenge, involving the study and assessment of the facts surrounding a man who is perhaps the most controversial and influential figure in all history, the task has had its difficulties, not the least of them being matching the timing and content of the television production and attempting to be fair to both historical and Christian viewpoints. As has been remarked by Michael Green of my own university city, 'couple historical scepticism with a Christian profession, and it tears a man apart . . .' Too often Christian writers have neglected Jesus' essential Jewishness, and this is one deficiency I have especially tried to rectify. In this aim I have greatly valued the encouragement of Jewish scholars Dr Geza Vermes and Victor Tunkel, both of whom kindly read and advised on the manuscript. I am also deeply grateful to David Rolfe and Julian Norridge of London Weekend Television through whom the whole project came into being, to Ray Bruce and Arthur Rowe of I.L.E.A., who advised from the Christian point of view, to Dr T. S. Pattie of the British Museum Department of Manuscripts, who helped with the chart on pp 18-19, to my editor Wendy Dallas for her seemingly limitless care and patience in steering the book to publication, to Hazel Allinson, Debbie Hall, Jean-Claude Bragard, Peter Casson, Leonard Gould, Robert Smith, Dr Albert Mason, Dr Frederick Zugibe, Dr Alan Whanger, my father, and innumerable others for a variety of favours, and not least to picture researcher Caroline Lucas for her assiduous hunting down of some particularly obscure photographs. The task of picture selection was made harder by the self-imposed discipline of opting always for the nearest contemporary material, meaning automatic rejection of Old Masters,