Lexington Books Explaining Jesus: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of a Phenomenon

How exactly does one explain Jesus? That is the central question of this book. But the task of explaining Jesus is complicated. For many nonbelievers, skeptics, or practitioners of non- Jesus-based religions or spiritualities, it can be very strange to refer to a particular man who lived in the first century CE as someone who is still living. Even for some believers, this idea can be a difficult thing to understand-even given the teachings of their faith. Thus, whether believer or nonbeliever or somewhere in-between, for the intellectually curious, there is need for an explanation. Explaining Jesus explores the possibilities of a secular, interdisciplinary, science-based explanation for the phenomenon of Jesus. Review Explaining Jesus is a complex and sophisticated attempt by someone raised evangelical, but now a secular humanist, to explain the phenomenon that people experience: Jesus as a living person. The author's response is neither reductive nor dismissive, and readers will learn much from following him on his remarkable intellectual journey. This is a book that speaks to Christians and non-Christians alike.--T.M. Luhrmann, Professor of Anthropology and Psychology, Stanford University, author of When God Talks BackIf for an answer we should turn to Jesus, what is the question? How to understand the emotional and spiritual meaning of a 'personal relationship with Jesus'? In his interesting and well-developed book, Explaining Jesus, Benjamin Bennett-Carpenter addresses this topic, drawing on theology and the humanities as well as on behavioral and natural sciences. For those who understand themselves as standing in an intimate relationship with Jesus, reading this book will be a challenging--but not necessarily negative--exercise in self-understanding. For those who don't see themselves, or Jesus, in that way, it is worth the effort to read it, to understand fellow humans in ways they might not have thought of before.--Willem B. Drees, Tilburg University About the Author Benjamin Bennett-Carpenter serves as special lecturer in writing and rhetoric, liberal studies, and the Honors College at Oakland University and is the author of Death in Documentaries: The Memento Mori Experience.