The Challenge Of Jesus Analysis

N.T. Wright’s book, The Challenge of Jesus, drew my attention to three very interesting and important concepts. The first, discussing the importance of relating to Jesus in Jesus’s time. Especially when it comes to the use of figurative language, expression, cultural and societal norms of the time, as well as getting to know how exactly it was that people understood God and the arrival of the Messiah, for first century Jews. The second thing that really got me thinking, when reading the book, is the nature of Scripture. While certain denominations believe that the texts from the Bible are the direct Word of God, we as Catholics believe that this is an interpretation of the time, seeing as it was written by man; man who witnessed the doings …show more content…
If man, who is inherently prone to sin and extremely flawed, wrote these collections of books, how do we know that there was no other hidden agenda, or slight additions? For example, the difference between the two Gospel accounts of what happened when Jesus was asked about a place in Heaven. Was it the disciple or the mother who asked the question? Another example can be found in the Old Testament. Why are there such strict rules and regulations on clean and unclean animals/food? Did it really have to do with what God wanted for the people, or was it more about human survival, given that if these foods were not properly prepared, they could cause severe illness and/or death? Even looking at more recent examples in history, it is nearly two centuries ago that the Bible was used to both support and abolish slavery. Who decided that that was to be part of religion, part of the Christian Faith? Was that really something that God wanted, or was that slid into the Bible by man? It has become public opinion that the reasons for abolishing slavery were that we are all humans and that the colour of someone’s skin should not violate basic human rights. So collectively, when most people read those parts of the