There are countless paths to follow when seeking spiritual guidance, and thousands of years of religion and theology have offered such paths and sets of beliefs to enlightenment and offer spiritual happiness. In A portrait of Jesus, bestselling author Joseph Girzone paints a picture of Jesus without stringent religous lines, and looks into the spiritual, humanistic and beautiful ideals set forth by Jesus. Girzone's empowering and loving look at Jesus creates a human, non-denominational, spiritually guiding portrait of Jesus.

What is Jesus like? What kind of a person is he? Is he emotional or stoic? Is he proud or humble? Is he aloof or friendly? This book attempts to answer these types of questions. After demonstrating that Jesus is the promised Christ and that he is both divine and human, this book examines Jesus' personal characteristics as they are displayed in the four Gospels. The four Gospels are clearly not a typical biography of Jesus. Nonetheless, they do provide an informative account of his life here on earth, from which we can discover what he is like as a person.

"Much of what one sees or reads about Jesus is deliberately sensationalist or evasive. Producers and writers raise issues of merely historical interest, highlight trivial matters, or allege that 'cover-ups' have hidden the 'real truth' for many centuries. They will do anything but face the challenge in the ultimate religious drama created by the life, death, and resurreciton of Jesus of nazareth." [from back cover]

Jesus Christ is arguably the most famous man who ever lived. His image adorns countless churches, icons, and paintings. He is the subject of millions of statues, sculptures, devotional objects and works of art. Everyone can conjure an image of Jesus: usually as a handsome, white man with flowing locks and pristine linen robes. But what did Jesus really look like? Is our popular image of Jesus overly westernized and untrue to historical reality? This question continues to fascinate. Leading Christian Origins scholar Joan E. Taylor surveys the historical evidence, and the prevalent image of Jesus in art and culture, to suggest an entirely different vision of this most famous of men. He may even have had short hair.

To Christians worldwide, the man Jesus of Nazareth is the centerpiece of history, the object of faith, hope, and worship. Even those who do not follow him admit the vast influence of his life. For anyone interested in knowing more about Jesus, study of the four biblical Gospels is essential. The second edition of Four Portraits, One Jesus has been updated throughout to meet the needs to today's students. It is a thorough yet accessible introduction to the four biblical Gospels and their subject, the life and person of Jesus. Like different artists rendering the same subject using different styles and points of view, the Gospels paint four highly distinctive portraits of the same remarkable Jesus. With clarity and insight, Mark Strauss illuminates these four books addressing the following important areas: First he addresses the nature, origin, methods for study, and historical, religious, and cultural backgrounds of the Gospels. He then moves on to closer study of each narrative and its contribution to our understanding of Jesus, investigating things such as plot, characters, and theme. Finally, he pulls it all together with a detailed examination of what the Gospels teach about Jesus' ministry, message, death, and resurrection, with excursions into the quest for the historical Jesus and the historical reliability of the Gospels. This textbook together with its workbook, video lectures, and laminated sheet gives students everything they need for a thorough and enriching study of Jesus and the Gospels.

This book contains over 80 paintings of Jesus Christ for the purposes of enjoying and meditating. Painting has always been associated with the life of the Church. From the time of the Catacombs it has been used in ecclesiastical ornamentation, and for centuries after Constantine, religious art was the only form of living art in the Christian world. Its fecundity has been wonderful and even now, although much diminished, is still important. Until the Renaissance, the Church exercised a veritable monopoly over this sphere. Profane painting in Europe dates only from the last five centuries and it took the lead only in the nineteenth century. It may, therefore, be said that throughout the Christian Era the history of painting has been that of religious painting.