Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Helen Bond, Professor of Christian Origins and New Testament, as we explore the complex relationship between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith. Helen unpacks the challenges of reconstructing Jesus’ life from the Gospels, revealing how early Christian communities shaped his story. We discuss the historical context of Jesus’ teachings, the differing portrayals across the Gospels, and what scholars can confidently say about his life and mission. Finally, we ask: is it possible to build a meaningful spirituality around the historical Jesus, separate from traditional Christian doctrine?
Following the interview Nomad hosts Tim Nash and Anna Robinson ponder what all this means for the evolution of their faith and role the historical Jesus might play in it.
Interview starts at 11m 36s
WEBSITE
SOCIALS
BOOKS
Women Remembered: Jesus’ Female Disciples
The Historical Jesus: A Guide for the Perplexed
QUOTES
“The historical Jesus is the real historical man who stands at the basis of this faith, whilst the Christ of faith is Jesus as he has become over 2,000 years of Christian speculation.”
“The more you know about the Gospels, the more you realise that they’re poetic, they’re imaginative, they’re trying to show you the truth about Jesus through creative ways that don’t always map onto what would have been recorded by a video camera.”
“Ancient biographies were quite unlike modern-day biographies. They were really about holding up a great figure as an example of a way of life that the audience might want to follow…And in biographies, although there is often a broad interest in getting the facts more or less correct, they often play fast and loose with historical material.”
“For an ancient person, it’s just not a question they’re going to ask—’Did that happen? And if it didn’t happen, am I going to be suspicious?'”
