Donate Now

Sunday Lecture – The Invention of Jesus

8th December 2013 · 11:00am - 11:00am

In person | Virtual event

 Sunday Lecture – The Invention of Jesus

The Conway Hall Ethical Society presents; After the Romans adopted Christianity in the fourth century the Church had an unrivalled opportunity to spread its message – and a big problem how to make the texts to conform with what it then wanted people to believe.; In effect it chose to forge its own records.; Peter Cresswell has taken an in-depth look at the earliest surviving manuscripts of the gospels describing the life and death of Jesus as well as letters attributed to Paul and others to the outposts of the early Church. He will analyse the texts to show how doctrines such as the divinity of Jesus and the Resurrection have been progressively introduced into the narrative. By establishing what has been added he defines what part of the character of Jesus the Christian Church has over time invented.; Peter Cresswell studied Social Anthropology at Cambridge University and went on to do a B.Phil. in Sociology at York. In recent years he has researched the origins of Christianity and its textual transmission. He is the author of Censored Messiah Jesus the Terrorist and The Invention of Jesus: How the Church Rewrote the New Testament.; Chair of the Lecture; Carl Harrison is a Trustee and Hon. Archivist of Conway Hall Ethical Society. After a career in local government record offices – helping to sort out the archives of the Society and its predecessors (from 1807) was initially undertaken as light relief! Carl has a keen interest in the way archives can be used and abused to suit political ends past and present. And how such spinning of the historical record can be exposed by detailed analysis of the text. He is looking forward to Peter Cresswell doing this with the ultimate Christian source – the Gospels themselves.; 11.00 £5 in advance/£2 concs. Free to Ethical Society members; Tea & Coffee will be available.

Read more about how we use Cookies in our Privacy Policy.

×

We need your help!

We host talks, concerts, performances, community and social events. However, we are an independent charity and receive no funding from the government. Everything we do is dependent upon our commercial activity and the generosity of supporters like you.

Donate Now