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The Life of Jesus

Ernest Renan

Ernest Renan's influential 19th-century biography portraying Jesus as a historical man shaped by his time and place.

An influential historical biography treating Jesus as a man of his era, shaping modern debate on his historicity.

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About this source

What it is

Written by the French scholar Ernest Renan, this book presents a historical account of the life of Jesus. This edition was published by the Modern Library with an introduction by John Haynes Holmes.

Why it matters

Renan's book was one of the most widely read and debated biographies of Jesus in the 19th century. By treating Jesus as a historical figure shaped by his environment rather than purely as a divine figure, Renan sparked major controversy and influenced ongoing debates about how to study religious history.

Look closer

  • What might change if a writer treats a religious figure primarily as a historical person?
  • Why would this approach be controversial in Renan's time?
  • How does the personal dedication at the start of the book affect how we read it?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jesus Christ on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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