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Secondary sourceBook1902

The Life of Jesus of Nazareth: A Study

Rush Rhees · 1902

An early 20th-century scholarly study by Rush Rhees examining the life of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels.

A scholarly early 20th-century study reconstructing Jesus's life from the Gospels.

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About this source

What it is

This book, The Life of Jesus of Nazareth: A Study, was written by Rush Rhees and published in 1902. It aims to help readers understand the figure of Jesus as presented in the Gospels through careful, scholarly reading.

Why it matters

Rhees's book is part of a tradition of academic biography that tried to reconstruct Jesus's life using the Gospels as historical sources. It shows how scholars of the early 20th century balanced faith and critical study when writing about Jesus, and what questions they thought most important to answer.

Look closer

  • Why does the author call this book a "study" rather than a "story"?
  • What sources does the author rely on, and what are the limits of those sources?
  • How might a scholarly study like this differ from a devotional work written for believers?

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