Michael John Berens

Becoming Jesus Michael John Berens

THE GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD. In the history of religion there has never been another figure quite like Jesus of Nazareth. We know what propelled Moses, Mohammed and the Buddha into becoming great religious leaders. What transformed this obscure villager from Galilee into a charismatic prophet who would change the course of Western civilization? Drawing on both historical and textual evidence, as well as the study of religious experience, Becoming Jesus: The Making of a Prophet, seeks to answer that question by examining in depth the central religious event in his life, his baptism by John the Baptist.

Hiding in plain sight for two thousands years but obscured by Christianity's emphasis on Jesus' divinity, the conversion story embedded in the Gospels helps us to understand how Jesus came to have a unique vision of God. That vision shaped his mission and message, setting in motion a religious revolution.

Written for anyone with an interest in the figure of Jesus, Becoming Jesus begins with a general overview of the many different ways the historical Jesus has been portrayed in scholarship and by the media, muddling our image of who he was. It then reviews what we know about his origins and the time in which he lived, providing the context for why his baptism experience affected him so profoundly. The final section explores how that experience spurred his development as a religious leader and came to define his mission and message.