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If you’ve ever visited Jerusalem, you may have noticed that two different locations are identified as Golgotha. And since the tomb of Jesus was right next to Golgotha (according to John 19:41-42), there are also two different tombs. Which one is real, and which one isn’t? And does it matter? The first site of Golgotha is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Originally built in the 4th century, it’s situated within the current walls of the Old City, and at the heart of the Christian Quarter. It’s the end station of the Via Dolorosa pilgrimage road and has been venerated...

Images of a frail, thin, pale-skinned, strikingly handsome man with long locks of light brown hair are nearly ubiquitous in the world of Christianity. During this Christmas season, they seem to be especially numerous. But these images are based almost entirely on paintings by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, who lived hundreds of years after Christ, and who had no insight into His actual appearance. And a team of British forensic scientists now says the real Jesus Christ would have looked nothing at all like those popular images. The team’s findings are significant, not because they conclusively say what...

Leading film-makers are courting controversy with plans for adaptations of provocative books about Jesus Christ that are likely to generate a backlash from traditional Christians. British producer David Heyman is developing a film based on Reza Aslan’s bestselling book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, while Paul Verhoeven, the Dutch director, has been working on an adaptation of his own book, Jesus of Nazareth, for five years. Aslan, a member of the American Academy of Religion, made headlines last year when a Fox News interviewer challenged his credentials, as a Muslim, to write an account of Jesus’s...

Along with many of you, I am reading Pope Benedict’s latest book, volume 3 of Jesus of Nazareth, on the infancy narratives. I was very moved at a very brief reflection that he made on Mary, as the Angel Gabriel left her. His remarks consider on her faith in a very touching manner. I must say that I have always been moved by the faith of the Blessed Mother and intrigued too, for she is a woman wrapped in silence. The Pope’s words capture both her faith and the mystery of her. Here is what the Pope says:I consider it...

Near the end of Reza Aslan's strange, 10-minute television exchange with Fox News, the author of "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth," gives voice to a thought that’s entered the mind of many an author while being interviewed: “I’m afraid it seems like you haven’t read my book.” The interview, now circulating widely on social media sites, has helped propel the book to No. 1 on the Amazon bestseller list Monday.

Reza Aslan, a religious scholar with a Ph.D. in the sociology of religions from the University of California and author of the new book, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” went on FoxNews.com’s online show Spirited Debate to promote his book only to be prodded about why a Muslim would write a historical book about Jesus.

Volume 1 "The Kingship Proclaimed by Jesus Â… Is None Other Than the Kingship of Truth" ROME, MARCH 2, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is an excerpt from Benedict XVI's book "Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week," which is scheduled to be released worldwide March 10. The excerpt comes from Chapter 7, Section 3, titled "Jesus Before Pilate." Ignatius Press is the publisher of the volume in English. * * * In addition to the clear delimitation of his concept of kingdom (no fighting, earthly powerlessness), Jesus had introduced a positive idea, in order to explain the nature and particular character of...

The story of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection has deep meaning to Christians for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it is the defining moment of the Christian faith. But for the resurrection, Christianity would be nothing more than a legend, not unlike the stories from Greek or Roman mythology. As the Apostle Paul notes in I Corinthians 15:17-18, "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." Indeed, our very hope of eternal life depends upon the resurrection of...