Explaining Jesus: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of a Phenomenon

How exactly does one explain Jesus? That is the central question of this book. But the task

of explaining Jesus is complicated. For many nonbelievers, skeptics, or practitioners of non-

Jesus-based religions or spiritualities, it can be very strange to refer to a particular man who

lived in the first century CE as someone who is still living. Even for some believers, this idea

can be a difficult thing to understand—even given the teachings of their faith. Thus, whether

believer or nonbeliever or somewhere in-between, for the intellectually curious, there is need

for an explanation. Explaining Jesus explores the possibilities of a secular, interdisciplinary, science-based explanation for the phenomenon of Jesus.