The Historical Jesus and the Historical Joseph Smith

by Tom Hobson

Overview

Jesus of Nazareth and Joseph Smith: one makes a claim on our lives that only God can make —the other claims to be the only prophet who can reliably point us to Jesus. This book uses the standard tools of the historian to find the undeniable facts on both men, tools that do not require faith. What we want to know is: are these men trustworthy and consistent enough that we can trust them to lead us to the one true God?

As we seek historical bedrock on Jesus and Joseph, we’ll also find some fascinating answers to questions like: Why and when did wine get taken out of the Latter-day Saint sacrament? How do we know whether important doctrines were taken out of the Bible? Do we possess genuine words of Jesus that are not in our Gospels? Were Jesus and Heavenly Father both polygamists? How do we know that the resurrection of Jesus was not a shameless con job?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400329014
Publisher:	Elm Hill
Publication date:	12/24/2019
Pages:	100
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Tom Hobson is retired from 35+ years as a Presbyterian minister and 4 years as professor of Biblical studies and languages at Morthland College. He has had a heart for the Latter-day Saints for 40+ years. He holds degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (Ph.D.). His publications include What’s on God’s Sin List for Today? (Wipf and Stock, 2011) and his Patheos blog “Biblical Words and World.”

Table of Contents

1 Why We Must Know the Facts about Jesus and Joseph 1

2 Historical Bedrock in the Life of Jesus 7

3 Uncertainties in the Life of Jesus 15

4 Examining the Wildest Claims about Jesus 21

5 Who Can Tell Us the Truth about Joseph? 29

6 Joseph's Approach to Alcohol, Tobacco, and "Hot Drinks" 35

7 Josephs Approach to Marriage 41

8 Josephs Views on Race 47

9 Joseph's Evolving Views on God 53

10 Josephs Far-Reaching Claims 59

11 Joseph as a Translator of Scripture 69

12 Did Joseph Die a Martyr's Death? 75

13 By Their Fruits Shall We Know Them? 79

14 Who Is Most Worthy of Our Trust? 83