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Ratzinger's Jesus of Nazareth

Contact: Char Matejovsky, 707-523-1323 info@polebridgepress.com

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"Lüdemann's brilliant, readable book dismantles the Pope's argument and will open readers' eyes to see who Jesus really was."

-James M. Robinson, author of The Gospel of Jesus

"Highly recommended for anyone interested in issues of who Jesus was, and why the academic portrayal of him differs from the doctrinal."

-April DeConick, author of The Thirteenth Apostle: What the Gospel of Judas Really Says

"The Pope asked for this," says Arthur J. Dewey of Xavier University. "Taking up the papal invitation (of Pope Benedict XVI) to respond critically to his book Jesus of Nazareth, Gerd Lüdemann offers a meticulous and devastating critique."

In Eyes That See Not, Lüdemann begins by first establishing the foundation of objective-critical analysis of history. "The historian," he writes, "is obliged to present objective evidence for his or her assertions. The rules of the game do not permit one to rely on uncorroborated testimony or claims of authority." The chronicler who fails to challenge eyewitness testimony and to submit documentary sources to critical examination, Lüdemann points out, is not an historian.

The so-called historical method used by the Pope, continues Lüdemann, "has the sole aim of proving the reliability of the gospels." In fact, he says, the Pope "never examines their historical trustworthiness." Furthermore, his argument that Jesus was divinely inspired and that his teachings were not derived from human learning is absurd, says Lüdemann. "We do not live in antiquity, or even in the Middle Ages. In our world, metaphysical or meta-historical statements do not go without saying." Science and the arts have long been autonomous and radically independent of doctrinal belief. That epitomizes the nature of today's revolution in theology.

In Eyes That See Not Lüdemann offers readers an irresistible invitation: Rather than be a passive inheritor of an ancient and jealously mediated tradition, join with him and thousands of other independent seekers of knowledge and become a thinker in your own right.

Eyes That See Not
The Pope Looks at Jesus
by Gerd Lüdemann
Polebridge Press
ISBN 978-1-59815-006-3
$20.00 paperback
PUB DATE: February 2008

Professor Gerd Lüdemann,
author of Eyes That See Not: The Pope Looks at Jesus

A scholar of ancient Christianity and New Testament studies, Dr. Gerd Lüdemann is Professor of the History and Literature of Early Christianity, Director of the Institute of Early Christian Studies, and Founder and Director of the Archive "Religionsgeschichtliche Schule" at the University of Göttingen, Germany. He is also a Visiting Scholar at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee, a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, and has served as co-chair of the Society of Biblical Literature Seminar on Jewish Christianity.

Dr. Lüdemann is the author of numerous books on early Christianity including, The Unholy in Holy Scripture (1997), The Great Deception (1999), Paul: The Founder of Christianity (2002), The Resurrection of Christ (2004), The Acts of the Apostles (2005), and Intolerance and the Gospel (2006).

Polebridge Press

Polebridge Press is the publishing arm of the Westar Institute, a member-supported, nonprofit research and educational institute dedicated to the advancement of religious literacy. Polebridge publishes basic reference works for scholars working on Christian origins and also specializes in books written for the general public by scholars in the field of religion.

For more information, please contact Char Matejovsky
707-523-1323 info@polebridgepress.com

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