Within the context of the current debate over the historical Jesus, W. Barmes Tatum focuses on the issue of the relationship between the Christ of faith and the Jesus of history, between the creedal Son of God and Jesus the Jew whose life and message centered around the symbol of 'God's rule.' In contrast to those who belittle historical research into the life of Jesus and in contrast to those who reject the church's creedal definition of Jesus as the Son of God, Tatum argues for continuity between the church's traditional claim of Jesus as God's Son and Jesus as a historical figure who reflected but transcended the social categories of sage, healer, and prophet. W. Barnes Tatum is Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Greensboro College in Greensboro, North Carolina. This is a revised and expanded edition of a book first published in 1982.
