Jesus: A Brief History reveals how Jesus and his story have been received over the past two millennia - through art, literature, and culture, as well as theology. It shows how Jesus, a Galilean Jew, born when the ancient Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean world, has come to be honored as the Christ and recognized around the globe by billions at the outset of the twenty-first century. Two questions about Jesus which recur throughout the book are: Who was he? and What did he do? But this engaging study also shows the importance of asking Whose was he? in fully understanding Jesus' life and legacy.

In tracing the reception history of Jesus and his story over two thousand years, W. Barnes Tatum draws on a fascinating range of materials, from ancient texts, creeds, and theological treatises, to the visual and dramatic arts, including The DaVinci Code and The Passion of the Christ.

W. Barnes Tatum is Jefferson-Pilot Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Greensboro College. He is the author of two books on Jesus: Jesus at the Movies: A Guide to the First Hundred Years (2004) and In Quest of Jesus (1999), along with numerous articles. He is a long-standing member of the Jesus Seminar and is the author of John the Baptist and Jesus: A Report of the Jesus Seminar (1994).