AD 33: The Year that Changed the World - Hardcover

Duriez, Colin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 083083396X ISBN 13: 9780830833962

Publisher: IVP Books, 2007

Synopsis

How did Jesus shape history? In A.D. 33 an obscure religious teacher died a criminal's death in a distant outpost of the Roman Empire. Yet this was an event with world-changing consequences. What was the world like in that momentous year? Colin Duriez's compelling book brings to life events in the Roman Empire and beyond. As we look back on that remarkable year, we can see from the perspective of world history that it was dominated by two people--a Roman and a Jew. The Roman was the Emperor Tiberius who was trying to end the mischief caused by his deputy Sejanus, while also keeping a tight reign on the administration of his vast and diverse empire. The Jew was Jesus who was put to death by one of Tiberius's minor governors, Pontius Pilate. Belief in his resurrection from the dead three days later invigorated his demoralized followers, leading within a few weeks to the birth of the Christian movement, which was ultimately to take over the mighty empire without force and to change the world irrevocably. While momentous events unfolded in the lives of these two leaders, one temporal and one spiritual, millions of people carried on their daily routines, rising at dawn and going to their rest in the evening. What is the history that lies behind the Gospel texts? Supplemented by maps, charts and timelines, this richly detailed book reveals what the world that saw the inauguration of Christianity was like. In this breathtaking book we follow the events in the Roman Empire and beyond to obtain a vivid picture of the year of Jesus' death.

About this title

About the Author:

Colin Duriez was for many years general books editor for Inter-Varsity Press in Leicester, England. A professional writer, he currently offers acquisitions, editorial and project management services through his own business, InWriting, based in Keswick, Cumbria. He studied at the University of Istanbul, the University of Ulster (where he was a founding member of the Irish Christian Study Centre) and under Francis Schaeffer at L'Abri in Huemoz, Switzerland. He has held a variety of teaching and editorial posts spanning nearly thirty years. Duriez won the Clyde S. Kilby Award in 1994 for his research on the Inklings. He has published many articles, books and other written works, and he has spoken to a variety of literary, academic and professional groups in a number of countries. He has also appeared as a commentator on the extended version film DVDs of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, director), PBS's The Question of God, which compared C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud, and the Sony DVD Ringers about Tolkien fandom and the impact of Tolkien on popular culture. His best-known books include The C. S. Lewis Encyclopedia (Crossway/SPCK), The Inklings Handbook (with the late David Porter, Chalice), J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship (Paulist Press/Sutton), Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings (Paulist Press/Sutton) and A Field Guide to Narnia (IVP).

Review:

"Colin Duriez is best known for his studies in the life and work of Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Here he ventures further back in time, offering a compelling case for dating the crucifixion of Jesus to Friday 13 April, AD 33. Much of the book is spent setting the death of Jesus in its historical contexts, Jewish and Roman. Where firm evidence is missing, Duriez suggests plausible scenarios." (Church Times)

"Author Colin Duriez's compelling and wide-ranging work examines the huge Roman Empire which encompassed the Mediterranean region and much of north-western Europe. . . . There is a universal curiousity about the history that lies behind the Gospel texts and the book reveals what the year that saw the inauguration of Christianity as a world religion was actually like." (Belfast News Letter Group)

"Colin Duriez's 'AD 33' offers readers a fascinating and creative view of the most important year in human history. This book takes readers back in time, back to the world of Jesus, back to the culture of Jews and Romans and to the events that changed everything. Scholars and students will learn much from this informed and very readable book. I recommend it enthusiastically." (Craig A. Evans, Ph.D., Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College and author of Fabricating Jesus)

About this edition

• Publisher: IVP Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 083083396X
• ISBN 13: 9780830833962
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256