(Updated Sept. 8, 2026)
Was Jesus a real person? If so, what did he teach? What did he see as his mission? What happened at the end of his life and what did his followers in the decades after his death teach and see as their mission?
And what does any of this mean to me?
This website/blog is a continually updated publication of my views on these topics, using historical methods to try to answer the questions in the first paragraph and reflecting on what I have learned.
One of the primary reasons I started this site was because I had a political podcast and wanted to speak against Christian nationalist and dominionist versions of Christianity. This entailed justifying my own views about what Jesus taught, so I decided to review recent Biblical scholarship to insure my viewpoint was tenable in light of the best current research. I no longer produce the podcast, and so that motivation has largely fallen by the wayside.
But I have never intended to try to answer some simple binary question such as “is Christianity true or not?” That question presumes that there is one version of Christianity, when manifestly there is not. In the modern world there are Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant forms of Christianity, and variation within each of these larger streams of tradition. Christianity was diverse from the outset, as evidenced in the texts of the Christian scriptures such as Paul’s letters arguing with other points of view within the Christian community. I also don’t think questions such as “was Jesus God?” or “did his death atone for sins?” are answerable on rational or historical grounds. For many other questions the evidence is just to sparse or ambiguous to give definitive answers.
So at this point my motivation is more personal. I am interested in what I am learning and, as I am retired, I have time to devote to this research. I am less interested in “Christianity” as a set of doctrines and more interested in what Jesus actually did and taught. To some degree my opinions will either correspond with or dissent from those of various Christians or non-Christians, but I don’t expect and am not looking for any dramatic change in my own spiritual life or metaphysical opinions. If that happens, fine. If not, that is also fine.
As for my credentials, I am not a professional historian or Biblical scholar, although many years ago I considered becoming the latter. I completed an undergraduate degree in 1985 with a major in Religious Studies (the academic study of religion), focusing on modern Biblical Studies and including four years’ study of koine Greek, the language the canonical Christian scriptures were written in. I came to believe the pursuit of social justice was a central part of the Christian message and went on to finish a doctorate in political science with a minor in history in 1994. Eventually I became a tenured Associate Professor in the field. Later I left academia and obtained a master’s degree in professional counseling and worked as a mental health counselor until I retired several years ago. My interest in the historical Jesus continued throughout the decades as I sporadically read books and articles and, more recently, listened to podcasts, watched videos and online lectures, and discussed the subject with other people. So I would describe myself as an amateur, motivated by love of the subject rather than a professional interest.
As any assessment of the evidence about Jesus could be colored by the religious views of the assessor, I want to be transparent about mine. I regard myself as a follower of Jesus but I do not subscribe to any Christian creed. I believe in God as the moving force of the universe, a God who draws us toward human flourishing and provides inner guidance to those who sincerely look for it. As I have also found value in mediation and in Buddhist teachings, I have regarded myself as a “Buddhist Christian” for many years now. I see the two traditions as complementary rather than contradictory, at least as I interpret them.
I started this site on July 11 2025, and will add to it and revise it over time as I learn more and come across better arguments regarding the subjects at hand. Each page on the site will cover a different topic and each blog post will announce new findings and/or explain changes to the pages as they are made. Take each page as a work in progress; I invite you to comment on the blog posts if you have something you think I should know about or consider.
Thanks for visiting the website. You can subscribe to the blog in the box below. –Alan Zundel
Jesus Reconstructed 