How can you tell a Fake Jesus? Henry Rietz '89, religious studies, weighs in

"We have the historical Jesus vs. the portrayal in the Gospels, and we can reconstruct some reliable things about Jesus," associate professor of religious studies at Grinnell College Henry Rietz said. "We are pretty confident that he proclaimed that the kingdom of God is near. But claiming that he would be the king? Maybe, maybe not. His message was much more about establishing the social order of justice in contrast to the oppressive Roman empire."