Becoming a Christian at the beginning of the first millennium was a sure-fire way to get transplanted to the outer fringe of society and expose oneself to an unprecedented level of intolerance. Times were harsh and this rising renegade sect of Judaism had more then their share of obstacles to overcome. These men and women were forced to wrestle with their Jewish faith and traditions and confront the Romans and their "zero tolerance" policy during the Pax Romana, while facing infighting among the various Christian sects about how to interpret and understand the teachings of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Frontline's From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians is not a tale of joy, peace, and acceptance but of the perseverance of the early Christians, whose daily lives were shaded with conflict as they struggled to practice and spread their newfound faith.

Some professors guessing

Amazingly disappointing. The story of Jesus told by theologists, historians and archeologists who completely disregard the main source, which is the Bible, and play at guessing what must have been the most probable explanation for the birth of the Christian faith.

See this, the Romans only killed Jesus, because he must have been a threat to the Roman authority. This is not what I read in the Bible and nevertheless they don't explain -or even mention- the Bible's story. No mention of Pharisees nor Saducees... It would make the video too long, right.

We could have heard the words of Jesus himself narrated but no. And I thought He was the main character in this story.

No recreation of facts. And all that is said in each chapter of this series occupies no more than 2 pages (double spece). Slow reading, boring lectures from the professors.

"We know very little about His life"... sure, and what little we know you don't even want to tell us. Don't even let us hear His words. Jesus explained who He was and the purpose of His coming. But this video ignores it.

Conclusion: They tried to trivialize Jesus, stripping Him of everything appealing that we know from the Bible and they reduced Him to an ordinary Joe. History does not prove much, I know that, but neither rules out the wonderful facts narrated in the Bible. So, in the end, this story comes to nothing. Just because they didn't want to bring the Bible to the table. There's no way of knowing the real thing if it's not through the Bible, buddies. At least they could have told us what the Bible says, if only as a theory; it would be more interesting.

Don't forget to read the bible, whether you believe it or not, at least it has explanations and a lot of weighty substance.

Lord, these intellectuals sure don't know what they are talking about. Forgive me for waisting my time.

A great starting point.

I would like to commend this DVD as a must have for both believers and non-believers as a scholarly approach to the historical circumstances surrounding the development of Christianity. The DVD inspires a lot of thought and a desire to investigate further. The foundation of the content is sound and may I say, commendable. The way that the participants in this series follow through with their presentation was a breath of fresh air that was desperately needed.
After investigating further I found out that what was covered in this DVD was only the tip of the iceburg and as a result, it has only vindicated what I have always felt in my whole life, that the institutionalized church has corrupted the faith of it's followers and has sought to supress any un-orthadox material. Maybe the ignorant masses need an institutionalized church so that they feel better about themselves but as for me, I can think for myself and after seeing this DVD and reading the Nag Hammadi library, it has strengthened my belief in Jesus for who he really was, the wisest teacher in history who took a scholarly approach to his teaching because he wanted us all to do our own thinking and not let any other institutions do the thinking for us. The teachings of Jesus and what he said are the keys to wisdom, Amen!

The Jesus Movement

"From Jesus to Christ- The First Christians" follows the growth of the early church from the death of Christ to the conversion of Constantine some three hundred years later. Changing attitudes about Jesus and Christianity, from both inside and outside the movement, are examined . Jesus' ministry and death are briefly examined, but in the context of a Jewish culture that was oppressed by Rome.

This is not a faith based program, as the scholars do not debate the divinity of Christ. However, it was a fascinating look at the times in which Jesus lived, taught, and died. I especially enjoyed the information about the young church in Jerusalem. Looking at the facts surrounding the "Jesus Movement" only served to strengthen my faith.