So many books have been written about Jesus over the centuries, it is hard to know where to begin. There are also many different approaches: historical, theological, literary, traditional, or contemporary. Some books investigate “The Historical Jesus” or “The Jesus of History,” others present “Gospel Portraits of Jesus” or “The Biblical Jesus,” still other focus on “Christology” or “The Christ of Faith.” Some are more academic while others more devotional; some more esoteric and others more popular.
The conclusion of John’s Gospel says: “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25). Yet scholars and believers continue to write more and more about Jesus!
Several good annotated bibliographies in English are available on the internet:
Bibliographies for Theology, compiled by William Harmless, SJ – not updated since his death in 2014, but these very helpful lists remain available through The Journal of Religion and Society at Creighton University.
If you search for “Jesus Bibliography” on the web, you can probably find a few other listings (caution: some were created around the year 2000, and thus obviously not include any books published in the past few decades.)
Due to the capabilities of the internet for updating and expansion, book publishers will probably not print any more hard-copy bibliographies. But the most recently published volume (to my knowledge) is still helpful for its categorization and annotations on publications from the previous centuries:
Aside from searching on Amazon or Google (which give vast numbers of results, but not necessarily in any helpful order), there are several internet databases that return more targeted search results, along with annotations and/or reviews (note: some sites have access restricted to paid subscribers or academic institutions):
Disclosure: As an "Amazon Associate," I earn a very small commission from qualifying purchases made after someone clicks on the above product links.
Thanks for supporting the "Catholic Resources" website in this way!
