What really happened?

Robert J. Hutchinson's The Dawn of Christianity (2017) would make good reading anytime, but it seems especially helpful during Holy Week as Christians everywhere ponder the meaning of it all. How did it happen? Why did it happen? And for that matter, what exactly did happen?

The author covers the biblical account from the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem for the final time to the ministry of the Apostle Paul, but he also goes behind the Bible to accounts from other sources from that period of history and the latest archaeological findings. He presents everything in such a way that one does not need to be a doctor of divinity to understand it. Numerous photos, maps and charts help make the book even more reader-friendly.

Where was the upper room? Who was Pilate? What was the reason for crucifixion? What happened on that first Easter morning? How did Saul of Taursus, one of one Christianity's most violent opponents, become one of its greatest defenders? Hutchinson tackles such questions with authority, clarity and apparent ease. He packs an amazing amount of information into less than 300 pages.

Although Hutchinson does side with the traditional Christian interpretation of these events — Jesus really did die and Jesus really did rise again — he also gives a hearing to opposing views. The evidence, he argues, supports tradition.