What amazes me in all this is how many people around the world are intensely interested in understanding Jesus as a real person. People of all faiths and none are fascinated by Jesus. Resisting the dominant ‘brand Jesus’ as a European is a vital act of decolonisation. However, more than that, visualising him more authentically as a Jewish man of his time and place allows us to think about who he really was in a more authentic way too."
Professor Joan Taylor
09 July 2019
Professor Joan Taylor gives a talk at annual ideacity conference
Professor Taylor discussed her book ‘What did Jesus Look Like?’ which offers new representations of Jesus based on historical findings.
In June 2019, Joan Taylor, Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at King’s College London was invited to give a TED-style talk at Canada’s well-known, ideacity.
The conference is a premier forum for sharing the latest ideas gleaned from the media in science, arts, business, society and religion; interspersed with the latest music and comedy. The conference is run annually in Toronto by media mogul Moses Znaimer and his team.
Professor Taylor was delighted to represent theology and religious studies at the conference and spoke on the subject of history, archaeology and her new book, What did Jesus Look Like?
Her book was released in 2018 to a global media impact and has been featured in several news sites both print and online, including Newsweek and was the most popular King’s Arts & Humanities article in The Conversation since the site's beginning.
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Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism