Seminar on Christ uses Bible, history

It's been two weeks since Easter Sunday and nearly 2,000 years since Jesus Christ's birth, but people are just as curious about his life today as they were centuries ago.

And Dr. Paul L. Maier offers to give them a new look at Christ.

Maier, a professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, travels the country speaking at churches and seminars about the life and teachings of Christ.

He will lead a seminar at Trinity Lutheran Church Saturday and speak during the church's Sunday morning worship services. The seminar is free, and participants can call the church for more details.

Maier said the seminar will give people a "new look at the biblical record on Jesus." Often people, when seeking a better understanding of Christ, limit themselves to Scripture only, he said.

"I try to bring it into the context of ancient history. I found that when you compare the secular texts with the sacred texts, you find a beautiful correlation and more dimension."

The topic of Christ's life is quite the buzz right now, with the popularity of books like "The Da Vinci Code" and the "Left Behind" book series, as well as "The Passion of the Christ." And archaeological discoveries, like the ossuary of James, who is thought to be a brother of Christ, only add to that curiosity.

"Everybody wants to know what really happened" to Christ, he said.

Maier, who has written several books about the church, became interested in ancient history as a child. "I always wanted to know more," he said. "I went into ancient history to answer those childish questions and some of them can be answered by outside details."