Review by Choice Review
The quest to construct a historically credible presentation of Jesus is now in its third iteration, and herein five top-ranked scholars set forth their cases and critique one another, resulting in a lively give-and-take. The editors (both, Bethel Univ.) follow the format they developed in earlier books (The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views, 2006; Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views, 2001): a contextualizing introductory essay, here giving a concise summary of 200 years of the historical Jesus quests, followed by a compelling nontechnical essay from each contributor, with every other contributor's critique. The scholars are well known in historical Jesus studies: Robert M. Price (Jesus is a nonhistorical mythic figure), John Dominic Crossan (Jesus was a nonviolent opponent of Roman imperial ideology), Luke Timothy Johnson (a narrative approach yields the only real Jesus), James D. G. Dunn (oral performance accounts for divergent portrayals of Jesus in the Gospels), and Darrell Bock (Evangelicals find the gospel accounts of Jesus historically reliable). The resultant debate is evenhanded and illuminating, setting clear, stark alternatives before the reader. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. S. Young McHenry County College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Skeptical rationalists such as Reimarus and Strauss would never have guessed that their project of uncovering the historical Jesus would attract professing Christians. But here, in this provocative volume, readers find twenty-first-century Christians actually justifying that project as an obligation of their faith in the Incarnation. Readers thus hear as one of the five researchers presented here in dialogue from a Catholic scholar arguing that just as the study of history can help us learn about, say, Napoleon or Socrates, so can it help us understand Jesus of Nazareth. A leading Evangelical researcher substantiates this point by explaining how historical inquiry illuminates Jesus' place within a first-century Greco-Roman culture. Yet when an Episcopalian participant questions the very existence of a historical Jesus, arguing that the Gospels merely deliver mythic archetypes, not reliable narratives, readers may see why theologians such as Kähler and Barth warned as the editors acknowledge against seeking Jesus through historical scholarship rather than through the divine miracle of faith. Certain to spark sharp debate.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
