John J. Collins here offers an up-to-date review of Jewish messianic expectations around the time of Jesus; in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls.He breaks these expectations down into categories: Davidic; priestly; and prophetic. Based on a small number of prophetic oracles and reflected in the various titles and names assigned to the messiah; the Davidic model holds a clear expectation that the messiah figure would play a militant role. In sectarian circles; the priestly model was far more prominent. Jesus of Nazareth; however; showed more resemblance to the prophetic messiah during his historical career; identified as the Davidic “Son of Man†primarily after his death. In this second edition of The Scepter and the Star Collins has revised the discussion of Jesus and early Christianity; completely rewritten a chapter on a figure who claims to have a throne in heaven; and has added a brief discussion of the recently published and controversial Vision of Gabriel.
#127199 in Books Walker n Company 2005-12-27 2005-12-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 240.28 x 1.53 x 6.28l; 1.12 #File Name: 0802714390448 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Fenian BrotherhoodBy Cabin DwellerThis is a 2005 work by Barnet Schecter. It starts slowly and ends after its title suggests. On the subject of abolition; Freedom’s Journal was “the nation’s first [black] newspaper†and the start of no less than 15 similar newspapers in New York city before the Civil War ended. The paper started in 1827. Tying the story of Irish to blacks by measure of their inherent suffering; Schecter reports on page 51 some details about the Potato Famine: 2 million people; about a third; of Ireland’s population was eliminated in the late 1840s by one million dead of starvation of one million to the United States. Since this history covers more than the story entails; it is worth mentioning that the same page says that the June Days riots in Paris left ten thousand people dead or injured in 1848. The riots in the title don’t start until Chapter 6; which starts on page 96. Lincoln’s motives and personality never get to front and center; which isn’t disappointing because it forced the scholarship to become more original. But so much of the research was tangential and sometimes irrelevant; and sometimes too basic. The place of two prominent New York politicians; Horatio Seymour and Fernando Wood; is sufficiently explored. Seymour is an ugly and uninteresting character. Wood; including his marriage to a 16 year old and his role in the House about the 13th Amendment; is a dynamic part of politics playing to hatred. It would seem to be a fact that New York has improved over the years and lives up to “the melting pot†better now than in all of the 19th century. Wood’s realpolitik also has more flare than anything about a Tweed. The Tammany Hall histories never appeal to me; and Schecter includes 1869-70 information as a type of unwanted bonus or page filler. The only Irish appeal in the book; as opposed to honest and courageous stands of blacks or kindly German neighbors or discreetly activist Quakers; concerns the Fenian Brotherhood. Then I may have read 100 or more pages of more anonymous mob violence. It is interrupted by the $300 clause; but if I already know about this; then one mob looks like a hundred. Officially; it started on a Monday and went through Wednesday. The Democratic powers in the city took steps necessary to keep federal intervention at bay. On page 258; Democrats/Irish have their way again. “Ultimately; sixty-seven people were found guilty. Twenty-five of them were given six months or less in the city jail; while plea bargains ensured light sentences for many of the rest … The man who led the attack on [a black family]; … killing the mother; was sentenced to two years in the state prison at Sing Sing.†Many of these lenient sentences were viewed as exorbitant for theft; since they were the same punishments. To repute Sherman; there then came a 1864 plot to burn New York city and Chicago one hotel at a time. There is also the most interesting personal narrative in what it uncovers for me; that of Horace Greeley. After all the grief he famously gave Lincoln for putting Union before Abolition; he became a Jefferson Davis sympathizer and paid part of his 1867 bail in Richmond. He also cleared the air that his stance against slavery was actually not for racial equality for the integrity of free labor. At least he was not a coward during the riots. I would like to know the crux of his feud with William Cullen Bryant.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Very informativeBy Kindle CustomerThis book was very informative and the facts were very well written. The editing for the Kindle edition needed work; the first word was missing or misspelled in every chapter; along with other spelling errors. There was also no question of Schecter's political leanings; so impartial he was not. But given the lack of material out there on the Civil War Draft Riots it certainly was educational.2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. They all loved New York so much; they tried to destroy it.By Barton J. ChandlerThis book reveals the reality behind draft riots of 1863 and "The Gangs Of New York." Today when we say "gangs;" we usually envision young punks committing horrendous crimes; but in the bad old days; these gangs were the analog of today's organized crime and the Mafia. However; Schecter's book goes beyond that; it is richly informative and researched on its subject; and has the reminiscent feel of "you are there;" of the civil war books by Bruce Catton. The City is not the one we are familiar with; or idealize. People are in constant fear of losing their jobs; they have to put up with a seeping; filthy; overpopulated Hobbesian battlefield. Schecter uses Horace Greely as a grand example; a man solely focused on abolishing slavery; who still does not get it; oblivious (from time to time) to the impoverished working man who is bound in a subsistence slavery; with no way out and no future. What you can say about Greely is what gives the old maxim its truth: The road to hell is paved with the best intensions. No wonder the Irish immigrants used the draft law; which permitted the rich to escape military service; for what followed; the melting pot of NYC this time is the perfect mix for rioting: racism; bigotry; and class struggle. The corrupt politicians; racist utopians; and Southern agitators; know for a certainty that they are doing The Devils Own Work; and stoke class warfare to combustion. We also see New York's Finest; the nascent Metropolitan Police Force; with a solid sense of duty (surprising in 1863); risking their lives; again and again; out numbered; trying working day and night to save the city. The one thing we never understand about these urban dwellers of the 19th century is that; the Lincoln Administration initiated the Homestead Act in 1862; and perhaps it was only a risky chance; but a chance nevertheless; to get out of the slums and disease; and start over. This was one sure way of avoiding the draft; and facing less danger. Still we have a mass of people sticking with the devil that they know. And we are also faced the with result of the war and end of Reconstruction in 1877: Nothing has changed; blacks in the South are still slaves except in name; and the Northern working class is still impoverished. Schecter has given us an exciting and action packed look at the home front; and enables us to see that no matter how much time goes by; the beast of corruption; is still the hand maiden of democracy. All in all this is a fantastic view of life; in America's greatest and most evil of cities.
