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#208758 in Books Crossan; John Dominic 1993-02-26 1993-02-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.36 x 6.13l; 1.28 #File Name: 0060616296544 pages
Review
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Wanted More JesusBy William J. FallonThe first 60% of this book describes the culture and history of the Galilee both before; during and after (up to at least the first Jewish revolt) the birth of Jesus; with almost literally no mention OF Jesus. Interesting; if that's what you want; but I bought a book called The Historical Jesus so I guess I expected more about him. The last 40% examines various sayings and concepts relative to Jesus and his teachings; and dissects and compares source materials in a complete and scholarly manner. An example would be "Blessed are the poor ...". The author then spends pages examining exactly what was meant by the poor: farmers; artisans; beggars; etc. (Beggars is the answer).I have to say what is done is well done and folks may find it interesting. But I wanted something more narrative and more about Jesus.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Into The DesertBy Tod StitesIn my system of book reviewing; five star ratings are rarely given; so that John Dominic Crossan's three stars is relatively high praise for his "Historical Jesus"; and for an intrepid scholar who never fails to entertain. Crossan's reconstruction is both plausible and imaginative; serving to whet the reader's appetite for more historical Jesus study and leaving the impression that with this book; one has glimpsed only a very small tip of a much larger iceberg. Perhaps most fascinating are the indices at the back of the book; where units of Jesus tradition are tabulated according to their chronological layer of origin and the number of sources which testify to each unit during the earliest period of Christian history. This is one of those books that requires perservering amidst proposals with which one does not agree; but there are so many interesting ideas here that I found it well worth the effort. One of the hypotheses I am not sure about involves the interpretation of the units which Crossan calls "Into The Desert"/"Greater Than John" (Matt 11:7-11):(Luke 7:24-28);which are found together in both Matthew and Luke; and; so far as we can tell; in the Sayings Source Q before them. Crossan however pulls them apart; using one part(Matt 11:7-9): (Luke 7:24-26) to support his view of Jesus having supported the message of John the Baptist; and the other part(Matt 11:10):(Luke 7:27)to posit that Jesus at some point changed his mind and no longer considered John's message adequate(see pp.230-8). Evidently Crossan's main criterion for separating this ostensibly compact unit is the fact that the sayings are in fact separated in the apocryphal Gospel Of Thomas; whose independence from the Synoptic Gospels is far from certain(see Fitzmyer; "Essays On The Semitic Background Of The New Testament";p.360-1):(Meier;"A Marginal Jew" vol.1;p.127). In any case; the evidence of Mark gives us two units of tradition which call into question whether Jesus really changed his mind about the message of John.One unit of tradition says that;just before Jesus left Galilee; people there believed he was actually the now dead John come-back-to-life(8:28);and in the other Jesus;toward the end of his ministry;uses John's popularity with the masses as a shield against his opponents (11:27-33).Crossan according to his informational glossary considers neither of these pericopae as stemming from the historical Jesus;because "the discipline"of his book "is to work primarily with plurally attested complexes from the primary stratum of the Jesus tradition"(pp.409;439;445). This methodology I consider to be the strength of Crossan's work; and makes for some fascinating reading. However; the criterion of embarrassment has been promoted as a means of assessing authenticity(Meier;"A Marginal Jew";vol.1;p.168-9);since the post-Easter church would not have fabricated sayings and stories that would have been embarrassing to the Christian creed;and indeed the overall trajectory of the Gospels is clearly to diminish the importance of the Baptist and to magnify the importance of Jesus; as noted by several scholars (Webb;"John The Baptizer And Prophet";p.50-1;55):(Gundry; "Mark";vol.1;p.59-60):(Witherington;"The Christology Of Jesus";p.198-9):(Funk;Hoover;et.al.; "The Five Gospels";p.4). So why would the church have fabricated traditions that have the public believe Jesus is only John "redivivus"(come-back-to-life);or have Jesus need to defer to John's (divine) authority in order to maintain his public support ? I for one am not convinced that the early church would do so; or that the aforesaid traditions are completely unhistorical; so that it is inherently less likely(or perhaps unlikely)that Jesus ever gave up belief in the Baptizer's proclamation. And what exactly was that proclamation anyway ? Was it really so very different from what Jesus preached ? To be sure; the Sayings Source Q depicts John as a "doom" prophet who threatens at least some of his contemporaries with "the wrath to come"(Matt 3:7):(Luke 3:7); but despite the fact that most Old Testament prophets preached judgment; some of them preached deliverance(Hanson and Horsley;"Bandits; Prophets; Messiahs";p.172-3).Indeed it seems that the responsible aspect of the prophetic office included not just warning against ineluctable judgment;but in admonishing; so that judgment may be averted (Rengstorf in Theological Dictionary Of The New Testament;vol.6;p.811). And so John is cast as "Elijah"(Mark 9:13);whom the pre-Christian sages foretold would come and allay God's wrath before it strikes the earth (Sirach 48:10); and whom the Hebrew prophets said would accomplish reconciliation;so that God would "not come and strike the land with a curse"(Mal 4:5-6).Thus the "voice in the wilderness"(Isa 40:3);John the Baptist (Matt 3:3);is a herald of good tidings(Isa 40:9):(Luke 3:18):(16:16);announcing the Kingdom of Heaven(Matt 3:2);"to give knowledge of the salvation of his people; by the forgiveness of their sins"(Luke 1:77).Render Unto Caesar: Jesus And The Secular Authority Of His Day2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. a tough but rewarding readBy Tom NorCalThis book is a challenging read. Crossan is somewhat of a renaissance man who incorporates a multitude of academic disciplines and theories into his research; so the reader gets introduced to a variety of types of information that often requires additional explanations and background. So there are many relevant digressions. His writting style is also formal and academic; lots of long sentences; quotes; and a dry delivery; and in following the academic style he explains in detail how he comes to his conclusions (his methodology)and what he thinks about the conclusions of others. Getting past the academic presentation is the challenge. The positives though far outweigh the negatives: This is a compelling cache of information concerning the emperical(non-supernatural)life of Jesus and the lifestyle of Palestinian Jewish peasants of the 1st century.
