Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission by Bruce Chilton, Jacob Neusner ISBN: 0-664-22299-4 Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press Pub. Date: December, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)
Rating: 4
Summary: The historical James
Comment: Like many books with multiple contributors, this one finds a mixed bag of results. This publication attempts to provide a synopsis of the work of the Consultation on James, a group of scholars who have been meeting on a periodic basis to discuss various facets of James, the alleged "brother" of Jesus.
Jacob Neusner opens with a discussion of the different types of 1st century Judaisms. His findings lead him to conclude that there are four traits foundational to all types of Judaism: the privileged status of ancient Israelite Scripture, an identification with the "Israel" of which Scripture speaks, an insistence upon the priority of that system over all competing accounts of an "Israel" in context, and the certainty that all who live by that system constitute "Israelites".
John Painter provides the longest chapter of the book and he gives an overview of the primary historical questions surrounding James. These include: the meaning of the title "brother of the Lord", the question of whether he was an "unbeliever" during the ministry of Jesus, his alleged conversion following the resurrection of Jesus, his status as leader of the Jerusalem church, his martyrdom, and his view of the Law.
Peter Davids discusses the message of the letter of James, but leaves the question of authorship open. Wiard Popkes follows with a closely related piece on the mission of the author of James, again leaving unanswered the question of authorship.
Richard Bauckham does argue for James, the brother of Jesus, as the actual author of the letter. He then proceeds to compare and contrast the wisdom sayings of Jesus with those found in James. He argues that both saw themselves as following in the tradition of Jewish wisdom teachers such as Ben Sira, etc.
Bruce Chilton addresses the question of James' relationship to Peter and Paul. His methodology is curious at times, as he seems inconsistent in his handling of issues of historicity. For example, he often treats Acts as being historically reliable, but then he will dismiss evidence from it when it does not suit his thesis. This would be understandable if he were to provide reasons for rejecting these items, but he does not do so.
Craig Evans closes with a chapter in which he compares Qumranic, Rabbinic, and Jacobean (that of James) Judaisms. He uses Chilton's four distinguishing traits as the framework for his discussion.
The appendix consists of a review of Robert Eisenman's, "James, the Brother of Jesus" written by Robert Price. This review seemed out of place in this work due to the fact that both Eisenman and Price are on the fringe of NT scholarship and prone to highly speculative theses. Needless to say, Price raves about Eisenman's work with comments like, "Eisenman is like the Renaissance scientists who had to handcraft all the intricate parts of a planned invention." What is most ironic is that nearly the entire scholarly community views Eisenman's work as just that: a handcrafted fabrication lacking a basis in historical reality. Unfortunately, neither Price nor Eisenman recognize it as such.
Buy this book if you want to learn more about James and early Christianity. The scholars are not monolithic in their views, which means you'll find some with whom you'll agree and others with whom you'll be challenged.
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
