It is told from a very interesting point of view. A person who is seeking Jesus, always one step behind, gets to see the results of Jesus' good deeds along the way. Some of them didn't quite come out as one would expect. Often, chaos fell upon the villages, resulting from the interference of Jesus. It's a different view point of Jesus and his work along the way.

In this amazing and enjoyable book, Gerd Theissen (pronounced "Tyson") allows us to experience Jesus the Galilean in a way which demonstrates the manner in which the Christian Testament came to exist. To attempt to understand Jesus is to interpret Jesus, and through the eyes of Theissen's characters we see a theoretical construct at work which is not only insightful, but also faithful to the methods of modern biblical criticism and Christian theology as a whole. I highly recommend this book for those who would like insights into the development of the Christian canon of scripture and for those who wish to better understand the Jewishness of Jesus.

Pastors, lay leaders and religious educators of all types will gain invaluable information from this work. It is both scholarly and easy-to-read and it has been enjoyed and cited by educators and theologians alike.

Wow! This is a super work! Theissen takes the reader to the historical setting and depicts various aspects through the eyes of a fictional character. The main character, who is also a Galilean Jew, makes observations of political and social agendas as he unintentionally becomes submerged in the subjection of these movements. There are plenty of notes throughout the book that gives reference to the historical data that is woven in this work of art. This is a creative reconstruction of emotion and desire from a variety of perspectives in the ancient setting.

In this absolutely fascinating book, Professor David Trobisch of the University of Heidelberg looks at the Pauline letters of the New Testament. He begins by examining ancient Bible manuscripts, drawing conclusions about how the New Testament was organized (which is not quite the same way that it is organized in modern Bibles). Then he examines the Pauline letters, and their organization, coming to the conclusion that (like many ancient authors) the Apostle Paul actually created the first letter collection (Romans, I & II Corinthians and Galatians). He examines how this collection would have been organized, what its purpose was, and what it has to say about the rest of the New Testament.

I must say that this book really impressed me. The author uses sound reasoning to draw the conclusions he makes, and succeeds in presenting them in a very convincing manner. Also, his writing succeeded in making me care about where he was going, keeping me from putting the book down!

I must say that if you are looking for any earth-shattering new revelations (secret codes, new theology, etc.), you won't find it here. What is here, though, is a fascinating look at the New Testament, and what it means. I loved this book, finding it totally engrossing, and I highly recommend it to you.

[By coincidence, lately I was reading the Apocryphal book, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Seneca, with Seneca's to Paul. Near the beginning, Seneca is quoted as saying, "We were much delighted with your book of many Epistles, which you have wrote to some cities and chief towns of provinces..." Professor Trobisch's book suggests that Paul may indeed have had a "book of many Epistles."]

The book was in great shape and low price!!

I bought this book expecting (due to its title) a scientific
study on the origins of christianity. Instead I found a
believers version of the Bible.

From the scientific (not believers) point of view
it is established now that the old testament is Middle-East
mythology and the the New testament is the hellenization of this
mythology after the Greek conquest of the middle east (a european
version of an asiatic myth so to speak).

Instead this book takes the bible mythology at face value
(this is like taking the Indiana Jones stories to be historical)
and goes on from there.

Not for those who are interested in the scientific study of
the religious feeling.

Alright, this book goes twofold, which I respect a lot. First of all, you get a complete history and overview of the history of the quests for the Historical Jesus. You get the different views from Strauss on forward and you get them, though summarized, with just the right amount of information included.

Second, you get definitions and explanations of all the different viewpoints. The fact that this book uses Greek terms goes beyond most overviews I've read, which while it may not appeal to the layman, appeals to the scholar moreso. For example, you get the different viewpoints of Jesus for the most part, eschatalogical prophet, sage, magician, teacher, etc.

This book is the best guide for those who are scholars, yet still want a good survey of the Historical Jesus. I would reccommend this book to professors who need to teach the Historical Jesus from different perspectives, and while the Greek may be hard for those that don't know it, they could sift the useful information out as needed, provided and assuming that the professor has a working knowledge of the language. For the scholar, this will give a very direct overview of the history and views on the Historical Jesus. It is unbiased, which is why I would give it five stars, and you do not have to worry about being told "what to believe". You can come to your own conclusions.

I could sift through any book and find problems with it, but this is different. I could not find problems with this book. This was a welcoming addition to my library and is the best working overview on the Historical Jesus I have seen because it is short (falling short of 600 pages), to the point, unbiased, and not TOO hard to understand. I HIGHLY recommend this book to any professor or student in the field of the Historical Jesus, liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between.

The subtitle 'A Comprehensive Guide' is well-earned. Amazon.com incorrectly lists its length as 624 pages; in actuality, it is 642 pages long, and every page is large. There is plenty of information here on almost every aspect of Jesus research. The book consists of the following sixteen chapters.

1. The Quest of the Historical Jesus

2. Christian Sources about Jesus

3. The Non-Christian Sources about Jesus

4. The Evaluation of the Sources: Historical Scepticism and the Study of Jesus

5. The Historical and Religious Framework of the Life of Jesus

6. The Chronological Framework of the Life of Jesus

7. The Geographical and Social Framework of the Life of Jesus

8. Jesus as Charismatic: Jesus and his Social Relationships

9. Jesus as Prophet: Jesus' Eschatology

10. Jesus as Healer: The Miracles of Jesus

11. Jesus as Poet: The Parables of Jesus

12. Jesus as Teacher: The Ethics of Jesus

13. Jesus as the Founder of a Cult: The Last Supper and the Primitive Christian Eucharist

14. Jesus as Martyr: The Passion of Jesus

15. The Risen Jesus: Easter and its Interpretations

16. The Historical Jesus and the Beginnings of Christology

Finally, there is a retrospect in which a short life of Jesus is presented.

This work was created with use as a textbook in mind. At the end of each chapter, there are 'Tasks' required of the reader that encourage a direct participation in the interpretation of the primary source materials. While it is suited for use in the classroom, it is also easily adaptable to personal study. Each chapter can be easily covered in a convenient session of a couple hours. There are extensive bibliographic notes for further study in particular topics.

The following historical facts about Jesus emerge from _The Historical Jesus_:

1. Jesus was from Galilee (p. 164).

2. Jesus was baptized by John (p. 207).

3. Jesus performed exorcisms and healings (p. 301, p. 304).

4. Jesus was accused of being in league with the devil (p. 76, p. 297).

5. His family thought him to be mad (p. 570, p. 582).

6. Jesus rejected an overestimation of himself as 'good teacher' (p. 558).

7. Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God; e.g., the logion concerning 'Taking the kingdom by storm' (p. 580).

8. Jesus spoke most of the parables that have been preserved (p. 338).

9. Jesus said something against the Temple cult (p. 432).

10. The disciples of Jesus fled at his arrest (p. 428).

11. Jesus was crucified with the titulus 'The King of the Jews' (p. 458).

12. The disciples were disappointed that Jesus did not 'redeem Israel' (p. 428).

One possible weakness of the book is that it offers no over-arching explanation or model for the historical Jesus. Rather, the book investigates each aspect of Jesus ('Jesus as...') more or less individually. On the other hand, this may be considered a strength, especially given that the real Jesus himself is not a cardboard cut-out figure but rather an actual human being. This is brought out beautifully in another book by Theissen, _The Shadow of the Galilean_.

Editor Stegemann is to be commended for assembling a diverse and highly specialized field of writings into a survey which is about as cohesive as it can be given the few facts we have about Jesus and the vast body of Christian apologetics.

This book is a compilation of essays by contemporary academic writers each of whom take a very rigorous and detailed look at a different aspect of "the historical Jesus" and the origins of "the Jesus Movement". Bring your dictionary- this is not a casual read. And while the language sometimes seems almost showy in its complexit, a majority of the contributors present their ideas in an orderly fashion, and all have important conclusions.

What the editor sets out to do is ambitious: help the serious lay reader strip away the 21st century baggage we unwittingly bring to our reading of Jesus and his teachings. There are few conclusions here, and no proofs, but there are some wonderful insights.

The highly erudite approach to the material necessarily makes the treatment of Jesus seem a bit clinical. But I found it both informative and uplifting. This reader, at least, emerged from the labyrinth with the sense that Jesus-Messiah, avatar, healer, radical and yes, savior -survives the dissection and critique to be resurrected more provocative and inspiring than before.

Mr. Stegemann has done Christendom an important service by admitting the community of faith to the kind of discourse that undergirds the continuing Christian revolution.

I would give this book a fifth star if it had a glossary.