This book presents a scholarly investigation into the historical Jesus, diverging from church interpretations. It reviews significant biblical scholarship evolution from the Enlightenment through the 20th century. Schweitzer challenges prevailing notions, positing Jesus held core apocalyptic beliefs. His arguments represent a pivotal moment in historical Jesus studies, influencing academic perspectives for decades.
Category: Book Reviews
Creating Christ Book Review
Creating Christ: How Roman Emperors Invented Christianity is a book written by James S. Valliant and Warren Fahy. The title will no doubt alarm many. But I want to look at what they have to say before dismissing them. This is because their knowledge may well be worth gleaning from even if one doesn’t agree
The Gospels Behind the Gospels Book Review
The Gospels Behind the Gospels is a fascinating book written by Dr. Robert M. Price. He theorizes that the gospels in the new testament aren’t completely cohesive narratives created by their authors (nor the author of Q if such existed). Rather, he believes that there were many different beliefs and traditions present in the first
Wayward: Book Review
Wayward is a coming of age memoir penned by Alice Greczyn. First of all, I must say this book is very well written. I’ve read many autobiographies which suffer from problems due to their inexperienced authors. None of that is present here. The writing is so good, on one hand it was a joy to
On Her Knees – Book Review
It would be many religious parents’ nightmare. Their sweet innocent child goes off into the world, only to get caught in a confusing tangle of debauchery and abuse. Did they not protect her? No. The problem is that the church was over protective. They thought she would be protected by simple ideals. But this left
Toxic Charity – Robert Lupton Book Review
For years, I’ve heard about two books related to charitable work, Toxic Charity being one. I finally got around to reading it recently. The book is written by Robert D. Lupton and is based on his years of work among the poor in the Atlanta area. The book is valuable because it helps to answer
No More Christian Nice Guy Book Review
“No More Christian Nice Guy: When Being Nice—Instead of Good—Hurts Men, Women, and Children” is a book written by Paul Coughlin. I had never heard of Coughlin before, but he apparently has (or had) a radio program as well as being a public speaker. He also started an anti-bullying organization. From what I have gathered,
How to Be Here – Rob Bell
How to Be Here is the eighth book by Rob Bell. As many of you may be aware, Bell was a pastor who started what became a large church in Michigan. In most of his earlier books (and his Nooma videos before this), he is clearly more pastoral. His message in these works was more
Samson and the Pirate Monks Book Review
“Samson and the Pirate Monks: Calling Men to Authentic Brotherhood” is a book with an intriguing title written by Nate Larkin. The book is very well written; since it’s Larkin’s first, I suspect he had a great editor. It’s to the point, not excluding necessary information but also excludes extraneous material. In the first several
Sex, God & the Conservative Church – Book Review
“Sex, God & the Conservative Church – Erasing Shame from Sexual Intimacy” is a book authored by therapist Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers. The first thing to know about this book is that it was written to therapists. This affects some sections of the book more than others, yet in either case, non-professionals can learn a