Scholars have long speculated about the existence of an early, miracle-free version of the Gospel of John. It wasn’t until recently that a Palestinian discovery proved this speculation to be true. The miracles of Jesus were added to the text of the Gospel of John around 130 CE. What you’ll read in Geick’s book is the original Gospel, translated from Aramaic into English.
In this early rendition of Jesus’ life, everything remotely fantabulous no longer exists. No shocking miracles, no birth stories, no resurrection body. The real Jesus is so grey that one wonders how he could have possibly affected history the way he did. Jesus is merely a next-door-neighbor type, friendly, a little crude, quite powerless but likeable. He dies because rumors of miracles got out of hand.
It’s a parody, of course, or perhaps a wild guess. Why...? Why did you do this to my Jesus? Disturbed, I read past the end of the book into the bonus material, where I found excerpts from prior books. (The author) likes to call himself a Hopeful Theist, by which he implies that he rejects history’s various attempts to describe God, yet hopes there is more to life than meaningless grief. This is the Jesus he identifies with … one who tried to teach folks but wound up crucified for no good reason.
A cute read, but it probably reveals more about the author than the subject. Read it with a grain of salt to get to know (the author), because it’s a long way from anything any Jesus scholar I know would confirm! :)
In this early rendition of Jesus’ life, everything remotely fantabulous no longer exists. No shocking miracles, no birth stories, no resurrection body. The real Jesus is so grey that one wonders how he could have possibly affected history the way he did. Jesus is merely a next-door-neighbor type, friendly, a little crude, quite powerless but likeable. He dies because rumors of miracles got out of hand.
It’s a parody, of course, or perhaps a wild guess. Why...? Why did you do this to my Jesus? Disturbed, I read past the end of the book into the bonus material, where I found excerpts from prior books. (The author) likes to call himself a Hopeful Theist, by which he implies that he rejects history’s various attempts to describe God, yet hopes there is more to life than meaningless grief. This is the Jesus he identifies with … one who tried to teach folks but wound up crucified for no good reason.
A cute read, but it probably reveals more about the author than the subject. Read it with a grain of salt to get to know (the author), because it’s a long way from anything any Jesus scholar I know would confirm! :)
Lee Harmon lives in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, and blogs at The Dubious Disciple. He grew up in Oregon, in a strict Christian home surrounded by fundamental Bible beliefs. He is the author of Revelation: The Way It Happened and John’s Gospel: The Way It Happened