Jesus the Man

Rating:
Summary: A Simple Yet Deceptive Work
Review: Cain's work is a short expose on historical Jesus research. As a historical Jesus researcher, I was dismayed by the poor handling of current scholarship. First, Cain's premise is that only a Jesus who is excoriated by modern research is truly understandable to modern man; however, this is a logical fallacy and unwarranted dichotomy meant to confuse the reader. Second, the work is, of course, based solely (and I do mean solely) on the work of the Jesus Seminar, a vocal but by no means authoritative group of researchers. Furthermore, the author's use of blanket statements and non-sequiturs made the book unbearable. While I recognize that the book was not written on a scholarly level, this book stands as a rather erroneous look at historical Jesus research today. This book has more to do with the Jesus Seminar's presuppositions than with the historical Jesus. If you want to know more about the Seminar, leave this book behind and read J.D. Crossan. If you really want to catch a glimpse of both sides, then there are two "debate" books as a starting point: Crossan and Craig's "Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?" or Borg and Wright's "The Meaning of Jesus."

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book!
Review: This book brought Jesus to me for the first time. If anyone has been bogged down by the church's interpratation of Jesus, this book will set you free!!! The scholarship is wonderful. Dr. Cain is brillant.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book!
Review: This is a wonderful book. With a fresh approach to many aspects of the story of Jesus. As an example, Cain suggests that the church was really born as Jesus and his followers went through the little towns of Galilee. Cain writes"in their experience of Jesus and his disciples, the peasants of Galilee encountered the prescence of God. They met a God who accepts, forgives, and heals them. To reiterate an important point, it is not likely that Jesus' subsequent crucifixion detracted one bit from thier experience of God, nor that reports of his resurrection added anything to it. They had encountered Jesus. They had shared meals with him. They knew what it was like to live in God's kingdom. That was enough." This concept of the Galilean followers and many other ideas as well, makes this book by Marven Cain a real contribution to the efforts being made to make the real Jesus accessible to the people in modern times. Cordelia Plunkett

Rating:
Summary: A real contribution
Review: This is a wonderful book. With a fresh approach to many aspects of the story of Jesus. As an example, Cain suggests that the church was really born as Jesus and his followers went through the little towns of Galilee. Cain writes"in their experience of Jesus and his disciples, the peasants of Galilee encountered the prescence of God. They met a God who accepts, forgives, and heals them. To reiterate an important point, it is not likely that Jesus' subsequent crucifixion detracted one bit from thier experience of God, nor that reports of his resurrection added anything to it. They had encountered Jesus. They had shared meals with him. They knew what it was like to live in God's kingdom. That was enough." This concept of the Galilean followers and many other ideas as well, makes this book by Marven Cain a real contribution to the efforts being made to make the real Jesus accessible to the people in modern times. Cordelia Plunkett