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Rating: 
Summary: Higher Criticism and Christ
Review: I was assigned this book as required reading for a history class that I took as an undergraduate. Seeing the lapse of 11 years, I've re-read Charlesworth's book.This book suffers in the respect that there is no definitive thesis. The author dabbles a bit in the Nag Hammadi findings and the Dead Sea Scrolls and proposes certain avenues for future research, but gives no definitive conclusions of his own. The closest the author gets to definitive conclusions is when his own opinion aligns itself with some other expert. While this methodology of study is quite common and the nature of the subject is both sensitive and very difficult, there is nothing to this work that really stands up and cries out its uniqueness in the field. I do credit Charlesworth with the effort and a charitable treatment of the Christ of faith. However, the book falls short of its title. If you are looking for a survey of the Essene movement and other movements that may have influenced Jesus, this book may fill that need. However, the treatment only scratches the surface. For students of higher criticism, I recommend this book as another voice in an important field of study. For those looking for a sociological explanation of the Judaism of the 1st Century, look elsewhere because the author's treatment of that subject is far too brief.
Rating:
Summary: Higher Criticism and Christ
Review: I was assigned this book as required reading for a history class that I took as an undergraduate. Seeing the lapse of 11 years, I've re-read Charlesworth's book. This book suffers in the respect that there is no definitive thesis. The author dabbles a bit in the Nag Hammadi findings and the Dead Sea Scrolls and proposes certain avenues for future research, but gives no definitive conclusions of his own. The closest the author gets to definitive conclusions is when his own opinion aligns itself with some other expert. While this methodology of study is quite common and the nature of the subject is both sensitive and very difficult, there is nothing to this work that really stands up and cries out its uniqueness in the field. I do credit Charlesworth with the effort and a charitable treatment of the Christ of faith. However, the book falls short of its title. If you are looking for a survey of the Essene movement and other movements that may have influenced Jesus, this book may fill that need. However, the treatment only scratches the surface. For students of higher criticism, I recommend this book as another voice in an important field of study. For those looking for a sociological explanation of the Judaism of the 1st Century, look elsewhere because the author's treatment of that subject is far too brief.
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