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Summary: A refreshing and scholarly look ,that re-affirms my faith .
Review: This book allows for a more complete picture of who Jesus truely was.It challenges us with the possibility that we too could exhibit God's grace, more effectively, to our fellow humans. When you take the evangelist's hype out of the mouth of Jesus you are left with a more compassionate man.We could all take a lesson from him.
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Summary: Valuable analysis of what actually went into the gospels.
Review: Whether you agree or disagree with the opinions of the committee, their analyses are always valuable and thought-provoking. Recommended for anyone curious about how the gospels were formed and, by implication, what they mean.
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Summary: A fresh encounter with the gospels
Review: Putting aside the process whereby the Jesus Seminar determined which sayings were likely to come from Jesus, the new translation that has been produced to accompany the group's deliberations is itself bracing in its freshness. The gospel stories have been worn smooth through countless retellings, and most recent translations do little to bring us face to face with the themes that lie at the heart of the Jesus stories. This one is different.Known as The Scholars Version, the text is excellent for reading aloud, and captures something of the individuality of each writer. This is one volume I am delighted to own, and will refer to again and again.
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Summary: By far the best Red-Letter Bible so far. An historic work.
Review: Brings together the who's-who of the worlds top theology academics, to produce a definitive scholarly consensus on the origins of the New Testament.
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Summary: Scholarly start which quickly loses punch in subjectivity
Review: There are scholarly minds in The Jesus Seminar. Unfortunately, they were only demonstrated in the first 38 pages of the book. While giving a good summary of the synoptic tradition and other important foundational ideas, their decisions on "what did Jesus really say?" often sound predicated entirely on personal preference and biased opinion. For instance, did Jesus really say, "I will make you fishers for people"? The scholars' answer? "The metaphor of fishing for people may go back to Jesus. However, the saying probably did not circulate in the oral tradition outside of this story." NO evidence was given except the opinion of the seminar. While belief in the supernatural is a personal decision, the Seminar Fellows--while doing some marvelous work--appear to allow their disbelief to bias their conclusions. My appraisal, though it matters not: an interesting book, definitely one to own for reference, yet far too subjective to be taken as conclusive proof for or against the validity of the vast majority of Jesus' purported statements.
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Summary: Deconstructs Jesus
Review: If Jesus is nothing but an itinerant preacher, why bother with him? The author no doubt thinks that deconstructing Jesus will revitalize the church. More than likely, it will only empty it. I used to be a committed christian. Lots of scholarly criticism like this book made me abandon my faith. If the other reviewers here see some point in following a dead itinerant preacher named Jesus, they are free to do so. For myself, now that Jesus is nothing more than another man, I will find better things to do with my time, thank you very much.
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Summary: Trading an imaginary Christ for a real Jesus....
Review: What did Jesus really say? Thomas Jefferson realized that the gospels contain parts that are authentic and parts that are not - he cut his bible up with scissors and paste and made the Jefferson Bible. The breakthrough in Christianity for the end of the second millenium, the scholars of the Jesus Seminar take all the most recent research and do the same thing, producing a scholarly consensus about the Gospels, separating what can be judged "authentic" from what was obviously added later. All other translations of the Gospels are authorized by various church councils and are subject to ecclesiastical and religious control. This book is compiled the way any other group of scientific data would be presented: eminent, well-credentialed scholars get together and form a consensus, and the results are published. And they are stunning. Traditional theologians (and "Christian" reviewers!) squirm in agony as their pompous clothes of medieval piety are stripped off by brilliant common sense scholarship. A great book which liberates the basis of Christianity from the medieval. Every home should have a bible - this is the one book of the Gospels I recommend.
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Summary: Today's most authentic collection of what Jesus really said.
Review: Two thousand years ago there lived a man called Yeshua. At that time, the people were living under the rule of an occupying foreign power, Rome. Their king was a puppet-king. He ruled them on behalf of Rome. His name was Herod. True, it was a time of political oppression and uncertainty. True, there was the fact of the Roman army and the constant potential for military annihilation which hung over the people like a Sword of Damocles. Yet it was also true that the people lived in a time of law and order and economic stability. There were no feuding warlords, no famines, no floods. The purchasing power of the Roman dollar meant business was brisk. Exports were up. Rome meant jobs and soldiers on leave bring their own opportunities. This was Yeshua's world. This was where he grew up. This was his scene. It was also a time of great intellectual activity. Ideas were afoot. Guru's abounded. Teachers were in demand and therefore in great supply. It was like a new age.! ! This was Yeshua's time. This was his milieu. This was when he learned. This was also when he taught. Two thousand years later, Yeshua's teachings have have become big business. Today, Yeshua is called Jesus and the global Jesus industry is a multi-billion dollar, multi-national, marketing conglomerate. There are Jesus franchises, Jesus brands, Jesus societies, Jesus products, Jesus bumper-stickers, Jesus loyalty programs, Jesus take-overs, Jesus chain letters and even, according to one best-selling author, Jesus money-laundering! But, what did Yeshua really teach? This book, The Five Gospel's, is today's most authentic collection of what Jesus really said.
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Summary: A daring, fresh look at who Jesus might have been
Review: Using modern critical techniques to peel away 2,000 years of embellishments and modifications, the learned fellows of the Jesus Seminar courageously present a new vision of the Gospels and attempt to rediscover what message Jesus of Nazareth might have been presenting during his lifetime. After a democratic discussion, each of the Seminar members voted on how "real" each of the statements commonly attributed to Jesus might be. What's left is this annotated, color-coded text, ranging in hues from red (almostly certainly said by Jesus) to pink to gray to black (absolutely not even close to what Jesus probably said), and an all-new picture of Jesus the man, with his simple and powerful message entirely separate and distinct from the one presented by organized Christianity. This book is 100% worth a look by anyone interested in the history of divinity.
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Summary: Educational, controversial not exciting at all
Review: I did not know what I wanted from this book when I boughtit. I guess I wanted confimation that God is bigger than theBible. Well, in a very dry and surgical way, that is what this book does. The book's biggest advantage is the Gospel of Thomas. The arguments are small and concise, nothing that would go over in bible study, but simply arguing that the influence of man is greater in the bible than that of God. People either accept the possibility of this is or not. I like the book because it never questions the existance or divinity of God, but it does bring to the fore a lot of questions about Jesus and the beginning of the religion of Christianity. It is very easy to see how everything they argue can be real, considering the cult of Elvis.
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