Rating: 
Summary: A conservative critique
Review: Ben Witherington III's "The Jesus Quest" is a conservative appraisal of recent studies into the historical Jesus up to 1995. It covers many of today's most well known historical Jesus scholars (Crossan, Sanders, Vermes, Wright, Meier, Borg) and some not so well-known (Maurice Casey, Markus Bockmuehl and R. David Kaylor). It also covers the Jesus Seminar (given a chapter all to itself). What this latter point tells me is that Witherington has polemic in store (at least for his opponents). So, firstly, I would say that this book is being rhetorical and political: it wants to stake out ground and set terms, aiming to count in or out of court various procedures and arguments about the historical Jesus. A further thing one picks up from the way the book is laid out (usually two or three scholars are grouped together under a single heading, such as Vermes and Borg under the heading "Jesus, Man of the Spirit") is that this way of laying out the book's contents is not really very effective. Its all too compressed and the discussions are inevitably curtailed just when you are getting interested. Further, common topics for groups of scholars don't usually work because the headings don't fit. Borg's Jesus is somewhat more than a "Man of the Spirit" (and Schussler Fiorenza's, detailed later in the book, is somewhat more than a "sage", in context at least).When Witherington is addressing his opponents (the Jesus Seminar, Crossan and Burton Mack especially) he comes across as hard and ultra critical. One would imagine that these scholars are beyond redemption. Here we have a measure of a "Yes, but" approach such that the reader begins to wonder if the author wants us to find such scholars' constructions of Jesus false and misleading at the cost of asking catalogues of petty questions (as he does with Crossan, for example). I think Witherington could have been more even handed here (although he has every right to find fault where he will. Its just that readers may take a different point of view and find against the author). Crossan, after all, has written books that no historical Jesus scholar can ignore. I found this book a tad simplistic. It resorted to polarisation too much when it could have been more nuanced and synthetic, looking to build what is good in all studies into a creative whole. But Witherington has a taken a polemical tack instead. Certainly, this book should at least be read alongside Marcus Borg's "Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship" because that will provide the balance this book needs. Maybe Witherington should settle for less polemic next time and concentrate on providing more constructive analysis.
Rating:
Summary: A conservative critique
Review: Ben Witherington III's "The Jesus Quest" is a conservative appraisal of recent studies into the historical Jesus up to 1995. It covers many of today's most well known historical Jesus scholars (Crossan, Sanders, Vermes, Wright, Meier, Borg) and some not so well-known (Maurice Casey, Markus Bockmuehl and R. David Kaylor). It also covers the Jesus Seminar (given a chapter all to itself). What this latter point tells me is that Witherington has polemic in store (at least for his opponents). So, firstly, I would say that this book is being rhetorical and political: it wants to stake out ground and set terms, aiming to count in or out of court various procedures and arguments about the historical Jesus. A further thing one picks up from the way the book is laid out (usually two or three scholars are grouped together under a single heading, such as Vermes and Borg under the heading "Jesus, Man of the Spirit") is that this way of laying out the book's contents is not really very effective. Its all too compressed and the discussions are inevitably curtailed just when you are getting interested. Further, common topics for groups of scholars don't usually work because the headings don't fit. Borg's Jesus is somewhat more than a "Man of the Spirit" (and Schussler Fiorenza's, detailed later in the book, is somewhat more than a "sage", in context at least). When Witherington is addressing his opponents (the Jesus Seminar, Crossan and Burton Mack especially) he comes across as hard and ultra critical. One would imagine that these scholars are beyond redemption. Here we have a measure of a "Yes, but" approach such that the reader begins to wonder if the author wants us to find such scholars' constructions of Jesus false and misleading at the cost of asking catalogues of petty questions (as he does with Crossan, for example). I think Witherington could have been more even handed here (although he has every right to find fault where he will. Its just that readers may take a different point of view and find against the author). Crossan, after all, has written books that no historical Jesus scholar can ignore. I found this book a tad simplistic. It resorted to polarisation too much when it could have been more nuanced and synthetic, looking to build what is good in all studies into a creative whole. But Witherington has a taken a polemical tack instead. Certainly, this book should at least be read alongside Marcus Borg's "Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship" because that will provide the balance this book needs. Maybe Witherington should settle for less polemic next time and concentrate on providing more constructive analysis.
Rating: 
Summary: A superb overview of recent "Jesus scholarship"
Review: Ben Witherington III, himself a highly competent "Jesus scholar," here provides an extremely helpful overview of recent "Jesus scholarship" as of 1995. His exposition and critique will help the newcomer to sort through a bewildering array of theories and sources. I have read almost all of the authors he discusses, and I can say that his presentations of their views are accurate and fair. Frankly, I have never been able to take the "Jesus seminar," John Dominic Crossan, or Elisabeth Schussler-Fiorenza very seriously, but Witherington manages to do so for just long enough to decimate their theories and methods. And he doesn't seem to be snickering behind his hand while he does it (which is more than I would have been able to manage). Ever the gentleman, the only jest he allows himself at their expense is in the title of his chapter on the "Jesus seminar": "Jesus the Talking Head." The other reviews have already listed some of the major scholars whose views he presents. Again, his summaries are thorough and accurate and his criticisms usually well-founded, from the noneschatological, compassion-mongering "spirit person" of Marcus Borg to the slightly-too-eschatological "God's viceroy" of E.P. Sanders, from the Galilean hasid of Geza Vermes to the marginal Jew of John P. Meier. In most cases he finds something (sometimes a very great deal) worth keeping in each scholar's account but takes pains not to _reduce_ the historical Jesus to any one of his aspects. Moreover, he helpfully includes several lesser-known scholars in his overview -- Graham Twelftree, Richard Horsley, R. David Kaylor, and Maurice Casey, for example. Of course it is simply not possible for a single volume to be complete in this respect (and I especially wish he had been able to deal with Stevan Davies's _Jesus the Healer_), but Witherington has managed to compress a great deal of scholarship into a single book. His own view, also presented here, is that Jesus is best viewed as (primarily but not exclusively or reductively) an embodiment of "Wisdom" (chochmah). The reader should refer to Witherington's _Jesus the Sage_ for a more complete presentation of this view (which, to my own admittedly non-Christian mind, has the twin advantages of (a) not rendering Jesus different in kind from other human beings and (b) placing him somewhat correctly within his Jewish context although I personally suspect the nearly-equivalent "embodiment of Torah" might have made slightly better historical-contextual sense). Of course there have been books published since 1995 that are not included here either -- by, for example, Bart Ehrman, Dale Allison, and Paula Fredriksen (whose earlier _From Jesus to Christ_ is also not discussed). However, the reader who has assimilated all of Witherington's material will be well-equipped to deal with these further volumes as well.
Rating: 
Summary: sound conservative scholarship
Review: ben witherington is a conservative evangelical who has written many works on nt theology. this book on the "third quest: ( a term first used by tom wright to describe the resurgence of interest in the historical jesus in the past few decades; the first quest started in the mid 1800's with renan and ended with the works of schweitzer ). in this work, witherington examines the works of notable scholars in the field, including crossan, borg, sanders, wright, meier, schussler-fiorenza, theissen, horsley, vermes, and raymond brown. while witherington is polite, fair, and essentially accurate in his critiques, he does use his viewpoint as the measuring stick, making this work biased but still very good. he is quite kind to nt wright as well as jp meier (whose work A MARGINAL JEW )is considered to be the best work on the subject available today. he is much less so to the jesus seminar as well as elizabeth schussler fiorenza (who are on the far left in the debate). one reviewer said that one should read the individual works and truly ther is no substitute for this; but this book was not wriien for the advanced scholar. overall, this work will be of most value to conservative christians who want a good introduction to the various authors in the field.
Rating:
Summary: sound conservative scholarship
Review: ben witherington is a conservative evangelical who has written many works on nt theology. this book on the "third quest: ( a term first used by tom wright to describe the resurgence of interest in the historical jesus in the past few decades; the first quest started in the mid 1800's with renan and ended with the works of schweitzer ). in this work, witherington examines the works of notable scholars in the field, including crossan, borg, sanders, wright, meier, schussler-fiorenza, theissen, horsley, vermes, and raymond brown. while witherington is polite, fair, and essentially accurate in his critiques, he does use his viewpoint as the measuring stick, making this work biased but still very good. he is quite kind to nt wright as well as jp meier (whose work A MARGINAL JEW )is considered to be the best work on the subject available today. he is much less so to the jesus seminar as well as elizabeth schussler fiorenza (who are on the far left in the debate). one reviewer said that one should read the individual works and truly ther is no substitute for this; but this book was not wriien for the advanced scholar. overall, this work will be of most value to conservative christians who want a good introduction to the various authors in the field.
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs up Dr. Witherington!
Review: Dr. Witherington's fair and just survey of Jesus, the multitude of material written about him and his opposition to the Jesus Seminar seems to be causing discomfort for some. Whenever Biblical scholars interpret Scripture without using a variety of the tools (including historical data accepted by the majority of the world) they obviously must also have a "secret" agenda. Why also will they not welcome a mixture of scholars from a variety of institutions and nations?? Astute authors who are on their toes critique their peers. Aside from this book I have also read several of his other books Christology of Jesus, Jesus the Sage, and find that his commentaries continually hit the mark. Dr. Witherington is a noteworthy New Testament scholar who has written some excellent books on women in the New Testament as well!
Rating:
Summary: REQUIRED READING FOR ALL CHRISTIANS!
Review: For over two centuries, theologians and Biblical scholars have attempted to sift through the historical texts that bear witness to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, in order to discover what the "Historical Jesus" was actually like. In this comprehensive yet accessible study, Ben Witherington presents and analyzes the portraits of Jesus put forth by some of the most current scholars in the field of Jesus research. This includes the more radical views of Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, and Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, as well as more traditional views voiced by N. T. Wright, John Meier, and Witherington himself. In my opinion, the book deserves to be read by all serious Christians, in order that they may know and appreciate the many interpretations of Jesus that have come about. This book will challenge, enrich, and stimulate anyone who knows (or wants to know) about Jesus of Nazareth.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendous Survey and Critical Review of Third Quest Books!
Review: Here is Ben Witherington at his best. He has poured over the pertinent literature and has critically reviewed the most popular works in this fine book. I do not understand how one could come to the conclusion that Witherington is anything other than cordial and scholarly in this book. There is no question that he has come to play, not sit on the sidelines. So, at times, his discussion is pointed and confrontational. However, his research has yielded some serious objections to the popular conclusions of the "Jesus Seminar" that must be answered. Robert Funk himself writes in a way that is designed to provoke question and comment. A good writer cannot avoid such strategies, if he/she wants their material to have an impact. Dr. Witherington's approach in this book is to critically look at the most foundational conclusions of Jesus Seminar studies (eg; Jewish or non-Jewish Jesus? Jesus the itenerant cynic philosopher?). He brilliantly interacts with the research of Funk, Crossan, Borg, etc., and then sums up his own conclusions. This edition contains a Postscript in which Witherington critically evaluates seven titles that appeared after the first publication of this work. Admittedly, one needs to be somewhat familiar with Third Quest studies to understand Witherington's work. It will be tough going for those who want to begin with this book. However, if you have some familiarity with the studies and conclusions of the Jesus Seminar, this will be a challenging and very interesting read. After you get through this one, you may want to consider purchasing Dr. Witherington's "Jesus the Sage" as well as his "Jesus the Seer" books. I recommend checking out all of Witherington's books. He is one of the finest Christian scholars of our day and I find his writing style profoundly interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A Judicious Introduction to Third Quest Scholarship
Review: John Meier said in the introduction to Vol. 1 of A Marginal Jew that "there are enough 'Jesus books' to last three lifetimes." Simply reading Meier's work nearly uses up one of these lives. Enter Professor Witherington, who is not only well aquainted with the scholarly (and not so scholarly) works written by Third Questers, but is also well-respected by biblical scholars with diverse theological commitments. In this work, Witherington summarizes the contributions of over 20 authors, including himself, offering both commendation and criticism. As an evaluator of others' works, Witherington is fair and judicious. He is certainly not shy about offering criticism concerning other scholars' methodology and hermeneutic, but he showcases both the positives and the negatives. The other reviewer who said that Witherington "trashes" other scholars would do well to read chapter 7. As much as Witherington disagrees with Fiorenza's thesis, that Jesus was a prophet of Sophia, he does in fact voice affirmation of her conclusions more than a few times, including agreeing that Jesus was seeking change in the Jewish patriarchal system (pg. 165). On the other hand, having a great admiration of Meier's work didn't keep him from questioning Meier's assumptions concerning "decades of liturgical adaptation, etc.." leaving their mark on the four Gospels. (pg. 200). A minor critique-this book is a good place to begin a study of Third Quest Jesus scholarship, but I would also recommend reading a work that details some of the criteria used by historical critics in evaluating the authenticity of Jesus' sayings(ie. multiple attestation, dissimilarity, etc.). Witherington briefly discusses criteria and method (pg. 46-47), but not in great detail. In his end notes he points the reader to another one of his works, The Christology of Jesus, for a fuller treatment. Minor quibbles aside, this work is a needed service to those who stand intimidated by the mountain of material that modern Jesus scholarship has produced. Dr. Witherington's careful commentary on contemporary contributors gives one confidence and direction for one interested in Third Quest studies.
Rating:
Summary: REQUIRED READING FOR ALL CHRISTIANS!
Review: Unlike the other reviewers, I do not see the author as polemic or unfair. He provides reasonable arguements to back his claims. Perhaps he is somewhat harsh on Marcus Borg, but his arguements with the Jesus Seminar are certainly shared by many others (such as Meier). There are only two criticisms I would have: the writing is not as engaging as authors like Meier or Vermes and the book's value primarily would be to those who have read a fair number of the texts he references. To get a picture of Jesus just from this book and biblical accounts would be a mistake.
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