The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction to Historical Jesus Research
Review: Witherington outlines the many different views of the Jesus Quest on who Jesus was and cites a few authors for each view. He just goes a little too far in trashing the opinions of his fellow scholars (many of which are better than him). The most valuable part of this book was the list of authors he has in his table of contents. Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, Burton Mack, E.P. Sanders, Geza Vermes, Gerd Thiessen, Richard Horsley, Elizabeth Scussler Fiorenza, and the Jesus Seminar. Read these authors instead of wasting your time reading about what Witherington THINKS about each of them.

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding overview of contemporary Jesus scholarship
Review: Yes, Ben Witherington is a (relative) conservative, but don't hold that against him. Yes, he has strong opinions, but don't hold that against him, either, because they are well argued. The fact remains that this is the best overview of "Third Quest" Jesus scholarship I have been able to find. Admirers of the Jesus Seminar may not appreciate his critique, but it is very fair and well-thought out. One of the benefits from a book like this, besides giving interested parties a launching pad for further research, is that the different views of Jesus can help one achieve a well-rounded portrait of the Savior. No one scholar gets it right all the time (not even Witherington, with his own view of Jesus as God's wisdom), but the different insights are valuable, because Jesus is bigger than what any one person can comprehend. That should be a cause for humility (something some Jesus scholars have lacked, at least in print). I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in contemporary Jesus scholarship.