Jesus: What He Really Said and Did

Rating:
Summary: What a piece of wishy-washy garbage.
Review: I picked up this book at the local libarary, thinking it would be a scholarly analysis of the scriptures. When Mitchell claimed that he had done "research" and discovered which parts of the New Testament were added and which might really be attributable to christ, I thought he would present more evidence than "Anyone can tell Jesus wouldn't have said THAT!" ...

If you want to read feel-good, new-agey ramblings about Jesus, this is the book for you. If, like me, you were looking for a book that provides an in-depth, well thought out, well-researched, scholarly investigation of the nature of the original jesus, go elsewhere, without a doubt.

The only explanation I can see here is that this book is listed for "young adults." I can only hope this is why Mitchell dumbed the book down so much - because otherwise he's not a very good writer on top of everything else!

Rating:
Summary: Wholly Inaccurate
Review: If you want a scholarly book that brilliantly deals with who Jesus was, read Ravi Zacharias's "Jesus Among Other Gods." There is an adult as well as a teen version of Zacharias's book. It contains the answers you seek. Mitchell's book, however, lacks substance, adequate research, and fair analysis. I challenge Mitchell to read Zacharias's book as well and see if he still holds to the theories he puts forth here. It'll be tough -- Zacharias is a brilliant theologian who makes his case beautifully and thoroughly in "Jesus Among Other Gods." If Mitchell can come up with a substantial refutation of Zacharias's arguments, I'd like to see it (yes, Mr. Mitchell, that's a challenge to you.)

Rating:
Summary: Money for Nothing.
Review: Stephen Mitchell begins by telling how he was conflicted, as a child, between the loving and harsh passages of the Gospels. It was only after years of Zen practice that he finally "got it." He went back and "studied all the scholarship that seemed to me intelligent and open-minded." But it was only during a trip to Israel that things clicked for him, when he met a Bedouin in the Sinai desert who seemed to personify the "Abba" of timeless Middle Eastern tradition, "And a voice inside me said,' Aha!'" and he went home to write this book.

I was wondering, at this point, which scholars would he rely on? How would he define "intelligent" or "open-minded?" What evidence would he offer for his conclusions?

It turned out there were a few "facts" in the rest of the book, mostly wrong ones. "Forty years is a long time . . . (Some) stories and reports were made up much later, by disciples of disciples." (But how many of us could not rely on first-hand accounts by ourselves or close relatives to write about events of forty years ago?) "All reputable scholars agree that the stories of Jesus' predictions were added by later disciples." (No, they do not. But even if they did, the evidence does not support that claim.) "The legend of the resurrection would have surprised Jesus. He himself never taught about a resurrection from the dead, because he wasn't afraid of death." This book is for adolescents; but I have to wonder if even a child could read such a silly and presumptuous bit of mind-reading with a straight face.

But then I had a thought. Was I being had? Could Mitchell be simply cashing in on interest in Jesus?

What could be easier than writing a book like this? Scan the Gospels. Read a few (carefully selected) scholars who share your views. Tell a story about yourself to warm up the audience. Quote liberally and freely, so half the book is someone else's words. Use short words to market it to the young and gullible. Leave plenty of white space. End in 150 pages with a few rambling notes, and -- heh, presto! Insta-book.

Maybe my suspicions are incorrect. But in any case, this book is not much good. If you're looking for a book about Jesus with a literary tint, and without too many technical details, try Thomas Cahill's Desire of the Everlasting Hills, instead. If you absolutely need a book like that by a skeptic, then even A. N. Wilson, with all his flaws, is far better and more interesting than this. For more serious study, I recommend NT Wright; and he has a couple really good books on Jesus that can be easily be read by teenagers, too.

author, Jesus and the Religions of Man