Jesus at 2000

The historical study of Jesus and Christion origins is discussed by six well-known scholars. In two succinct essays and the book's introduction Marcus Borg gives us some basic tenets of modern Jesus scholarship. There is, for instance, no such thing as a wholly objective perspective on Jesus. The Bible is the human product of two ancient societies. The gospels are products of early Christian communities and they reflect a developing tradition within those groups of people. Jesus' public life took place in the first third of the first century while the canonical gospels were written during the last third of the same century. In between the newly emerging faith was sustained largely by oral tradition. Most of the other contributors to this book are probably in agreement with the above statements even though they come to this discussion from widely different backgrounds.

For anyone interested in learning more about the work of the Jesus Seminar and contemporary Jesus scholarship this is as good a place as any to begin the journey. The diverse essays are mainly excellent. Most chapters are accompanied by questions and responses recorded during the actual scholarly symposium commemorating the 2000 anniversary of the birth of Jesus held at Oregon State University in 1996. The notes for each chapter are extensive and I find the list of resources at the end of the book to be very helpful for someone who is just beginning to become curious about the study of the historical Jesus.

Marcus Borg has written the introduction and two of the book's eight essays. I found it useful to read Borg's contributions first mainly because he describes with such clarity the basics of modern Jesus scholarship.Allan Segal is a leading Jewish scholar and Huston Smith is a well-known philosopher and historian of religions. All of the book's six contributors seem to approach the subject from different vantage points. The result is a very stimulating reading experience.

I was a Theology major in college - this book was required reading material. As a more conservative Christian, I have a lot of respect for Marcus Borg. He is a widely respected theologian, but he also truly believes in Jesus Christ. This book shows how Jesus is viewed as we approach Y2K. Since it is now 2001, I find that Borg to be accurate in his predictions and views. Although other theological book I read in college were "scholastic" then Christian, I find Borg has written a refreshing book to which all can relate.