Mentor, Message, and Miracles (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume 2)

This book is valuable for the mind-boggling wealth of historical information it covers in careful detail regarding the historical Jesus. Of course, it is only the first of a series, but anyone interested in what history has to offer on Jesus will benefit greatly from this book. The extensive endnotes for each page make reading tedious. I would have preferred footnotes, though some notes run over one page, so there is probably... Read Full Review

Of the three volumes of John Meier's study of the historical Jesus, this is probably the most difficult for the average reader. Much of it consists of complex discussions of the historicity of various bible passages, considered in extensive and exhaustive detail. It is not an easy read, but Meier's research is vital to understanding the real Jesus. As the subtitle indicates, Meier discusses John the Baptist, the basically... Read Full Review

This book studies John the Baptist, Jesus' message, and Jesus' miracles. Meier goes through every passage and extracts history from them. He manages to go through every miracle story and determine whether the passage is historcal or not. You just can't find such an in-depth study in too many places. For this reason I think anyone interested in the historical Jesus should own this book (and probably the rest of the series)... Read Full Review

With the first two volumes of "A Marginal Jew," Meier has proved himself one of the premier New Testament scholars in the English language. "A Marginal Jew" is not an easy read but rewards the reader with solid scholarship. Throughout, Meier confronts 20th century commentators (such as the Jesus Seminar) and reveals the degree to which preconceptions have colored their conclusions regarding the historicity of the four... Read Full Review

If you're willing to concentrate, this book, like the preceding volume, is highly worthwhile even for non-Christian readers who want to be maximally informed on an important world figure. It can be tough going because Meier is not writing primarily for lay readers, but anyone with a healthy interest in logic, history and the critical tools of historians can enjoy it. On the other hand, Meier's erudition and dry humor augment... Read Full Review