The Acts of Jesus: What Did Jesus Really Do?

This a good book, one of many good books to read on the subject. Like it's companion book -- the Five Gospels what did Jesus really say -- it's an attempt to determine the historical veracity of the New Testament. Understandably, it's an inquiry that would be deemed offputting to the faithful. Interestingly enough, all too few realize that this type of scholarship started some two hundred years ago and was joined early on by no less than Thomas Jefferson himself whose Jefferson Bible (like the books here in question) deny the bonafides of New Testament miracles. Where the Jesus seminar writes their account of the miracles in black (their lowest designation of historical credibility), the Jefferson Bible (formally published after Jefferson's death) simply eliminates them.For biblical exegis I must say that I prefer the method of Richard Friedman who's recent the Bible With Sources Revealed simply restates the first five books designating for each section the source from which Friedman believes the passage originated. Applying such a method to the New Testament, one could do what the seminar did, but recount each phrase indicating its source (e.g. the hypothetical Q document, Ur Mark and the like). In this fashion, speculation could be made at to the creation of the New Testament by revealing it in its various formative stages. In my humble opinion such an approach would more closely comport with a historical examination of the document.Be that as it may, the books are fascinating reading and one of many to be considered in better understanding the historical Jesus.

The Jesus Seminar is controversial, but deep down I think these guys are as faithful as anyone, in that they care deeply about Jesus' transformative message of neighbor love and social justice which Jesus described as God's rule on earth. If you are a literalist and think that the search for truth ends when your pastor opens his mouth, then maybe this book is not for you. But if you believe that God gave us all the ability to think, and if you wonder about the historical contexts in which the Gospels were written, then this book will fascinate you. You might not agree with their conclusions, but the Jesus Seminar will give you the information you need to decide for yourself.

While I can't say I agree with every word Crossan and the other members of The Jesus Seminar have to say, I admire their courage to question the absurdity of a literal interpretation of the Bible in the face of so much hatred and ignorance. This book should be read not as the key to the kingdom, but simply as food for thought -- and after all, it was Jesus who said, "You have heads, use them." An interesting and different perspective is being offered here -- not necessarily all true, but a launching pad for your own explorations of Jesus and his life, teachings, and works. If you're afraid of thought and of ideas, by all means stay away. The rest of you can buy this book and enjoy the experience of thinking about your Christian faith and the man who inspired it, rather than choosing to live your life wearing self-imposed blinders.

I have read several of the Jesus Seminar series now and have many more on the shelf to read as well as books from some of the individual scholars. But what intrigues me about this volume is the cross reference work and foot notes that help me to better understand the context of the what Jesus did and what was done to him. After reading much of this volume, I can say that I was not disappointed in the thorough and logical way in which the case for the historical acts by and toward Jesus were developed. This book will find a prominent place on my reference shelf for those times when I need a detailed analysis to answer the question, "What would Jesus do?" A must have for any serious New Testament work.

Historically speaking, translations of the Gospels have obscured rather than elucidated their meaning and style. The 'characters' behind the compositions, their style, is typically lost in translation. The scholars version compiled by the Seminar allows the style and meaning of the original compositions to come through, in modern, unpretentious English, in a way which no other translation has ever done. Mark's grammatically rough Koine Greek comes through true to life, and Luke's superior compositional skills come through with clarity; The Acts of Jesus, like the rest of Funk's works, is set aside by its clarity, insight, and honesty. I would recommend it to anyone who is more interested in who and what Jesus really was rather than what the anonymous gospel writers in the late first century thought of him.