The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

While browsing a favorite bookstore, I happened to find "The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity". I've read other books about James the Just previously, but this one put a lot of information into "easily digestible bits" for me. This may not be an easy read for some conservative and fundamentalist Christians, but its worth a try. This book spotlights First Century Palestinian Jewish Christianity as led by James the "Brother of Jesus". Bütz introduces the reader to the writings of various scholars - some of them controversial - on the subject of James the Just. I had not known about the work of scholars such as Chilton and Painter previously. Thus, for me, it was a good way to be introduced to ideas put forth by these scholars, and how their ideas might interact with other scholars with whom I had more familiarity. I would also recommend reading "The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity" by Keith Akers (if one doesn't mind the writings of a scholar with a vegetarian agenda). Another good book that discusses the role of James the Just is "The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity" by James D. Tabor. Lastly, if one would like to investigate the connection between early Jewish Christianity and early Islam and Sufism, I suggest reading "The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature" by Tarif Khalidi.

This book supports the fact that early Christians observed the 613 Laws. Everything from Sabbaths (Saturday) To the seven Holy Days. Nor did they believe the soul of a person goes to Heaven or Hell, nether a trinity. Anyways this book among others shows much proof that the early Christians were indeed Judaism, and nothing more. They accept the Messiah for the most part as the King and high priest. The Temple became an assemble point rather then the House of God after Christ died. A very good book, a very good read!

This book is interesting and well written. As a lay person I can't comment on the degree of scholarship demonstrated in the book, but Butz appears to have done his homework. I was especially interested in Butz' documentation of the ways in which the Bible was changed in order to fit the theology of the rival Christian groups. I recommend this book to lay people (like me) and it would probably benefit scholars as well.

Butz book is so good on so many levels it's hard to know where to begin. Ostensibly it's a book about James the Just, the brother of Jesus. Yet on another level it is a book about the accuracy of the New Testament, not unlike Bart Ehrman's latest best selling book (though Butz is limited to the topic of James). As a bonus, Butz takes us into the rivalries among different sects in the early days of Christianity. Finally, it is a book about rapprochement between Jews and Gentiles, Arabs and Christians. The book is well written and well documented. It progresses in a logical and systematic manner. Though the book is excellent, it is not without issues that can be challenged: ·"...the revered Jewish historian Josephus." (p. 16). I'm not sure what texts Butz is reading, but generally speaking, Josephus is regarded in some circles as a coward, a traitor, and a man who made his living by slanting the truth in the direction of his Roman keepers. ·"...these positions [that Jesus had no brothers or sisters] were developed early on to uphold the emerging dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary." (p. 14). Since the positions emerged in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and Mary's perpetual virginity is only proclaimed in 649 AD, this seems like a very looooong emergence. I suspect that there were other reasons for these positions (e.g., to avoid a dynastic succession through the Joseph/Mary bloodline). · He appears to accept as authoritative all the apocryphal letters and books attributed to James, while many other scholars (e.g., Ehrman) question that he was the author of all of them. These are all minor points. What is of importance is that Butz achieves some noteworthy results: · He restores James to the forefront of post Jesus Christianity, where he apparently belongs. ·He challenges the traditional view that Jesus' family were not supportive, and in fact, shows clearly that they were heavily involved and very supportive. ·He gives us a window into Jewish Christianity that is both interesting and helpful. ·He provides one of the very best illustrations of biblical scholarship in dissecting Mark 3:21 Any serious scholar of Jesus or Christianity needs to have this book in his/her library. Beginning students will find value here, as will experienced scholars.

'The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity' by Jeffrey J. Butz. Reviewed by Peter Senese, author of 'Cloning Christ'. I want to begin my review by saying that I am a layman who continues to seek knowledge of the historical Jesus. I am by no means a scholar, but simply a man seeking a deeper relationship with Christ. I would consider my faith in Christ strong. This provides me with the strength and courage needed to explore historically the actual life of Jesus during his physical life. From what I have discovered thus far in my own quest, it has become important for me in my desire to become closer to Christ to understand the social structures, political agendas, and personal interactions of Jesus. This is by no means an easy task as many theological scholars today have claimed. Nevertheless, I think it is imperative that theological scholars continue to explore the various writings that share the life of Christ, and place this text (and the many revisions that have occurred over time) in the social, political, and personal intent of Jesus' life. In James, The Brother of Jesus, Lutheran minister Jeffrey J. Butz does a phenomenal job in presenting his research and cross references of various writings in order to portray a very understandable and credible set of scenarios of the early Church and its leadership, specifically, what was the true role of James, the brother of Jesus. In doing so Jeffrey J. Butz provides to the reader the opportunity to think through, by understanding James and his true role as one of if not the true leader of the Christ movement, what actually was occurring during the time immediately after the death of Christ, and, what Jesus was actually trying to share with the world. Over the years in particular scholars have extended the divisionary arguments of the division between James and Paul, and the initial roots that have led to the direction of the present Christ following. In order to realize the differentiation between the immediate followings of Jesus, and how they changed over a rather short period of time, it is critical that we understand what was actually occurring socially and politically during the historical period immediately after Christ sacrifice. Carefully using canonical and Gnostic gospels, not to mention a wide assortment of writings by historians, Butz does a wonderful job clarifying a present void that is a part of the `Early Christ Movement'. In doing so, readers are forced to think through the wonderment of the life of Christ. Overall, this is a must read for anyone who seeks a closer relationship with Christ. In understanding the historical movements of the early Church, I believe we can all develop a closer relationship with Christ. I would also like to add that I believe it took a great deal of courage to write this book since there are contradictions to the present structures that comprise organized Christendom. I would like to thank the author for showing the co