Leading scholar Dr. Richard Bauckham has done a public service by chewing thoroughly through the “Lost Gospel”: Dr. Mark Goodacre has posted Dr. Bauckham’s article(s) here.
Let’s just say, he determines that it is all bun and no meat. A few teasers:
They seem to be proposing a unique genre of ancient literature. Why should we believe them? It seems to be simply a way of getting Mary Magdalene into a text whose indications that it is more than just a literal story seem quite adequately explained in properly typological terms.
and later,
…before Jacobovici and Wilson, none of the scholars who argue that it is a Christian text have regarded this as having any implications that anyone need be afraid of. It needs to be stressed that none of these scholars have thought for a moment that it is a coded history about Jesus’ marriage.
Real, heavyweight scholar > two conspiracy theorists. Wait, make that: hucksters. Again, Dr. Bauckham:
In the assessment I have taken the arguments of LG seriously and assessed them by the usual criteria of rigorous historical investigation. This appears to be how the authors wish their arguments to be treated by scholars (cf. LG 304). But at the end of this assessment I am driven to wonder whether even the authors take their arguments and conclusions seriously. Jacobovici, at the end of his response to the first two parts of my assessment, seems himself to be suggesting that I am taking them too seriously. Probably the most generous assessment of the book would be to suppose that the authors have all along intended it as no more than an entertaining joke – a joke at the expense of those ‘Pauline Christians’ they so obviously detest.
Folks, real scholars care about truth. That is (part of) why Dr. Bauckham is a real scholar.
For a shorter, old-fashioned two-thumbs-down review, look here.
If you’re too young (or forgetful) to get the “Where’s the beef?” reference: you’re welcome.
Douglas,
Jesus Wars is excellent – a must read.
Here are there, particularly in the first part, the theological reasoning was a little loose for me – but this is typical for a historian. It’s accurate enough, and the history is well-told and fascinating. And it fit together with all the historical stuff I knew about Chalcedon going in.
You’re certainly right that there is no end of crappy theology- and Jesus-related books. The only course is to start with a source you trust, and then find out from them which other books etc. are worth your time. That’s what I do.
Douglas,
It’s good that you are being careful when buying and reading books. Regardless of academic credentials, most scholars make some of the same exegetical and logical blunders that might characterized a typical pastor or lay person.
It’s always necessary to think critically about how any writer is developing his argumentation and what assumptions and presuppositions may contribute to his conclusions. There are also peer constraints and other factors that ultimately control what gets published and presented to the public. Unfortunately, we live in a time when objectivity is often lost to purely “theoretical” propositions in many academic fields.
I’m pretty careful when buying religious books, simply because there’s so much hackery and quackery out there, some of it by men and women with elite academic credentials (these usually fall under the category of “Christianity: everything you know is wrong because it’s all a con job”). The others are your Dan Brown-esque conspiracy theories…. “Jesus was gay/Jesus was married/Jesus is buried somewhere in Europe” etc etc etc. It’s tough find genuinely honest books about be theological questions that aren’t either condescending or utter rubbish.
So that said…. how about a page here specifically for people with book questions/recommendations? I’m looking at a book called Jesus Wars by Philip Jenkins. Ever heard of it, Dale? Any opinions on it?
I still won’t bother … 😉
Comments are closed.