Jesus Two Thousand Years Later

Two distinguished editors, Princeton's Charlesworth and Florida Southern's Weaver, publish the papers from Florida Southern's 1998 Biblical Symposium. The resulting five essays are designed to guide the reader through the thicket of controversy surrounding the research into the historical figure of Jesus. John Dominic Crossan's essay (""Why Is Historical Jesus Research Necessary?"") revisits a central theme in much of his recent work, demonstrating how the search for the historical Jesus strengthens faith rather than weakens it. Crossan as always is a fundamental voice in this research, sound and judicious. E.P. Sanders of Duke asks, ""How do we know what we know about Jesus?"" and surveys the source material in the manuscript as well as the oral tradition. Vanderbilt's Amy Hill Levine provides a refreshing essay, merging this historical debate with pastoral concerns as she answers life-crisis questions from her students with insights from this area of Jesus studies. Charlesworth's own essay returns the reader to one final look at the source material and provides an overview of which texts scholars have conjectured to be historical. This impressive book will open this controversial and sometimes disturbing research for the general reader and the student alike. (Apr.)