B.H. Carroll’s Pastoral Theology
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 58, No. 2 – Spring 2016
Managing Editor: W. Madison Grace II
Edited by James H. Charlesworth with Brian Rhea and Peter Pokorný. Princeton-Prague Symposia Series on the Historical Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014. 1,087 pages. Paperback, $70.00.
Ever since reviewing the first volume from the Princeton-Prague Symposia on Jesus Research, this writer has eagerly awaited the second volume. It was worth the wait, and the second volume is a who’s who of Jesus Research. This sequel is weighty in scholarly research as well as heft: it is almost three times the length of the first volume. James H. Charlesworth gives an excellent overview for each of the book’s two major sections. He also contributed two articles, and Brian Rhea compiled the extensive bibliography.
This second volume is a great addition to the first volume for three reasons: (1) it represents a more interdisciplinary approach to Jesus Research, (2) it contains more positive results affirming the truthfulness of the picture of Jesus in the canonical Gospels, and (3) it reflects the recent scholarly swing back toward trusting the Gospel of John as a reliable source.
A growing appreciation among New Testament scholars for findings from other disciplines adds great benefit to the study of the Gospels, and this volume reflects this diversity (436, 465–66, 470, 476). The findings from archaeology shed invaluable light on the first-century culture in Palestine, evidenced by expert numismatist David Hendin (190–97). A topographical analysis of the location of a biblical event can shed new light on its meaning, as Jeremy M. Hutton demonstrates with the possible location of Jesus’ baptism by John at the al-Magtas/Hagla ford system (176). Gabriel Mazor notes the importance of appreciating the impact of Imperial Roman architecture on first-century A.D. Palestine (178–79). Dead Sea Scroll expert Peter Flint effectively shows the positive impact some of the scrolls shed on Jesus Research (272–82), but he also criticizes radical claims some scholars have written about the scrolls and the New Testament (265–71).
Of course, no reader will agree with all of the assertions in this wide-ranging collection of research. For instance, this reviewer disagrees with Richard Horsley’s often negative assessment of historical details in the canonical Gospels (352–54). On the positive side, Horsley correctly calls for more study in the political, economic, and religious situation in the Palestine of Jesus’ day (335–38).
With such a wide variety of participants in the second symposium, one cannot expect consensus among the scholars. Their certitude of obtaining an accurate picture of the historical Jesus is varied. Yet, a number of positive affirmations of the biblical view in this volume are worth noting. Darrell L. Bock masterfully demonstrates how the Gospel of Mark went from the most neglected Gospel to the highly-prized source that it is today (551–76). Craig Keener defends Luke’s careful approach as an ancient historian in writing both the Gospel of Luke and Acts (600–23). Also helpful, Craig A. Evans and Pheme Perkins, respectively in their essays, show the extracanonical writings and apocryphal gospels do not contain helpful information for Jesus Research (634–90). The growing appreciation of Jesus’ miracles in Jesus Research (876–78) is also a welcome change in recent scholarship.
It has been over a century since most scholars neglected Mark’s Gospel, but sadly in this ensuing time period many of them have routinely neglected John’s Gospel. Fortunately the tide is changing. This volume shows some scholars are coming back to accepting the Gospel of John as a credible source (630–33). The Scripture Index appendix lists almost as many references to John as there are to Luke (1034–37).
Problem areas in Jesus Research still exist. The continued use of the Gospel of Thomas as a credible source on par with the four canonical Gospels is troubling (e.g., 220, 222, 773; and Craig Evans effectively demonstrates its numerous problems, 635–47). There is still widespread skepticism of the full accuracy of the Gospels (e.g., 25–27, 56–57, 155, 234). The continued use of the principle of double dissimilarity is questionable because it claims one can trust only Gospel sayings of Jesus that were different than what first-century A.D. Judaism taught and what the early church taught—and that overly-restrictive requirement does not leave much credible gospel material.
With such a wide variety of articles, a subject index is needed in this volume; however, the “Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Texts” is helpful (1026–53). The main issue with this book is the delay in its publication. The material is already somewhat dated. One expects a compendium of articles like this to be cutting edge. For the most part they are—but they are missing the last seven years of research. For instance, the essay on miracles misses the two-volume work by Craig Keener. The essay on Jesus’ resurrection does not mention the monograph by Michael Licona. Granted, getting over forty articles by leading scholars was likely no easy task, but quicker publication would have helped. Regardless of the wait, this volume is invaluable to both students and scholars interested in learning the latest findings in Jesus Research. The content is highly technical in nature; yet, to people interested in scholarly research about Jesus on a deep level—a noble pursuit—this book is helpful indeed.
