As far as biographies of Jesus go, you’ll do better to stick with Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
Chilton (Religion/Bard Coll.) goes out hunting for that mythical Victorian beast, the “historical Jesus.”
That Jesus of Nazareth must be understood in his Jewish context is very old news to scholars, but it may still be a revelation to the popular audience whom Chilton addresses here. He begins by insisting that Jesus is best understood not as any old first-century peasant, nor as a political insurrectionist determined to overthrow the Roman empire, but as a rabbi. As a Jew, to put it plainly. Judaism is a necessary lens for any examination of Jesus—it helps us make sense of his attitude toward prayer, for example, as well as his approach to baptism. But the author sometimes pushes the Jewish angle too far, and his anachronistic insistence on referring to Jesus as a Hasid (one of the early modern followers of the mystical European rabbi the Baal Shem Tov) quickly wears thin. Chilton suggests that Jesus was rejected as a bastard by the religious community of his childhood, and that this rejection was responsible for his distaste for religious hierarchy. It’s an intriguing claim, but one which the author can’t back up with much evidence. Furthermore, his penchant for psychobiography—with its frequent speculations about how Mary and the disciples “must” have felt at different times—is irksome (and, again, unsubstantiated). Chilton writes crisp, nonacademic prose, and some of his earlier, more scholarly works (Jesus’ Prayer and Jesus’ Eucharist, not reviewed) have been riveting and insightful. Now that he’s in the hands of a publisher who can get him to larger audiences, it’s a shame he can’t come up with much worth saying.
As far as biographies of Jesus go, you’ll do better to stick with Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2000
ISBN: 0-385-49792-X
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2000
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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