Customer Reviews

On Jesus (Wadsworth Philosophers)

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4 star:		(1)
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This is the first work I have come across that has seriously looked at Jesus as a philosopher. Groothuis begins this short introductory work, which is the format for each of the books in this series, by clearly defining what constitutes calling someone a philosopher and then just as clearly demonstrates that the historically verifiable Jesus is just as much a philosopher as the others in this series. He then discusses Jesus' use of argument, His metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and view of women. Any discussion of Jesus on any level must take into account the historicity of Jesus, an evaluation of His claims of deity as well as the historicity of the crucifixion and resurrection. Groothuis does an admirable job, in a short format, to give a good reason to at least consider each of these as worthy of further study.

While most people know of, or know Jesus, to varying degrees, as the central figure in the Christian faith, this book will be of great benefit to anyone interested in studying Him as a philosopher as well as evaluate His teaching and claims as philosophical arguments.

Groothuis does a wonderful job in his presentation of Jesus by viewing him through philosophical eyes. He begins this journey by strongly establishing that Jesus was indeed a philosopher by category. Chapter One accurately and definitely places him within this category. Following this, a look at Jesus' place in history demonstrates his world and how his life reflected it. Then comes the heart of the philosophical approach. Evaluating Jesus' use of argument, his epistemology and metaphysics, his ethics, and his view of women, Groothuis proves why this man belongs on the list of the most influential and thought-provoking thinkers of all time. There is also ample illustration of why Jesus is the most controversial man of all time -- making claims of divinity and sovereignty over all creation. Jesus' radical social and ethical agenda were powerful and divisive as much in his own day as in ours. Most importantly, Groothuis shows that no man or woman can ever live without making a decision of how to regard this man from Galilee. To ignore him is to make your choice. In order to evaluate his message, you must evaluate him and his claims to be God. We must never forget that - Jesus' whole message hinges on that. Much gratitude to Douglas Groothuis for this work -- Surely, this will a very influential book in the study of Jesus.

It is easy to fall into a rut in how we view Jesus of Nazareth, especially in an age of pop-culture takes on who he was. From Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code" to Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Jesus Christ Superstar" to Joan Osborne's "What if God Was One of Us" we've become very used to looking at Jesus as just another guy.

But if this is true, then why have people been fascinated or repulsed by the man and his teachings for centuries? Why did Red Communism ban the Bible? Why has modern scholarship been so divided over who he really was? Though he has inspired some of the greatest cultural reforms in the history of our country (abolition of slavery, Civil Rights, etc.), why is it that his name brings more "offense" today than that of any other religious icon (e.g., the buddha, Mohammed, or even Joseph Smith)?

Perhaps Groothuis has something here. A good look at what the man taught and how he went about it makes a decision on who he really was unavoidable. The read is short, but Groothuis has a knack for packing large amounts of information into small amounts of text. The concepts are simple though the writing is academic, the vocabulary is well defined and the points are compelling and comprehensively documented. It's like rediscovering the goodness of fresh produce. And with that option available, why settle for fast-food pop-culture drivel?

ALong

The beauty of this work is its concise, logical examination of the mind of Christ. It offers a refreshing way to understand the New Testament's record of Christ's words and deeds through the tools of philosophical inquiry. In the process, novel meaning emerges from old, familiar texts, and Jesus himself is cast in a new light--that of a shrewd and skillful logician. The author details numerous classical lines of argument that Jesus employed in his dealings with both friend and foe, revealing a surprising degree of contextualization for the message he came to deliver. Christ is shown to have "packaged" his gospel message in terms that were not only quite familiar to his listeners, but impeccably rational and ultimately irrefutable.

Groothuis also unveils a seemless consistency between the words, actions, and self-proclaimed identity of Jesus, using New Testament passages to make his case. As the chapters unfold, it becomes more and more convincing that the metaphysics, ethics, and epistemology of Jesus formed a singular, consistent whole. That whole included a worldview in which women were considered (and treated)as perfectly equal to men--a very radical position for the time.

The reader begins the book with the interesting question of whether Jesus legitimately fulfilled the definition of a philosopher. Several chapters later it is obvious from the material Groothuis presents that Jesus is a philosopher par excellence, despite claims to the contrary by other writers and philosophers who took up the issue. Groothuis presents the arguments of these detractors and one by one exposes their logical inconsistencies. Yet by the end of the book a more interesting question emerges for the reader: What to do with a philosopher who made absolute claims about his own divinity? The fearsome logic of Jesus, as Groothuis clearly points out in the concluding chapter, required that he be responded to as either a kook, a demonic incarnation, or who he claimed to be--Immanuel ("God with us"). Like Pilate, no one had the option of just washing their hands of the God-man and walking away. Jesus demanded a response of his listeners--not just to his logic, but to himself. And so the reader, of necessity, is left to ponder his or her own personal response to this ancient peasant philosopher.

A rigorous academic examination of Jesus as a philosopher, as recorded in the 4 canonical gospels. A great primer for those who would like to know what Jesus is reported to have said, the context in which he said it and what it meant at the time to his listeners. Topics include his styles of argument, epistemology, ethics, worldview and views on women. A cogent analysis. The author's premise is Jesus as an intellectual who reasoned with the best of them. After reading this little book, I agree Jesus warrants recognition in this way. Seeing the logic of Jesus' positions, it is much easier to understand why he has been so influential to so many intellectuals over the centuries

I was surprised at how easy and enjoyable this little book was to read. This book looks at Jesus as a philosopher and goes over his philosophical method of dealing with the objectors He faced.

Overall pretty good. Groothuis' goal is to show Jesus is a philosopher and to describe his philosophy. He argues Jesus is a philosopher though not in the same way as Kant, Aquinas, or Hume. His chapter arguing that Jesus was a philosopher was interesting. For example, he compares Jesus and Socrates. Socrates never wrote any of his arguments down and didn't really have a systematized philosophy, yet no one would not call him a "philosopher." Thus, this criteria cannot be used to contend that Jesus wasn't a philosopher.

His strongest chapter was "Jesus' use of argument". He pursuasively showed how Jesus logically handled objections based on Biblical dialogues and that Jesus valued rationality. Some of the other chapters were not as convincing. For example, he looks at Jesus' ethics by simply describing Jesus' position on various issues and how they are similar to modern philosophical categories such as virtue ethics and deontology. There are real connections there, but this method wasn't as convincing to show that Jesus was a Philosopher.

A better method might have been to show these connections, but to argue that the Biblical authors were not interested in focusing on the philosophical aspects of Jesus. One gets the sense that Jesus did have developed philosophical ideas which shine through at different times in the gospels. A more modest claim might have been that Jesus was a deep philosophical thinker, but that he focused more on theological and scriptural issues given his Jewish context. (I think these are philosophical issues but it depends on how you define philosophy and what things count as "doing philosophy") Moreover, if you really were the son of God, how might that change the way you would do philosophy?


This book would definitely be great for a class that is studying Christian beliefs and Jesus' philosophy. Even though Groothuis could have framed his thesis more pursuasively it is still a helpful introduction to the worlds most influential thinker.

"On Jesus" is a silly book by a smart man. Douglas Groothuis believes that Jesus was a philosopher, perhaps one of the greatest philosophers in history. His argument has two building blocks:

1. Jesus was a sharp guy. He read scripture closely. He was adept in debates over Jewish law.

2. Jesus had more or less comprehensive views on God, man and ethics.

From this, Groohuis concludes that Jesus must have reasoned closely about God, man and ethics. Nothing could be sillier or more unproven. Having a philosophy (or worldview) is not the same thing as doing philosophy. Doing philosophy involves careful analysis and argumentation, and it starts from commonly-accepted premises (not from scripture). There's little New Testament evidence that Jesus philosophized in this sense. Yes, he was a "theist" -- as was every first-century Jew. But that doesn't mean that he argued for theism. And, yes, Jesus probably was a "common sense realist" -- as most people are. But that doesn't mean he wrestled with questions of epistemology.

Here and there Groothuis (who IS a philosopher) lets on that he knows this. On p. 42, for example, while discussing Jesus' "views" on mind-body dualism, he writes: "Jesus...did not advance conjectural arguments about the soul. He either reasons from Scripture or makes claims based on his own supernatural credentials..." And on p. 62, while discussing Jesus' "views" on religious epistemology, he writes: "Belief in the Creator appears to be a 'properly basic belief' for Jesus -- at least in the sense that he did not offer theistic arguments...." And on p. 51 Groothuis admits: "[Jesus'] epistemology was more implicit than explicit. He did not fret about skepticism or the justification of our knowledge of the external world." Yet explicit argumentation and rational justification are what philosophy is all about.

Jesus was a great teacher and moralist. He was probably a great prophet. If the miracles in the New Testament are true, he may even have been the Son of God. But to argue that he was a great philosopher is special pleading. Christian intellectuals should show more self-confidence. They don't need to hang fancy titles on Jesus.

That said, I gave "On Jesus" two stars because it gives a short, lucid summary of Jesus' worldview.