The Message and the Kingdom [Hardcover]

Richard Horsley (Author), Richard A. Horsley (Author), Neil Asher Silberman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 1997

Set against the backdrop of Roman imperial history, The Message and the Kingdom demonstrates how the quest for the kingdom of God by Jesus, Paul, and the earliest churches should be understood as both a spiritual journey and a political response to the "mindless acts of violence, inequality, and injustice that characterized the kings of men." Horsley and Silberman reveal how the message of Jesus and Paul was profoundly shaped by the history of their time as well as the social conditions of the congregations to whom they preached.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In a time of social upheaval resulting from rapacious Roman taxation, Jesus's message to resist through communal cooperation was welcome to rural Galilean Jews who were expecting a return to their covenant with God. When Paul extended this message to similarly dispossessed urban Gentiles, the stage was set for a Jesus movement that would take hold in the empire and transform the world. Richard A. Horsley and Neil Asher Silberman put recent archaeological and textual research to good use in an original but reasonable interpretation of Jesus and Paul as religious and social reformers. The result is a picture of Christianity that makes sense Biblically as well as historically.

From Library Journal

Horsley (religion, Univ. of Massachusetts) and Silberman (The Hidden Scrolls, LJ 10/1/94) provide a thorough discussion of the movements of Jesus and the apostles, especially Paul, within the social, political, and cultural milieu of Palestine and the Mediterranean during the first centuries of this era. While acknowledging that the "quest for the Kingdom of God...should be evaluated as both a spiritual journey and an evolving political response," they feel that the divinity of Jesus and similar doctrine are the invention of the earliest church. In this scholarly, well-written book, the authors view everything through a political filter, even religious motivation. However, their focus on political and social problems of the population living under ruthless exploitation by Rome is a valid corrective. Indeed, we "can't understand the historic development of the early Christian movement without understanding the contemporary economic and political situation of the Jews." A very stimulating book; recommended for lay readers and scholars alike.?Eugene O. Bowser, Univ. of Northern Colorado, Greeley
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 290 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (October 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399141944
• ISBN-13: 978-0399141942
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,438,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Social Reform, February 18, 2000

By 

Lisa Hinely (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Message and the Kingdom (Hardcover)

Harsley and Silberman provide a social and economic setting of the time of Jesus and Paul (10 BCE - 70 CE) and the "Jesus Movement". Without addressing the religious truth of Christianity, they describe its social context and the impact it had on Palestine and the eastern Mediterranean.

The authors draw on recent archaeological finds to present a picture of life during this time. Along with the Bible and writings of Josephus, they use non-canonical early Christian writings, and Roman documents and inscriptions.

Bibliographical Notes in addition to the Bibliography make it easy to refer to more original sources in topics of interest.

The book is somehat hard to read, visually. This edition uses a very light serif font, and the paragraphs are rather long. Some familiarity with Biblical accounts of Jesus and Paul would be helpful for the reader.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, July 17, 2002

By 

The Rev. Dr. Daniel J. G. G. Block - See all my reviews

This review is from: Message and the Kingdom (Paperback)

Professor Horsley has repeatedly offered us books impeccably researched and annotated in great detail. Yet despite the promise of those works, Horsley has too often hidden his gifts behind an impenetrable wall of technicalities and minutia. In his attempts to demonstrate his intelligence, Horsley has sometimes made his writing obtuse and inaccessible to the average reader.

This, however, is not one of his failures. Here Horsley finally gets it right. Here Horsley fulfills the promise of his other works.

Examining the politics, sociology, psychology and religion of the renewal movements founded by John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth, and Paul of Tarsus, Horsley and Silberman weave an exhilarating narrative that exposes the historical roots of Christianity. Thoroughly comprehendible by the lay reader, without sacrificing scholarship, this book demonstrates that the authors can strike an appropriate balance between academia and popular reading.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Distinguishing the forest from the trees...., July 23, 2007

By 

A. DENBO "I should be working" (Eugene OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Message and the Kingdom (Paperback)

Horsley's book here reads more like a narrative social history. There aren't footnotes and citations, no minutia to contend with, which for an academic guy, is pretty good.

The thing that I liked most about the book was that he pointed out what are apparent tensions within the text of the New Testament -- not in a bitter way like some liberal scholars (cough, cough, "Bart Ehrman," cough, cough) who lost their faith and are now angry that they feel duped -- but in a way that was tactful and thoughtful.

Was Paul, the hero and main interpreter of Jesus of Nazareth (by the inclusion of so much of his writing into the New Testament, including that which probably isn't his but a disciple of his) really rejected by the Jerusalem community? It kind of sounds that way in Horsley's story. If Galatians (which is considered authentically Paul)is written in 48/9 C.E. and Paul's mission to the Gentiles hasn't really been clarified to the Jerusalem council, then some of Paul's letters in Corinthians and the subsequent attack on "Judaizers" makes sense. The Jerusalem community wasn't buying what Paul was selling -- pagans may become God-fearers (sons of Noah abiding by Noachide laws see Acts 15) but if they want in they should go all the way and convert. They are welcome to sojourn, but that doesn't make the gentiles converts. Paul disputes this -- Torah observance isn't necessary. James says he's wrong. Israel is defined by its relationship to Torah that was given by God -- and affirmed by Jesus. Paul's basis for his gospel? Personal revelation. That is where it gets sketchy.

Overall a good read and thought provoking. I'd recommend it, though it probably isn't for some younger undergrads.