Customer Reviews

Modern Search for the Real Jesus

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Robert Strimple wrote this book back in 1995, and as such, it is not altogether current in its analysis as I write this review in 2003. But since the vast majority of the book attempts to chart gospels criticism up through the disciples of Bultmann, whose era has already passed in some measures, the book represents a fine introduction to New Testament criticism generally, and gospels criticism specifically.

As Strimple notes, the Enlightenment era provided the kind of fertile environment that was necessary for skepticism to begin to reign supreme in Biblical scholarship. Strimple attempts to describe the major schools of thought in Gospels criticism from that time forward, along with analyzing the specific thoughts of many prominent scholars from those schools. Being an introductory work, Strimple touches on the major themes of each school of skepticism, and in many places, provides summary level critiques of those schools.

What quickly becomes apparent when reading Strimple's book is that all forms of Gospels criticism are based on skeptical presuppositions that require their adherents to make leaps of faith (pretty ironic) to align themselves with the presuppositions that undergird their program. Over and over again, it is seen that liberal, radical, postliberal, and existentialist scholars, in seeking the supposed real Jesus, inevitably start their quest with a very definite view in mind that validates whatever their own presuppositions are. Not surprisingly, these scholars invariably end up 'discovering' the exact kind of Jesus they were looking for, one that bears virtually no resemblance to the Jesus actually discussed in Scripture. It is most educational to read this book from the vantage point of seeing how the basic presupposition that the Gospel accounts are unreliable results in complete subjectivism relative to Jesus scholarship, as can be seen from different scholars staking out various positions all over the spectrum without being able to ground their positions in anything other then their own presuppositions. I was very happy to see Strimple give positive due to Schweitzer at least as far as Schweitzer's honest appraisal of such scholarship as being almost purely an exercise in myth making - the very thing such scholarship claims to be trying to get rid of in the Gospel accounts of Jesus. While not mentioning it specifically, Strimple's inclusion in this book of these kind of comments by Schweitzer are very telling concerning the folly of the Jesus studies of the last 2 centuries. If someone who was as unorthodox and radical as Schweitzer could recognize the futility of Gospels criticism as it existed, those who subscribe to such skeptical methods are actually forced to answer not only criticisms from evangelical scholars like Strimple, but from prominent scholars in their own camp.

I gave the book 4 stars mainly because of the glaring omission concerning the Jesus Seminar. Strimple makes passing references to the Jesus Seminar and how their methodology is based heavily on old-line form criticism which has been beaten to a pulp over the last several decades by scholars across the entire spectrum of New Testament scholarship. But a more in-depth treatment of the Seminar would have been completely appropriate, but was not undertaken here. An unfortunate omission that spares the most high profile New Testament skepticism around today from the kind of analysis and critique it readily deserves. How Strimple could have written a book about various quests for the real/historical Jesus without devoting some ink to the most popularized form of the quest today is something that frankly escapes me. As such, the book gets 4 stars for being decidedly incomplete even on an introductory level.

But other then cutting off his analysis a decade short, what Strimple does interact with is high quality stuff and should be read carefully by Christians who seek to make sense of the Biblical skepticism that continues to reign among many non-evangelical academics today.

Strimple offers an introductory survey of the controversies surrounding the historicity of Jesus. A very readable book that highlights the biographies of various critical scholars. Although not as theologically rooted and confrontational as Witherington, this is an excellent read for the those just beginning their journey into historical criticism. After reading Strimple, Witherington's work would be a natural progression.

In The Modern Search for the Real Jesus Robert Strimple is faced with the formidable task of distilling four centuries worth of some of the finest New Testament scholarship into fewer than two hundred pages. Beginning with the rationalistic criticism of the enlightenment, he shows the foundational switch that took place as faith in the God of the Bible was traded for a more superficial deism, and in turn, man's duty to God for dutiful morality. As intellectual positivism won the day, more "liberality" was taken in the quest for the historical Jesus, leading some scholars to deny that Jesus of Nazareth ever lived (e.g. Bruno Bauer). Strimple provides two simplified categories for the subsequent research that took place: liberals and radicals. Liberals preferred to reconstruct Jesus' life on the basis of his life, work, personality, etc. On the other hand, radicals approached the field skeptically believing that the community (either the respective evangelist's community or the early Christian community) was the creative force behind the evidence left us for the historical Jesus. Across a number of philosophical patterns in history (rationalism, empiricism, existentialism, et al.) various critical methods have been developed among which source criticism, form criticism, and redaction criticism are perhaps the most salient.
Strimple provides a clear and concise survey of modern scholarship's attempt to interpret the Gospels. Though in some cases it may be questioned whether that was truly the goal of some (some approaches appear much more like eisogesis than exegesis), Strimple makes plain the inherent connection between most scholars and the overarching philosophy of their time. Not only are the proponents of each ideology analyzed for their contemporary usefulness, but the works are also subjected to the litmus test of orthodox Gospels research. No matter the seeming absurdity of the position, Strimple outlines each position with charity, yet he also provides a penetrating examination of possible presuppositions operative in each. His encouragement to students to interact with available critical material is important given the radical skepticism leveled at the NT documents.
In the preface the author states that his volume purposes to meet the need of "a concise, introductory survey of the most significant scholars and movements that have shaped the critical study of the Gospels in modern times." However, the phrases "from a conservative evangelical perspective" and "including a critique of each methodology from the orthodox point of view" should be included in the above purpose statement. Though it is surely helpful to the struggling young theologian to find where his or her personal faith fits in with critical scholarship (not to mention the importance of a professor to represent well the teaching of his or her seminary or university), I feel that by including critique and hortatory comments Strimple prevents the adoption of his book- and by consequence the potential conversation with liberal scholarship- by any liberal faculty or liberal seminarian.
Being reformed conservative I see a book such as this as a boon to the theologically conservative scholastic community. Although dry in parts (can dryness be avoided with such a survey?), Strimple provides a valuable primer for the study of Gospels criticism. Its value will be appreciated by any student, or even professor, feeling overwhelmed by the mountain of critical scholarship available. He or she will find in it a brief, yet fair, treatment of the "big names" in "the historical Jesus quest," possibly avoiding late nights of difficult reading and late fees at the local theology library.