20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Place to Start Studying the "Historical Jesus", August 22, 2004
This review is from: Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods (Paperback)
Bock is a respected, conservative New Testament scholar. In Studying the Historical Jesus, he offers one of the most accessible introductions to the study of the "Historical" Jesus. If you have simply read your New Testament your entire life and are now curious about its background, origins, and the history behind it. Or if you have had little exposure to the New Testament and wonder what it is all about, historically speaking. This book delivers.
The Introduction opens with brief discussions of sources relevant to the study of the historical Jesus, including the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, and Josephus. Each is only a few paragraphs long but explains well the source and its relevance to studying Jesus. The main event of the Introduction, however, is his run down on each of the Canonical Gospels. Bock delivers solid discussions of each, including their structure, unique emphasis, authorship, and date. Not surprisingly, Bock's conclusions are traditional.
Bock also delivers a chapter on the Nonbiblical evidence for Jesus, ably covering the "usual suspects" of Josephus, Thallus, Tacitus, and company. Next there is an informative discussion about the chronology of Jesus' life. Bock nondogmatically discusses the various alternatives about when Jesus was born, how long his ministry was, and the date of his death. Thereafter, Bock delivers a helpful general history of the Greek and Roman empires, and then a more focused discussion on the geography, population, and culture of first century Palestine.
In Part 2 of his book, Bock moves into a more argumentative tone as he discusses and criticizes the search for the "historical Jesus." There is a helpful history highlighting the key players and their theories in the three "quests" for the historical Jesus. Bock then summarizes five systemic problems in historical Jesus research, including an undue skepticism of narratives or sayings that are similar to Old Testament narratives and sayings, and inadequate historical attention being given to Luke's special material, Matthew's special material, and the Gospel of John. The criticisms are well taken and receive insufficient consideration in most New Testament research.
Next Bock devotes chapters to several methods of historical inquiry as applied to the New Testament: Historical Criticism, Source Criticism, Form Criticism, Redaction Criticism, Tradition Criticism, and Narrative Criticism and Gospel Genre. The discussions are well done, defining each as well as emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses inherent to each disciple. Bock is no reactionary. He sees a role for each in researching and understanding the New Testament and Jesus, but appropriately chides much modern "historical Jesus" studies as overly skeptical.
In sum, Bock has delivered an excellent resource for those interested in looking into the unfamiliar ground of New Testament criticism or studying the "historical" Jesus. Indeed, this would be one of the first books I would recommend to any such person.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Clear presentation on the historicity of Jesus, May 2, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods (Paperback)
Darrell Bock does exactly what his book's subtitle promises: "A guide to sources and methods." In the first part, Bock systematically takes a look at the life of Jesus, considering the historical evidence beyond biblical sources; provides a basic chronology to the life of Jesus; and overviews the cultural background of Jesus. The second part provides methods for studying Jesus. This section is a must for students of Christ who have never heard of the different "criticisms" (i.e. source, form, redaction, tradition, etc.). It may sound so "negative," but really these issues need to be understood if one truly hopes to understand the person of Jesus Christ. I especially liked Bock's overview of source criticism and the different possibilities of which gospel came first. It was, I thought, very clear even though the issue is quite complicated.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Introduction to Jesus, July 2, 2005
This review is from: Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods (Paperback)
If you are interested in learning about the historical Jesus, this book might be the best place to start. Darrell Bock, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, presents a concise introduction to the background material you'll need to study Jesus. Prof. Bock reviews the references to Jesus outside of the NT, the chronology of Jesus' life, methods of interpretation, and the history, sociology and politics of Palestine. There is also a good discussion of the various quests for Jesus. The approach is conservative, but not uncritically so.
It's important to realize that this book is introductory in nature. Some of the discussion is rather thin. As an example, Prof. Bock discusses Jewish Midrash, but makes no mention of its role in interpretation, e.g. the claim of Gundry and others that the infancy narratives are Midrash. If you've read one or two New Testament introductions, you probably won't learn too much new.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
