When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Choices Today [Hardcover]

Harvey Cox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2004

Over the fifteen years that Harvey Cox taught his Harvard undergraduate class Jesus and the Moral Life, the course grew so popular that the lectures had to be taught in a theater usually reserved for rock concerts. The overwhelming response was a clear signal of the hunger for guidance in today's confusing world, where moral guidelines seem to shift daily. How can we ask today "What Would Jesus Do?," when Jesus never had to cope with an unintended pregnancy, or confront a teenage daughter about her drug use, or decide whether to put an ailing parent in a retirement home?
In his new book, Cox brings the moral wisdom of Rabbi Jesus into the twenty-first century by way of the questions, arguments, responses, and doubts of centuries of rabbinic and Christian theological exploration, as well as the voices of the thousands of Harvard students who attended his course over the years. Cox shows how we can extrapolate from Jesus' parables and bridge the gap between the ancient and modern worlds. As an example, he recalls his experience while locked in a southern jail during the civil rights movement, when the song "We Shall Overcome" rang from nearby cells. The message he takes is from the story of the Resurrection: transcendent hope rising from the depths of injustice.
When Jesus Came to Harvard is not another look at the "historical Jesus," but it considers Jesus' contemporary significance by concentrating on the stories he told and those told about him. For youth and adults, Christian and non-Christian, When Jesus Came to Harvard is urgently relevant.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ever since his groundbreaking study of religion and society (The Secular City) more than 40 years ago, Cox has devoted his work to a fascinating array of topics: Pentecostalism, interreligious dialogue, liberation theology and Eastern religions. Now, after more than 20 years of teaching a course on Jesus and the moral life to Harvard undergraduates, he shares his experience. He admits honestly that he initially failed to see the value of such a course in a pluralistic religious university setting. Once he began to teach it, however, students filled the lecture hall, and small discussion groups crackled with open and hard-hitting questions about the relationship of Jesus and morality. With sparkling prose, Cox organizes the book around the New Testament stories told by and about Jesus to demonstrate the ways that each can be used to inform moral choices. For example, one of his students made the connection between the Lukan stories about Mary's choice to give birth to Jesus and the ethical decisions that Harvard female undergraduates confronted in advertisements that offered them cash for their fertile eggs. Above all, Jesus emerges as an elusive figure whose actions and words are, according to Cox, harder than ever to pin down.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Cox (The Secular City, Fire from Heaven) links a rabbi’s 2,000-year-old teachings to today’s vast ethical issues to illuminate how we can apply Jesus’s philosophy to our own times. In Cox’s eyes, for example, the Prodigal Son becomes a rebellious dropout. If this situation doesn’t exactly ring true in your view, you may still find inspiration in this provocative, wise, and often humorous book, no matter your religious bent. As one critic points out, When Jesus Came to Harvard does not provide guidance on making moral choices, nor does it take readers step-by-step through Harvard students’ dilemmas. Instead, Cox considers different interpretations of the Bible and cautions against various fundamentalist movements. When in doubt, he writes, just ask yourself, "What would Jesus have done?"

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; None edition (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618067442
• ISBN-13: 978-0618067442
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #493,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harvey G Cox, Jr is Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard University. His many influential books include The Secular City (1965), which became an international bestseller, and When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Decisions Today (2004). Daisaku Ikeda is President of Soka Gakkai International and the author of over 80 books on Buddhist themes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Interesting Perspective on Jesus' Moral Teachings, March 28, 2005

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Choices Today (Hardcover)

In the Boston area at least, many people are reading Harvey Cox's WHEN JESUS CAME TO HARVARD. Cox is a familiar name in the religious circles in the area, and his book is a great read. With this book we get the level of scholarship one should expect from a professor at Harvard, the insights of a gifted teacher who engages students and shares some of their reflections and insights, and a very readable book that proves what so many already know, the message of Jesus Christ is always relevant and has something to say for our world today.


Cox did not intend to ever write such a book. He was asked to teach an undergraduate course at Harvard a number of years ago on the moral teachings of Jesus Christ. The university was concerned that while it was preparing the world's future leaders, it did little to shape moral education and began requiring at least one semester in ethics. The university in its wisdom decided that Jesus should be included as well, which caught many at this bastion of secularity by surprise. It also asked Harvey Cox to be the instructor. Cox was reluctant, but agreed and it has since become one of the university's most popular classes. This work is basically a summary of the course and the story of the class itself.

Cox's basic stand in the book is that the moral teachings of Jesus Christ are similar in many ways to other moral teachings and one can find common ground in the teachings of Jesus Christ without being a believer. He also stresses Jesus' Jewishness and how he was similar to a rabbi of his day which is not original to Cox, but he is able to stress his being a rabbi in a manner that is respectful to Judaism while at the same time acknowledges Jesus' unique role. The book does not give easy answers to the most pressing moral issues of our day, but can help us try to imagine a response that would be the response of Jesus if he lived today. We also see how the course challenged Cox's faith. At first he had decided he would avoid potentially controversial situations such as the resurrection, believing that this is a matter of faith and not objective study. He also believed that in doing so he was being respectful of those who are not Christians. He discovered that one cannot disconnect the faith aspect of Jesus Christ and his teachings. While he did not set out to "convert" any of his non-Christian students, his looking at the faith aspect seems to have strengthened his own faith.

I do know some of Professor Cox's former students. One jokingly complained at the time that THE SECULAR CITY was published that the book contained insights derived from Cox's classes including one he enrolled in, but he was not getting any royalties from the book. After reading WHEN JESUS CAME TO HARVARD, he made the same claim again. He also purchased a number of copies of the book and gave them as gifts to friends. For people of faith this book offers the challenge to live Jesus' moral teachings, and for people who are not Christian, the book does show how Jesus' moral insights can be insightful for everyone.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Call for Creativity in the Teachings of Jesus, March 13, 2005

By 

Robert Jason (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Choices Today (Hardcover)

Based upon his Harvard course called "Jesus and the Moral Life," Harvey Cox allows the reader into his struggles with making Jesus' teachings applicable in the here and now, a world much different than that of Jesus a couple thousand years ago. This book is intended for anyone dissatisfied with moralistic fundamentalism as well as "do your own thing" relativism. There is no sense of elitism in Cox; rather, he admittedly struggles over what many passages mean, illustrates an open minded give-and-take with his students, and offers alternative interpretations to many of the Gospels.

His most important conclusion is to understand that Jesus was a Rabbi, and was a master of the respected rabbinic practice of "midrash"--of imagining what is not explicit. This method of imaginitive exposition frequently relies on analogies, and it's purpose is to be an instrument for imparting contemporary relevance to biblical events.

Cox tackles a breadth of tough issues, from the embarrassment or resentment people have about money, to what it means to love one's enemy. In the end, Cox calls for new spirituality to link the spirit to action, prompted by his perception that students today are lacking the "fire in the belly." Referencing great Christian leaders of the recent past like Martin Luther King, Cox states there was a "tone" in religion then, "an idealism in Christianity that linked Jesus' concerns for the poor and the outcasts of society to social action."

This is a thought-provoking work that is highly recommended. While Cox does not force his views upon anyone, he will make everyone think about what the Gospels mean today.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally- an accessible, intellectually worthy Jesus Book, February 14, 2005

By 

One Who Knows - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Choices Today (Hardcover)

This is both the most provocative and most powerful book I have read about Jesus in a long time. It's both a great relief and a joy to immerse oneself in this story - in the midst of a culture that makes the following of Jesus seem either really stupid or far too facile. Cox's fine writing, stellar knowledge of Judaism, good humor, and personal honesty are the gifts here.