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Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography Paperback – February 26, 2002

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Bruce Chilton (Author)
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Bruce Chilton (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars 106 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 330 pages
  • Publisher: Image; Reprint edition (February 26, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385497938
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385497930
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 starsInterpretation presented as scholarship
By A Customer on December 24, 2000
Format: Hardcover
Bruce Chilton displays his considerable familiarity with ancient languages and texts, but his "intimate biography" disappoints because it relies too extensively on the author's suppositions rather than his scholarship. Chilton writes: Jesus grew heavier over the years until he left the area in 27 C.E. Capernaum brought him times of plenty, and-- as his message became more and more popular--little requirement for manual work. The emerging paunch only strengthened his voice, however, and his thick black beard and thinning hair made for an impression of *gravitas.* Shorter than the norm, overweight, and tending to baldness, nothing about Jesus in physical terms (from what is attested about his appearance and from what we can gather from the likely results of his lifestyle) can explain his magnetism. (138)
Readers who are satisfied with categorical statements and 'evidence' of this type may find Chilton's book appealing. For those who prefer substance, Crossan's _Jesus, A Revolutionary Biography_ would be a better choice.
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4.0 out of 5 starsFactual or Imaginative?
By Smallchief on April 8, 2002
Format: Paperback
Bruce Chilton, the author, tells us that everything Jesus did was "as a Jew, for Jews, and about Jews." Jesus, he says, was a short, plump, balding, illiterate, revolutionary rabbi whose objective was to purify Judaism in the expectation that God would then reward the Israelites by expelling the unclean Romans and other Gentiles from their land. This suggests that Jesus would be appalled if he had known that the fruit of his labor was to be the creation of a new religion: Christianity.
Chilton has written a fascinating and controversial biography of Jesus. I'm not an expert and, thus, I don't have the background to judge whether this book should be taken seriously or considered a work of surmise and imagination. Chilton accepts some parts of the biblical account of Jesus' life as factual and rejects others as fabricated or inaccurate. His authority for deciding what is true and what is untrue is often uncertain - as is his reasoning.
The book was worth reading, however, for the vivid picture Chilton paints of life in the Roman provinces of what we call the Holy Land. One of the best passages is in Chapter 11 in which Chilton describes the Great Temple of Jerusalem and the barbaric - I guess everyone was a barbarian in those days -- animal sacrifices carried out by the high priests. But Jesus protested against adherence to the rituals which the priests demanded - and profited from. Chilton's Jesus makes a quantum leap forward in religious philosophy by believing that "purity" comes from inside a person, rather than through sterile observance of a ritual, form, or formality of religion. That, at least, is my interpretation of what the author is trying to convey of Jesus' philosophy. As a speculative history this book is outstanding; better informed persons than me will have to judge its accuracy and religious merits.
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2.0 out of 5 starsA Jesus of his own making
By A Customer on February 13, 2002
Format: Hardcover
What one would have assumed by the title and subtitle was something on the order of the hebraic and jewish foundation of the teachings of Jesus- something I have spent much time studying. This was not such an attempt. A clear attempt to rewrite the gospels as a clever mask for the "real" Jesus as Chilton sees Him- a lazy, illiterate, drunkard who learns new age meditation from John the Baptist during His silent years and later uses and teaches these methods until His untimely death. His virgin birth is questioned and His "obvious" ..relationship with Mary Magdalene is snickered at. This is hardly a work of scholarship, but it serves the purpose of showing how one's own unusual spirituality can be inserted into history, resulting into a Jesus that suits your taste. He is certainly not the first to do it, nor the last. Read this only if you have a solid understanding of what you already know of Jesus and His Jewishness- but be ready to throw out the authors suppositions and conclusions for which he gives no support.
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2.0 out of 5 starsStrains the very limits of credulity
By N. on January 30, 2007
Format: Paperback
I purchased this book because, as a person from an indigenous group of the Middle East/North Africa region who has studied at an institutional level the three Abrahamic-desert religions, I was interested in learning more about the Jewish culture and traditions of Yesua'/Yeshua/Jesus. I expected and hoped to read an account that placed Jesus and his Jewish followers, friends, and family in their original Middle Eastern cultural context. However, in Bruce Chilton's Rabbi Jesus, I got far more than I bargained for.

Here is a breakdown of Chilton's goals and methods: Chilton is not only, like me, interested in highlighting Jesus' indigenous Jewish culture, but in challenging the veracity and alleged biases of the four canonic Gospels and their writers--indeed, in redefining Jesus' ministry and theology in a manner that refutes "traditional" (his word) Christian teachings. His sources include non-canonical early Christian writings and the written and oral Rabbinic literature (Mishnah, Talmud, and Targumim) of the fourth and fifth centuries A.D./C.E. Note that Chilton's "creative" (publisher's word) depiction of Jesus and his teachings contradicts the basic tenets (as expressed in the Nicene Creed) of all major Christian denominations, whether Orthodox (both Eastern and Oriental), Catholic (both Roman and Eastern rite), or Protestant (both "mainstream" and Evangelical). For example, Chilton categorically rejects Jesus' virgin birth, divinity, and (literal, that is, corporeal) resurrection.

It is not so much the contradiction itself that I find at fault; I'm always ready to debunk a long-held supposition or two. And, in fact, Chilton does succeed in fully orienting Jesus in an indigenous Jewish culture, hence the two stars.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A religious and historical book about Jesus life!
Well written!

Published 1 month ago by Bonnie M.
1.0 out of 5 starsThe author seemed like an unbeliever and assumed a lot of information...

The author seemed like an unbeliever and assumed a lot of information that I thought was questionable. Also, the book did not read well.

Published 1 month ago by Jim Cordice
3.0 out of 5 starsValuable for New Students of Jesus' Life

I've read a lot of books about Jesus as research for a book of fiction I'm writing. For someone like me, with a non-religious background and a fair share of knowledge about the... Read more

Published 1 month ago by TalkALot
2.0 out of 5 starsThis "biography" ranges from the tediously obvious to the tediously...

This "biography" ranges from the tediously obvious to the tediously improbable. As an example of the first, take Chilton's revolutionary "insight" that the... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Former student of Protestant theologian Paul Tillich
1.0 out of 5 starsI hate this book

I hate this book, how Bruce describes Jesus is a disgrace. And most of this book is just his opinion without any proof.

Published 3 months ago by M H Malan
5.0 out of 5 starsThe best "biography" if Jesus i have ever read.

A wonderful "biography" of Jesus, highly readable, presenting a picture of Jesus that is relatable. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Jonathan
1.0 out of 5 starsSave your time! Pass this one up.

I could not get past The Forward!
From The Timeline where Jesus is listed as an apprentice of John the Baptist, and then through the "Common Era" reference, and... Read more

Published 10 months ago by mitch curtis
5.0 out of 5 starsThought-provoking and wonderful book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it has stayed with me now for years. Why? Because Chilton brings the human Jesus to life without all the heavy baggage of later church... Read more

Published 12 months ago by MV McLain
1.0 out of 5 starsBy page 75 I was getting very annoyed with this book

At first I was intrigued by the surrounding details describing the environment in which Jesus lived. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Bank Of America
1.0 out of 5 starsJesus is Mr. Potato Head!

Jesus is Mr. Potato Head!

This seems to be the real subtext of Chilton's book. Or maybe better yet: Jesus: Savior or Silly Putty!? Kinda Jewish, Kinda Nutty! Read more

Published 18 months ago by Julianne L. Wiley

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