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The Symbolic Jesus: Historical Scholarship, Judaism and the Construction of Contemporary Identity (Religion in Culture: Studies in Social Contest & Construction) 1st Edition

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William E. Arnal (Author)
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4.5 out of 5 stars 2 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-1845530075
ISBN-10: 1845530071
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (September 18, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1845530071
  • ISBN-13: 978-1845530075
  • Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.2 x 8.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,133,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 starsThe Quest of the Symbolic Jesus
By Loren Rosson III on April 20, 2005
Format: Paperback
William Arnal has done a Schweitzer of sorts for the new millenium. In 1906 Schweitzer indicted first-quest scholars for making Jesus over in their self-images. Now, ninety-nine years later, Arnal is indicting third-quest scholars for making Jesus into a symbol of contemporary discourse. "Scholarship uses the figure of Jesus as a screen or symbol on which to project contemporary cultural debates," and the acrimony connected to the issue of Jesus' Jewishness masks hidden agendas.

Arnal acknowledges agendas on both sides of the field -- from those championing a "Jewish Jesus" (Sanders, Fredriksen, Vermes, Allison, Meier, Wright) and those promoting a more "non-Jewish Jesus" (Funk, Crossan, Patterson, Horsley, Mack, Vaage). But the weight of accusation falls on the former group. Though my own sympathies lie with this group, Arnal isn't being unfair, just exposing agendas which have been less transparent than usual. The latter group have clear agendas which repeat the mistakes of the past, rewriting Jesus in order to validate liberal Christianity -- or dispense with the pesky religion once and for all. This is old news. The agendas of the former group are more difficult to get a handle on.

But Arnal nails down these agendas with enviable acumen. Those aggressive about Jesus' Jewishness may be driven by:

(1) -- the agenda to save one's scholarly soul from the legacy of German Lutherans. Sanders, Fredriksen, Vermes, etc. have paved the way to a new and distinctive Anglo-American scholarship, free of Bultmannian influence.

(2) -- the intent to save one's political soul from any taint of the Holocaust. The Jewish Jesus approaches a stereotype of modern Jews, thereby reclaiming (or insulating) Christianity from complicity in the Shoah.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe book to read about Jesus
By The syzygos on April 11, 2005
Format: Paperback
"Jesus" scholars get trotted out in front of the cameras because they're well known or attractive. But the old suspects are tired and their views are well known. This book is different. Not since Whose Historical Jesus?, which Arnal co-edited, has a book on Jesus been as fresh, as critically-engaged, and as informative. Read it if you want scholarship by one of the leading scholars of Christian origins today.
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