CHOICE
connect
A division of the American Library Association
Editorial Offices: 575 Main Street, Suite 300, Middletown, CT 06457-3445
Phone: (860) 347-6933
Fax: (860) 704-0465
FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY
Please do not link to this page.
Baker Book House Co.
The following review appeared in the January 2015 issue of CHOICE. The review is for your internal use only. Please review our Permission and Reprints Guidelines or email permissions@ala-choice.org.
Humanities
Religion
Building on his earlier work on Jesus's literacy, Keith (St. Mary's University College, UK) examines the controversy between Jesus and scribal authorities. Though scholars rightfully assign responsibility for Jesus's crucifixion to the Roman authorities alone, they also acknowledge the historicity of conflicts between Jesus and Jewish authorities. Yet some doubt the historicity of the gospel portraits of debates between Jesus and the scribes, arguing instead that they exhibit later tensions between the Jesus movement and Jewish leaders. Keith favors a "memory approach" over traditional criteria of historicity employed in previous historical Jesus quests. Thus, he argues that Jesus was remembered for assuming scribal authority and controversies with the scribal elite, even if the stories reflect the evangelists’ contexts. Though scholars might disagree with his methodology, Keith creates a plausible account of a conflict rooted in Jewish social and religious practices that culminated in Jesus’s death at the hands of Roman authorities. This book serves as a great introduction to studies of ancient literacy and historical Jesus research for theology/religion courses at the undergraduate/graduate level.
--H. Vela, University of Notre Dame