Excavating Jesus
Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts: Revised and Updated
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4.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
The premier historical Jesus scholar joins a brilliant archaeologist to illuminate the life and teaching of Jesus against the background of his world.
There have been phenomenal advances in the historical understanding of Jesus and his world and times, but also huge, lesser known advances in first–century Palestine archaeology that explain a great deal about Jesus, his followers, and his teachings. This is the first book that combines the two and it does it in a fresh, accessible way that will interest both biblical scholars and students and also the thousands of lay readers of Biblical Archaeology Review (150,000+ circulation), National Geographic, and other archaeology and ancient history books and magazines. Each chapter of the book focuses on a major modern archaeological or textual discovery and shows how that discovery opens a window onto a major feature of Jesus's life and teachings.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his monumental The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, Crossan brilliantly challenged conventional historical Jesus scholarship. Using social-scientific and literary critical methods, he uncovered the layers of the Jesus traditions in the Gospels, excavating not an eschatological prophet preaching a future divine kingdom, but an itinerant Galilean peasant preaching a kingdom based on "commensality," or the just distribution of food. Many critics disagreed violently with Crossan, contending that his book was full of outlandish assertions. Now Crossan partners with archeologist Reed to demonstrate the material basis of his earlier textual arguments. With exceptional skill, the authors weave a spellbinding tale of the ways that recent archaeological finds support the rich textual layers of the Gospel stories. For example, Crossan and Reed show the radical nature of Jesus' kingdom of itinerancy and commensality by using the archeology of Herod's palace to demonstrate that his meals, far from the all-encompassing feasts associated with earlier temples, had become elite affairs. Jesus' invitations to the marginalized and outcast to sit at the table flew in the face of this social and political structure. Like any other book that uses archeology to support its claims about biblical texts, this one will be criticized for using material remains to read the Bible in a particular way. However, Crossan and Reed's book provides a fascinating, beautifully illustrated and elegantly written account of the life and times of Jesus, providing readers with one of the richest glimpses into Jesus and his world now available.
Customer Reviews
Excavating Jesus
This book opens up some understanding of the complexity of life in Galilee and surrounded area when Jesus walked the earth. It explores the different classifications of Jews, the poverty, the wealth, and the politics of power. It increased my faith in an omnipotent God and made me understand apocalypse a little better. Thank you John Crossan for broadening our increasing understanding of Christianity and the Bible through history.
I took a walk recently through the Big Hole Basin, Montana site of the last war fought by the Nez Perce with Chief Joseph leading. They were attacked by Colonel John Gibbon while sleeping. Many lost their lives men, women, and children. This group of people suffered greatly, some survived and some died, and the attacking force claimed manifest destiny.