A Book Alley

 Exquisitely done about a vitally important subject, October 26, 2008

Amazing Grace DVD ~ Ioan Gruffudd

This film is relevant and timeless. It's about a giant of a man, a Christian dedicated to abolishing the English slave trade, and it paints a beautiful and moving portrait of this man, William Wilberforce, played marvelously by Ioan Gruffudd. Rufus Sewell is also outstanding as his friend, Clarkson, and Albert Finney is unforgettable as the former slave ship captain who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace." This is the sort of film that can be shown to high schools and college classes, to families, to church groups, to any and all who want to know the story of all that Wilberforce endured politically and personally for his beliefs. It is exquisitely directed by Michael Apted and every performance is terrific, not just the few I've named. The portrait of William Pitt in this film, England's youngest prime minister, is deeply affecting, and the film takes on even greater power when we realize that slavery in many forms still exists today. This is a film that makes us ask "Are we doing enough?" on every level? Are we doing enough to bring out the best in ourselves and in others, and for the greater good? Highly recommended. (Source: Anne Rice)

Next to the commetaries of Craig S. Keener, and D.A. Carson, I keep this book for constant reference. It is very accessible for a mainstream reader and has given me wonderful insights. This book is not as thorough as the work by Keener, but it has its own fine elements to offer. As I'm still engaged in studying it, I will probably have more to say later on. I am reviewing it now because I am a Christian novelist and my readers ask me for references. I recommend this book without reserve.---- I like the voice of the author very much, and look forward to learning more from him.---- Let me quote part of a paragraph (p. 15 of the hardcover) which is close to my heart: "In the last resort it appears that the authorship of this Gospel will remain in dispute. In my opinion there is more to be said for the apostle Matthew than recent scholarship commonly allows and more for Matthew than for any other candidate." Agreed, with humble thanks. (Source: Anne Rice)

I keep this book on my desk right beside Craig S. Keener's commentaries. Carson writes clearly and succinctly and touches on almost every mystery of the Gospel that concerns me. I think he is completely correct in his criticism of the skeptics. The book is obviously shaped by immense faith and displays great attention to current scholarship and to the details of the text of John. The book also contains a marvelous and forceful summary of the arguments for and against the belief that the Apostle John bar Zebedee wrote the gospel. This is a decisive and brave commentary. Also recommended are all D.A. Carson's other books, including Divine Sovereignty & Human Responsibility. This scholar's output is enormous. It will take me years to catch up with what he has written, and I doubt I'll ever catch up with all of it. I admire him greatly, and recommend him wholeheartedly. --- Addendum added May 16, 2008 as I continue to read this book: There is something commonsensical and firm about the way this author presents his points; he dispatches the objections or contrary theory of others with conviction and an economy of language. Again and again, he appeals simply and unobtrusively to sound judgment as to points over which people argue, and it is refreshing. --- Some scholars today are so hampered by earlier skeptical objections, speculations, and disputes that it is difficult to get through their books. One gets the feeling sometimes that some authors are writing for one another. ---- Not so with D.A. Carson. His writing serves the text and the mainstream reader as well as the scholar. ---- Yet he is ever the Christian (charitable) writer. ---- I sense no snideness or unkindness, but simply a great deal of well earned self confidence, and a straightforward appeal to sound logic. Some readers may find this commentary particularly accessible because of all this. The writing is brisk. (Source: Anne Rice)

Since there are over a thousand reviews posted here, one might ask: why am I writing another one? It is because I feel this beautiful book, so eloquently and accessibly written, has much to offer Roman Catholics as it has to offer non-Catholics, and Rev. Rick Warren continues to be one of the most loving and positive ministers in the public arena. He has managed to write a deeply meaningful book here about how to live as a Christian, without saying anything negative about anybody or anyone else's church. This is no small feat. We Christians are tempted at every turn to criticize one another. Rev. Rick teaches love. Anyone who thinks this is superficial or insipid should, I believe, reconsider. To love one's neighbors and one's enemies is for me the hardest thing about being Christian; it is at the core of the Christian explosion of the First Century, and it remains the core of Christian teaching today. --- Just about every page of this book is inspiring, and Rev. Rick has managed to impart to the reader complex theology in wonderfully simple terms. ---- When theology is too difficult, when it is opague or unreadable, what good does it do for most Christians? Well, this is a book with deep theological roots that is for everyone. Highly recommended. And also an excellent gift. ---- Let me quote Rev. Rick in closing: "Jesus taught that spiritual maturity is never an end in itself. Maturity is for ministry!" (p.231 of the hard cover.) (Source: Anne Rice)

The Gospel of John: A Commentary - 2-Volume Set by Craig S. Keener

This two-volume work is one that I keep right on my desk every day, year in and year out, as I study Scripture. What astonishes me is the sheer scope of Keener's knowledge, and the clear and engaging way that he presents his conclusions. He treats the skeptics with the requisite generosity and patience to which I've become accustomed when reading the brilliant scholarship of a believer, and his knowledge of ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish writers is breath-taking. This and his work on Matthew are immense contributions to the field of New Testament Scholarship. I find all Keener's work to be accessible for mainstream people such as myself, who cannot read the ancient languages. The comprehensive nature of Keener's approach, the way he truly does explain just about every conceivable interpretation of a passage is simply amazing. I turn to him constantly for insight, and go back over material again and again discovering something new each time. Make this part of your library. (Source: Anne Rice)

This book is gentle yet profound, filled with beautiful observations on the life of Our Lord, and on Scripture. I'm in the midst of studying it and won't finish any time soon as I savor each page as I go along. I recommend it without reservation to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. I've discussed it on Youtube, and with pleasure. Our Pope is a brilliant teacher, and a brilliant writer as well. His encyclicals are also available now in book form and I recommend them completely. (Source: Anne Rice)

When I first commented on N.T. Wright's books, I was new to Amazon and didn't do it under my own name. I'm signing on now, again, to say that he remains for me a giant among scholars. This particular book had an impact that I can't fully describe. A deep Christian spirit pervades the writing itself, and Wright's generosity to skeptical scholarship is a shining Christian example to those of us who become too impatient with the anti-supernaturalists. Wright is a believer and a convincing believer with a brilliant yet accessible style, a genius who has had an immense influence on the entire field of Biblical scholarship. One encounters his name everywhere. Wright's books are mammoth in soul and physical size. He provides a complete education in the Gospels, and many of his other books, the smaller, more compact ones, are profoundly inspiring. Other reviews may have more to say in detail about his most important works, of which this is certainly one. Let me close by saying simply "Make his books a part of your library, and your education, and a part of your prayer life."  (Source: Anne Rice)

Brilliant and detailed insight into John the Baptist and Jesus, May 13, 2008
The Life, Character And Acts Of John The Baptist And The Relation Of His Ministry To The Christian Dispensation by L. Von Rohden

This remarkable monograph by Rev. William C. Duncan is in fact an adaptation of a book in German by L. Von Rohden, in that it is not only a translation of that book, but includes quite a bit of additional material by Rev. Duncan, the book being published in 1853. ---- Rev. William C. Duncan, M.A. is identified as a professor at the Louisiana University in New Orleans. ---- I am finding in Rev. Duncan's agreeable and thorough prose one of the finest discussions of the mysteries that surround john the Baptist that I've ever read, and for me, John the Baptist is indeed a mysterious person in the Gospels who has not inspired that many books. ----- I highly recommend this to any student of the gospels who finds him or herself baffled by certain questions regarding the Baptist, and the deeper I penetrate into this book, the more respect I have both for its logic, its simple eloquence and its profundity. ---- Highly recommended. ---- The tone reminds me of the twentieth century scholar, John A.T. Robinson (The Priority of John), in that I feel I am sitting in a book lined study with this man, listening to him explain things to me about John the Baptist in an agreeable and stunningly brilliant way; Robinson's tone often approxmates that intimacy as well. ---- I am a little amazed that in a book so old, by one so obscure (?), I am discovering so much brilliance. ----- I strongly urge any New Testament scholar to add this book to the collection. ---- The writing, like that of Charles Dickens, is clean and therefore almost timeless. And every aspect of John's ministry is being thoroughly discussed here. ---- I wonder sometimes if our guardian angels do not in fact somehow make available to us the very books we need at the time in which we most need them. This book certainly has come to me as if the angels heard me voicing my questions as I pace my office. -----There is even something unexpectedly delightful about the prose here; and the fervent belief of Rev. Duncan underscores his many thoughtful and unforgettable observations. Do try this book. I would say buy copies of it for students you know, or even for teachers, and perhaps for pastors ---- as it is clearly not such a well known book, and I think it should be. ----- Today probably one could not adapt a German work in this fashion. These are post-copyright days. But the main thing is this: Rev. Duncan has created a book here filled with great insight into the many questions that surround John.---- I hope others read this book and perhaps comment on this review, as I would like to discover if other students are as impressed as I am by this wonderful work. Deo Gratias. (Source: Anne Rice)

We are God seekers and Our God teaches, August 12, 2007
The Unity Principle: The Shaping of Jewish History by Ellis Rivkin

This audacious book presents a creative theory of virtually everything! I am so in awe of Professor Rivkin that anything I write here is going to be inadequate. It's impossible to do justice to Rivkin's comprehensive knowledge of Jewish history and world history, to his powerful explanations of the creative power of monotheism or his observations of our present global challenges and possibilities. One must experience this great mind first hand. The Unity Principle is as accessible as it is brilliant. The man writes beautifully. This is a transformative book. You may not be the same after you read it. We are God seekers, and our God is a God who teaches. That is the essence yet only the beginning of Rivkin's offering here. (Source: Anne Rice)


Of great contemporary importance to Christians, August 11, 2007
Women and the Genesis of Christianity by Ben Witherington

This is a very fine and extremely relevant work of scholarship in which a deeply respected author covers a subject of vital interest -- the role of women in the New Testament. Witherington is reverant, responsible, thorough, and often brilliant. The book is rich in observations, insights, and well supported conclusions about all aspects of the texts. I'm especially concerned with this subject matter because it seems to me that "the woman's movement" has caused a crisis for some traditional Christians today. Witherington is absolutely right to insist that, on these issues, the Bible should have its say. Indeed, yes, the Bible should have its say. Readers will find this not only immensely satisfying but enjoyable; it's profound writing for the mainstream. One might want to buy several copies of this book and, politely, offer them to friends, ministers and priests. Highly recommended. I also recommend Craig S. Keener's Paul, Women & Wives. --- [...].  (Source: Anne Rice)


Fine Scholarly Work on the Canon, June 27, 2007
The New Testament Canon: Its Making and Meaning by Harry Y. Gamble
 
This is a profoundly intelligent and well reasoned investigation of the establishment of the New Testament canon. As Dan O. Via says in the Editor's Forward, this "is a historical analysis of a fundamentally theological problem." The author himself says, "The purpose of this volume is to assess the NT as canon and thus to comprehend the fundamental form of the NT itself." Though the book might prove demanding for mainstream readers, I think it is well worth the effort. I've found it deeply engaging. Also rank and file Christians aren't being served that well by easy popular books on the origins of the Christian bible. These "popular" books are often shallow and full of misinformation. Gamble is great scholar. His "Books and Readers in the Early Church" is greatly respected. I also recommend "The First Edition of the New Testament" by David Trobisch. --- anneobrienrice@mac.com. (Source: Anne Rice)
 
 

Well researched and provocative, June 26, 2007
Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage by Stephanie Coontz

This is an extremely well researched investigation of the institution of marriage from earliest times to the present. It may prove shocking to some readers to discover how recent our concept of "traditional marriage" may be. But information such as this book provides is essential for those concerned about marital values. History provides us with immensely important lessons regarding the attitudes and feelings of human beings over the centuries; and we must not shrink from the observations made here as we seek to understand the social and economic and even religious crises of our times. The scope of the book is incredibly ambitious yet it is clearly and at times entertainingly written, and always inviting. It can point the way for further research in many areas. On all counts, a fine and important book. (Source: Anne Rice)

A very brief, clear and immensely powerful discussion of this explosive subject. One can spend a lifetime studying the role of women in Christian history and pondering Christ's relationship to the women in the gospels.--- Dairmaid MacCulloch has quite a lot to say about it in his enormous and brilliant work, The Reformation. And there are countless other scholarly works dealing with the subject --- But a concise treatment such as this by a great theologian has immense authority. Hans Kung leaves no doubt that the life of Christ, His teachings, and His saving grace belong in full measure not only to men, but to women. The book is fully documented, and highly accessible. [...] (Source: Anne Rice)

 

Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels by Craig A. Evans

 

This is a highly readable and very convincing work for the mainstream reader about current New Testament research. It's a badly needed response to the nonsense in the Da Vinci Code, and to the work of other skeptics who have filled the front tables of bookstores with outrageous attacks on Christian tradition, Christian history and Christian belief. Evans goes into detail as to what we can know and what we can not know about the historical Jesus. He examines the earliest manuscript evidence we have for the canon (which is fairly impressive). He lays out the latest arguments against the hoax of Secret Mark. He examines all the issues raised by the Gospel of Judas or the Gospel of Mary or the Gospel of Thomas. -- This is an excellent book to give to people who have a strong interest in New Testament scholarship but don't know where to begin their studies outside the bible. It's an excellent book for those who have been negatively influenced by the claims in the popular press that Jesus never existed, or that the Four Gospels don't contain witness to Jesus in His own time. --- I wish there were more books like this, books this impressive and this thoroughly researched. The gap between the academy and the popular reader is too great. -- I recommend also Ben Witherington's latest effort on the same theme. anneobrienrice@mac.com . (Source: Anne Rice)

 

 

 

This is a huge, rich and very readable commentary, bringing to bear on every line of Matthew a knowledge of pagan and Hebrew literature that is simply breathtaking. Keener knows the ancient world. He gives you context as well as brilliant insight. --- Reviews and supporting quotes on this book point out its immense value for teachers and pastors. But this book is a great gift for the mainstream reader for two reasons 1)the clean and compelling writing, and 2)the fact that all quoted materials from sources ancient and modern are presented in English. (Usually in scholarly books of this sophistication, a reader like me is locked out by blocks of material in German, Latin and Greek. Not so here!) --- Do not be put off by the size of this work. Use it like an encyclopedia. Look up the passages that most trouble you or intrigue you. Move on, back and forth from there, and you'll gradually cover the whole book. --Let me also say that the book is infused with a genuine Christian generosity, a deep Christian faith. The opinions of other scholars are dealt with fairly and patiently, and Keener's convincing conclusions presented with eloquence and simplicity. --- Truly a magnificent and magisterial work. I keep this book at my side; I rank it with the scholarship of N.T. Wright -- the finest. (anneobrienrice@mac.com.) (Source: Anne Rice)

Jews, Pagans and Christians in the Galilee: 25 Years of Archaeological Excavations and Surveys: Hellenistic to Byzantine Periods (Land of Galilee) by Mordechai Aviam

 

This is a breathtaking compendium of facts about life in ancient Galilee, based solidly on archaeological finds and clearly laid out with impressive detail. There are helpful drawings and photographs throughout. The material on stoneware, ossuaries, earthworks, fortifications, house foundations, olive oil presses, and many other subjects, including later churches and monasteries, is rich and revealing. The author's conclusions as to cultural developments are well reasoned and well researched. The book is an invaluable resource whether you want to read about the individual tools found in an ancient blacksmith shop or the construction of the old roads. We need more books like this about ancient life, books that contain real data. Highly recommended. (Source: Anne Rice)

 

 

Don't be put off by the size of this book or the size of the subject. The book will give you the "who, what, where, when and why" of the Reformation in smooth, clear and inviting prose. MacCulloch makes fine and fascinating distinctions about a breathtaking amount of material, as he puts in rich full context a battle of ideas that is still being fought today. For all its brilliance, this book is actually great fun. For the mainstream reader it is a treasure. I can not recommend it enough. --- Added 2008. ----- Having now spent over a year and a half reading this book, studying in it, underlining passages and writing in just about every margin, I have to return to my review here and try to do justice to the mammoth accomplishment of this work.---- It is a full multi-course education in one of the most baffling and violent periods in history, during which thousands died for varying religious positions, and we in America are some of the inheritors of the violence and theological speculation and doctrinal decisions of these times. ----- This book gives full rich portraits of Protestants and Catholics alike, striving to bring to us an understanding of how these men and women of religion saw themselves and their relationship to God, and why they were willing to go to such lengths for their beliefs.------ And, as the jacket copy tells us: "MacCullogh examines the impact of the Reformation on ordinary lives." ----- This is of immense value because we are, I think, still in the midst of religious revolution and reformation today. ---- Possibly we always will be.---- As Christians, we are part of a quarreling religion, a religion with great respect for debate and contrary opinion, yet a religion that strives constantly to put an end to all debate with inspired positions. ---- It never seems to come to that. ---- Our debates, within our denominations, and within the great church as a whole, go on. ---This book deals with some of the most vital and most fateful quarrels in which we've ever been involved, and to understand ourselves better, we need to know about them. ------ I recommend this book whole heartedly for a confrontation with our own religious obsessions and attitudes towards a whole range of life's most serious questions, including those pertaining to family life. --- For those presently watching the new spate of films and mini series about Henry VIII and his daughter, Elizabeth I, this book provides a great resource for examination of the misunderstandings, tragedies and accomplishments of the era which do not always make it to film. ---- Obviously people in America in the year 2008 are obsessed with religion, and nothing will help us more with our obsession than valid observations, and insights such as this book provides. Nothing, except prayer, that is, and an educated examination of our own consciences. -------- Let me add on a practical note the book is filled with valuable cross references. When you come to the life of Luther, for example, you'll find specific page references to Luther elsewhere in the text, and these cross references are of terrific help. The cross references help you to organize what you are discovering here and seeking to absorb, which is, of course, an immense mount. ---- For Catholics, this book provides a particularly rich description of what we call the Counter Reformation, and it seems to me that MacCulloch is as insightful and even handed here as he is with Protestant personalities and developments. ----- One final note: sink into this book. Sink into it. You may come out disagreeing with some of MacCullogh's views, but the book is bound to teach you more than you can possibly dream. ---- You will want to read biographies of people of whom you perhaps knew nothing before you started here. You will want the education to go on. ---- Recommended for everyone --- the armchair historian, the scholar, the teacher, the professional historian, the person who just wants to know! --- for us all. (Source: Anne Rice)

This book is clearly written, well documented, and provides a detailed examination of all passages in the bible which appear to refer to homosexuality. It also contains important reflections on the nature of translation, interpretation, and changing views in society and how they influence our approach to the perceived law of God. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is concerned with homosexuality and Christianity. Even the most old fashioned fundamentalist will find things here to ponder. In a day and age when so many gay Christians are suffering persecution, inspite of their ardent desire to be united with the church, we owe it to ourselves to become informed on these topics. There is much scholarly debate on the subject, and we ought to seek knowledge in this area for our sake and the sake of all God's children. This book is an excellent start and a very thorough overview of the field. (Source: Anne Rice)

Price has done a beautiful thing here with his dedicated and solid work on the gospels. And thank Heaven he speaks up for John bar Zebedee being the author of his gospel. The commentary is deeply moving -- some of the best writing on the gospels I've seen anywhere. I'm grateful for this book. I return to it again and again. Of late, academic scholarship has done so much to tear the gospels to shreds, to rob them of their intensity and depth, to deny their individual personality and power. Reynolds is a wonderful corrective to all this, a brilliant writer who approaches the texts we have with profound respect and fascinating insight, and his writing is truly elegant and expressive and sensitive -- an inspiration. This is a gem of a book. (Source: Anne Rice)

This man was brilliant, and his criticisms of Biblical scholarship are as fitting for today as they were when this book first saw print. His reasoning and his arguments are all highly persuasive. This and his book, The Priority of John, are of great importance to anyone undertaking serious study of the gospels or study of "the historical Jesus." He left me pretty well convinced by his ideas about the early date of the gospels, and I've read much since -- published after his death -- that supports his view. (Source: Anne Rice)

Graham Hancock is a rather romantic figure, really -- the intrepid explorer, provoked by mystery and determined to learn as much as he can from all sources, -- the kind of person that I dreamed of being when I was a kid. He's a bit of an Indiana Jones with extreme focus on the secrets that might be revealed to us if we probe our history, our religious texts, our geography and our myths. He brings logic and reason to his quests as well as immense imagination, and he writes with enchanting skill. His vocabulary, his phrasing, his pacing and the general layout of the chapters all combine to make this book worth the reader's time even if it does raise more questions than it answers about the lost Ark. And one is left with a real taste for the land of Ethiopia, and a wish to go there to see the landscapes and buildings so richly described. Hancock documents well too, which is tremendously important, and the book provides leads for anyone wanting to know more about the Knights Templar whose distinctive red crosses show up on the "dark continent," or a host of other subjects. . Highly recommended for the read, for the depth, and for a certain distinctly British gentlemanly quality that seems to survive in any clime. Also there is the possibility of truth here, of valuable connections being made. (Source: Anne Rice)

Jan Assmann is a giant among scholars, and that most incredible find: a man with genius insight who knows how to write! This book is about the story of Moses and how it is told and retold in Western culture. Except for a few untranslated quotes in German, French, etc., this work is beguilingly instructive enough for a beginner, and its points are made with such beauty that they will spur one to further biblical or Egyptian research. I value the book for it's in depth analysis of Akhnaten and the extent of his monotheistic "revolution" as much as anything else. This scholar is also gentle in his approach to all the materials he treats. For that reason he inspires considerable trust. I can not recommend this book and this man too much! The whole subject of the connection between Ancient Israel and Egypt is a rich load of treasure beyond imagining, and here is a great mind to open pathways and draw our attention to things we think we see but perhaps do not. Dazzling work! (Source: Anne Rice)

I'll leave the complex in depth reviews to others. What I love about this book is that I can understand it. It's graceful and lucid and reading it is a pleasure. The words are infused with a kind of joy. As a novelist, I have to make characters, plots, put people in action. It's hard for me to approach theology or philosophy because of the density of abstractions in the writing. I just can't get most of it. But these two highly gifted theologians have written something of great meaning that is accessible to some one like me. As to the premise of the book, it's a convincing testament to the unfathomable and ever increasing power of the Christian Event. It moves us forward. I connect it with Teilhard de Chardin. (Source: Anne Rice)

When you are tired of the endless controversies in current Biblical scholarship, when you're worn down from the specialist studies of language in this or that gospel, or the cynical books that claim to expose this and that redaction, when you want merely to exist in a rich, vital, eloquent literary world, securely based in scholarship itself, in which Second Temple Jerusalem comes to life, in which you can see Nazareth as if you were there, in which you can feel the pulse of the commerce and communications, and pilgrim crowds of the time of Christ -- then pick up this book. Dip into it by subject or time period. And you'll love it. Of course it was written by a believing man with a great generous soul. But it's thoroughly documented, and has immense and timeless insight to offer on many subjects. For some, it might be a rich corrective to the mini-series, and movies about Jesus which portray his surroundings as so meager and primitive, with no sense of the grandeur of the Holy City, and the complexity and variety of the village life that Jesus might have known. Jesus didn't live in the Stone Age as motion pictures and documentaries would have one believe. He lived in the busy world of Augustus and Tiberius Caesar. And this book embraces that period with vast wisdom and knowledge. It is outdated, yes. But the period in which it was written (late 1800's) is no doubt partly responsible for it's profound simplicty and overwhelming charm. Happy reading. (Source: Anne Rice)

This is just what I've been searching for: a book about Hebrew and how it works, and the idioms that might explain some of the often confusing phrases used in the New Testament. This book is easy to read and very convincing. You don't have to agree with everything the authors say to benefit from the text. But it helps enormously. And it does indeed open up the more difficult words of Christ with possible interpretations that make very good sense. For a person who can not tackle Greek or Hebrew from the ground up, this is marvelous. I wish there were more books like this one -- and books that would delve into how language must affect thinking. I refer to word order here, to preferences for certain proverbs and expressions. Surely a language has a personality. This book helped me to understand something of the personality of Hebrew. (Source: Anne Rice)

Over thirty years ago, my father tried to introduce me to Teilhard de Chardin. I found myself lost in the abstractions. Only a few days ago I picked this book off the shelf of my own library and discovered in it absolutely sublime writing! Instantly my sense of the Incarnation was deepened and more fully realized, as this man spoke about the meaning of everything each individual human experiences in this world. This is a treasure. I'm not qualified to say much more except read this! And allow me to add that the writing is beautiful and utterly pure. I'm not sure what I mean by pure. Perhaps I mean that it is uncompromising in its vision. This is what I search for, what I long for. I love this. (Source: Anne Rice)

Martin Hengel is one of the giants of modern Biblical scholarship. And this, one of his latest books, does away with some of the most destructive assumptions that have haunted a century of New Testament Studies. He makes the case effortlessly that the gospels were never circulated anonymously. That Mark and Luke came earlier than Matthew and John may be true as well. Hengel sees through alot of scholarly confusion as he seeks for what really happened. And he writes so that outsiders and novices like me can understand him, as well as for the most firmly entrenched in the field. I love his detailed examination of the primary source materials of the first two centuries; and his brilliant logic. His output is really immense, and I'm studying as much of it as I can. In my studies so far he ranks with N.T.Wright, John P. Meier, Raymond Brown and John A.T. Robinson. If I suffered any disappointment here, it was that Hengel did not go into greater detail in his response to David Trobisch whose book on the New Testament I very much admire. I think we'll see a lot of refreshing break throughs in New Testament scholarship in the years to come, and some of them are going to be purely matters of perspective: focusing on the obvious which generations of supposedly enlightened thinkers have rather madly ignored. Hengel makes those kinds of break throughs. So does Richard Bauckham. Marvelous teachers! (Source: Anne Rice)

A solid, excellent, easily readable and informative book on current notions about the Jesus of history, and about research in New Testament studies. When so many foolish ideas are floating around about what we know or don't know about Jesus Christ, books like this are needed. They help the public put things in some kind of perspective. Jesus is not simply a subject of secular study right now, he is a target. I recommend this book. (Source: Anne Rice)

Mary Douglas is very simply brilliant. That she's chosen to shine her unique light on the Book of Numbers is great good fortune for anyone who dives into this book. I wish I'd discovered her earlier on in my biblical research, but no matter. Perhaps I had to be ready for the insights she reveals into the reasoning that might lie beyond the rules pertaining to corpse impurity and the associations that might connect the ashes of the red heifer (used in ritual cleansing) to another obscure rite involving a woman accused of adultery. She mines the Bible for incalculable riches where others might shake their heads in confusion. Metaphor is alive to her. She feels the heartbeat behind the words. Her conclusions are undeniably brilliant, and she is compulsively readable and enjoyable at the same time. That this book is currently "not available" is dreadfully unfortunate. I was able to get a hardcover fairly easily however, and I urge others to track down the text even if it takes time. Meanwhile I'm on to more of Mary Douglas, of course. (Source: Anne Rice)