Jesus is, without a doubt, the most controversial figure in history. What are we to do with the stories about this man who changed the course of human events? How much credence can we give the Bible in matters pertaining to this person? Scholars have been trying to answer these questions for hundreds of years. This search has been called ‘the quest for the historical Jesus’. Made infamous by liberal scholars, attempted redemption from conservative scholars, and simply confusing for young scholars, The Quest has always been difficult. Ultimately, it is the attempt to decide what Jesus was really like as a real person living in the real 1st century palestine.
A Hitchikers Guide to Jesus is an attempt to bring the quest for the historical Jesus into a rememberable memoir. It tells the story of the author (Ken Fisk) as he travels throughout the Holy Land in an attempt to find out who Jesus really was/is. Fisk uses the imagery of pilgrimage in place of intellect as he retraces his own revelation. The book is factually accurate, scholastically motivated, and surprisingly approachable. Anyone familiar with the Quest, or familiar with the land of Israel will enjoy reliving their own attempts at discovering Jesus through fresh eyes.
Pros: The book has an incredible layout. Dozens of side bar notes (tacked on as stickies and email correpsondence), an incredible readability (nice Times style font in a sepia tone), good photos (also sepia), and great sectioning (7 chapters divided and subdivided into relevant sections covering the life of Jesus with relation to current archaeology and landscape) make this historical Jesus book more readable than any other that I have encountered.
Fisk maintains scholastic integrity with religious humility as he considers the evidence pertaining to the historical Jesus. He does not line up with either extreme end of the spectrum, but realizes in the end that we will never have all the answers. This is not to say the reader leaves without hope. On the contrary, the reader is encouraged to continue searching for answers in their own pilgrimage to find out what they truly think of Jesus. Here’s what Fisk discovers:
“If Jesus was on the loose, I’d learned, the academy’s efforts to bind him—with historical criteria, critical axioms, dogmatic categories—were sure to fail. Likewise, any parish that hoped to domesticate him, to Westernize him, to market him, would gain predictability at the expense of authenticity…
Very little about Jesus was straightforward and self-interpreting. Almost no story pointed in only one direction. If Jesus was often difficult to track, he was always impossible to tame. ” (p 266)
The biggest pro of this book is that it helps everyday folk learn to worship the Bible less, and trust God more. Instead of shying away from tension, Fisk allows seeming questions and contradictions to strengthen his faith.
Cons: I didn’t line up with everything Fisk said, though I wouldn’t call this a con of the book. A much more significant drawback is the phoniness of some of the conversations. The banter between characters is unbelievable at times, especially late in the story. While the conversations are based on what actually happened, they trend toward being less authentic near the end. Fisk attempts to remember his journey as the apostles remembered theirs, a symbolic retelling of truth that may not be perfectly accurate.
The biggest con of this book is that Fisk didn’t spend nearly enough space on the death and resurrection of Jesus. The final chapter may be the briefest, even though theologically it is the most important. I would loved to have seen more interaction between skeptics and saints in this chapter. Nor does Fisk describe any alternate archaeological sites on his trip down the via dolorosa
Would I recommend this book? Unhesitatingly. In fact, this book was so excellent that I actually made shelf space just to accommodate this masterful work (and that really is saying something). The only other historical Jesus writers who maintain biblical and historical fidelity whilst encouraging personal transformation to this degree are N.T. Wright (a la Jesus and the victory of God) and Scot McKnight (A New Vision for Israel). Fisk’s is ultimately more approachable than either of the above. Great for grad students. Great for upper-year college students, great for pilgrims. The only person I would not recommend this to is an uber-conservative Christian so set in their beliefs as to discard it in the opening paragraphs (you know the type). And no, I won’t be giving away my copy, but you are welcome to borrow it.
I was given this book by the publisher BakerAcademic as a part of a current blog tour. I gave what I consider to be an uninfluenced, probably uninfluential review in exchange for my copy. Check out the following links to participate, and follow others’ reviews. also, notice that they are doing their own giveaway, win your copy now, so I don’t have to share.
Special thanks to Bryan Dyer for selecting this blog.
