Summary
Title: Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet
Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019512474X
Pro:
• Detailed explanation of New Testament scholarship
• Detailed examination of history of apocalyptic beliefs
Con:
• None
Description:
• Explains the nature of methods of New Testament scholarship
• Argues that Jesus was preached a coming apocalypse in his own near future
• Critical of those who find that "happened" to teach things they agree with
Book Review
Bart D. Ehrman, professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has added yet another such biography — but is there anything different or speical about this one? Perhaps. Ehrman is unusual in that he does not try to argue that Jesus was a figure whose interests, concerns or attitudes were something which just “happen” to coincide with the interests, concerns and attitudes of people today. Ehrman writes about Jesus who was an “apocalyptic prophet,” someone who was convinced that the world would soon end and that a new age, ruled by God, would soon be ushered in.
The Jesus of history, contrary to modern “common sense”...was not a proponent of “family values.” He urged his followers to abandon their homes and forsake families for the sake of the Kingdom that was soon to arrive. He didn’t encourage people to pursue fulfilling careers, make a good living, and work for a just society for the long haul; for him, there wasn’t going to be a long haul.
- “The end of the world as we know it was already at hand. The Son of Man would soon arrive, bringing condemnation and judgement against those who prospered in this age, but salvation and justice to the poor, downtrodden, and oppressed. People should sacrifice everything for his coming, lest they be caught unawares and cast out of the Kingdom that was soon to arrive.”
This is a strange and foreign sort of Jesus to readers in the West. Most don’t hear about this sort of thing in Sunday School, in church sermons, or in the news. It seems that a complacent, middle-class perspective among scholars and clergy has allowed a counterfeit, even domesticated Jesus to develop. This Jesus, only concerned with “ethical” teachings, manages to conceal the fact that he was wrong about the end of the world and no one — most especially believers — quite knows how to reconcile their devotion to him with his obvious error.
Ehrman is not, however, bringing up a completely new or revolutionary idea — scholars and believers have seen the apocalyptic nature of Jesus’ message for centuries. Yet because it normally isn’t very appealing to anyone except those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, those aspects tend to be simply glossed over.
Thus, few have taken the time to really focus on the apocalyptic imagery which can be seen both in the earliest portions of the gospels and in the earliest history of the developing Christian Church. Ehrman does, however, and that is makes his book a valuable and interesting contribution to the general discussion about Jesus.
Ehrman does more, however, in that perhaps half the book isn’t really about his thesis. Instead, he takes the time to provide readers with a detailed lesson about New Testament scholarship, how to judge early Christian documents, how to undestand the development of books in the New Testament, and more. He does not assume a great deal of experience or knowledge on the part of readers, and as a result his book serves both as a mini-course in New Testament studies and an explanation of his opinions about Jesus. This means that average readers who don’t have an advanced degree can still get quite a lot out of this.
