Summary
Title: The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable Is the Gospel Tradition?
Author: Robert M. Price
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1591021219
Pro:
• Provides new impetus to the “mythicism” trend in scholarship about Jesus
• Offers readers the chance to better understand the methods used by scholars
Con:
• Radical conclusions might put off some
Description:
• Detailed examination of the historicity of Jesus Christ
• Explains the reasons why many reasons for belief in a historical Jesus are poor
• Argues that a wider understanding of contemporary biblical scholarship is needed
Book Review
Robert M. Price, biblical scholar and a member of the Jesus Seminar, believes that a rejection of the existence of the historical Jesus could be reasonable. In his book The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable Is the Gospel Tradition? he goes through the gospels — both canonical and noncanonical — in order to separate the reliable from the unreliable material. Ultimately, he doesn’t really find any reliable material to which we can attach a historical Jesus.
According to the Jesus Seminar, of which Price is a member, perhaps 18% of the gospels are historically accurate — but Price doesn’t seem to think that they go far enough. Most people are unaware of just how far biblical scholarship has gone in recent years, so he decided to write this book for general audiences in order to introduce them to the issues and questions involved.
Price certainly isn’t the first to have gone this route, but he has produced one of the most detailed and extensive accounts of just how little we can possibly know of Jesus. Time and time again, Price is able to effectively argue that the stories of Jesus are more fictional than anything else: elements are historically false, derived from other religious traditions, and likely written far later than traditional scholarship usually concludes.
Price’s goal is not to prove that Jesus didn’t exist, although that is a conclusion that many readers may take away from his book. His purpose is, instead, the more modest goal of simply giving people good reason to doubt the traditional assumptions of Christianity. Price argues that while some historical figure behind Jesus may have certainly existed, the fact is that we can’t know for sure because the evidence isn’t conclusive or obvious enough to insist upon it.
Unfortunately, reaching such a conclusion is difficult for the non-specialist. Biblical scholarship, in order to be done well, requires some knowledge of ancient languages, ancient religion, and critical methods unfamiliar to the average person. This means that most people who read up on this subject simply have to rely upon the conclusions of the experts without being capable of making independent of evaluations — it’s not quite as bad as a subject like particle physics, but it can come close.
Price makes a concerted effort, though, to explain his methodology in a manner that will help the average reader to follow along and understand how he reaches his conclusions. Price’s book is written for the general public rather than other scholars, something reflected in his prose as well as his explanations. People looking for an introduction to contemporary readings of the New Testament and are unafraid of a critical perspective should definitely take a close look at Price’s work.
