Rating: 9
April 16, 2007
Cahill offers a better volume than the second of his Hinges of History series, The Gift of the Jews. Again, I have problems with his authorship and dating of the Biblical sources.
But the book’s still good. Though he has liberal scholastic sources, he does his best to capture who Jesus is and what he meant to the early Christian community, and does it, for the most part, extremely well. Though written for an irreligious audience, he doesn’t shy away from straight biblical exposition — at times, I felt like I was reading an exciting biblical commentary. He doesn’t try to excuse Jesus’ miracles outright, nor does he dismiss Jesus’ resurrection — indeed, it’s easy to see that the author has a profound respect for Jesus, if not outright belief. His inspiring prose avoids any textbook-like boredom, and lifts high the positive influence of Jesus on the societies and cultures of the planet. If you want an introduction to Jesus in his historical context that does justice to the meaning of the biblical text — this book is a great start, beside the Bible itself.
In the end, he makes a call to those who follow Jesus to remember to love the poor — and I’m reminded of Micah 6:8 as he writes, “He has shown you, o man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.”
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