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thephilosopher6
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Has anyone read this series? It’s authored by Fr. John P. Meier. Thoughts?
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BartholomewB
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Here is an emphatic recommendation from @billsherman, which appeared as No. 168 on his own thread, “Historian of Early Christianity … Ask me anything”
As an example, let me quote you one great modern scholar on Jesus: “Hence, from a purely philological and historical point of view, the most probable opinion is that the brothers and sisters of Jesus were his siblings. This interpretation of the NT texts was kept alive by at least some Church writers up until the late 4th century.”
This statement, while backed by solid historical work would likely be considered controversial by Catholics. It was written by John P. Meier. You can find it on page 332 on volume 1 of “A Marginal Jew.”
The book carries the Imprimatur from The Most Rev. Patrick J. Sheridan, of the Archdiocese of New York. The author, John P. Meier is a Catholic priest, incardinated in that Archdiocese, has had this specific book praised by Pope Benedict XVI, and has won more awards from the various Pontifical Institutes than I can possibly name.
History and faith are not the same thing. One cannot disprove the other. Father Meier has written beautifully about how he can historically question things like the virgin birth, but still hold that belief as a core piece of faith. I highly, highly recommend his work.
His repeats his recommendation in several other posts on the same thread, which ran in January and February of this year on the Non-Christian Religions forum.
Historian of Early Christianity waiting for school to start … ask me anything!
As an example, let me quote you one great modern scholar on Jesus: “Hence, from a purely philological and historical point of view, the most probable opinion is that the brothers and sisters of Jesus were his siblings. This interpretation of the NT texts was kept alive by at least some Church writers up until the late 4th century.”
This statement, while backed by solid historical work would likely be considered controversial by Catholics. It was written by John P. Meier. You can find it on page 332 on volume 1 of “A Marginal Jew.”
The book carries the Imprimatur from The Most Rev. Patrick J. Sheridan, of the Archdiocese of New York. The author, John P. Meier is a Catholic priest, incardinated in that Archdiocese, has had this specific book praised by Pope Benedict XVI, and has won more awards from the various Pontifical Institutes than I can possibly name.
History and faith are not the same thing. One cannot disprove the other. Father Meier has written beautifully about how he can historically question things like the virgin birth, but still hold that belief as a core piece of faith. I highly, highly recommend his work.
His repeats his recommendation in several other posts on the same thread, which ran in January and February of this year on the Non-Christian Religions forum.
Historian of Early Christianity waiting for school to start … ask me anything!
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billsherman
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@BartholomewB gets it right.
“A Marginal Jew” is, in my opinion, the best work on the historical Jesus. As I caution in the quote above, though, it is a work of history, not theology. So it might appear on the surface to challenge some traditionally held beliefs. That is not the intent. John P. Meier seeks to reconstruct Jesus from a purely historical point of view - ignoring theological developments of the last 2000 years. If that is what you want, “A Marginal Jew” is as good as you can find. I also appreciate Meier’s writing style. He is witty and clever in a field that is often marked but prose duller than a butter knife.
The series is up to volume 5 now, with one or two more likely. As my quote above, I cannot recommend the series highly enough. It is not for the faint of heart though - it must be over 3,000 pages already!
Good luck, and have fun!
“A Marginal Jew” is, in my opinion, the best work on the historical Jesus. As I caution in the quote above, though, it is a work of history, not theology. So it might appear on the surface to challenge some traditionally held beliefs. That is not the intent. John P. Meier seeks to reconstruct Jesus from a purely historical point of view - ignoring theological developments of the last 2000 years. If that is what you want, “A Marginal Jew” is as good as you can find. I also appreciate Meier’s writing style. He is witty and clever in a field that is often marked but prose duller than a butter knife.
The series is up to volume 5 now, with one or two more likely. As my quote above, I cannot recommend the series highly enough. It is not for the faint of heart though - it must be over 3,000 pages already!
Good luck, and have fun!
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Genesis315
Guest
It should be noted that Meier is basically carrying out a kind of simulation with defined parameters. He’s basically saying “what would we determine about Jesus if we excluded certain sources of knowledge.”
He calls it “a very narrowly defined academic reconstruction” which “is not the real Jesus.”
He calls it “a very narrowly defined academic reconstruction” which “is not the real Jesus.”
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billsherman
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Yes, I should have noted that Meier makes no attempt to write a traditional biography of Jesus. Such a thing, as he notes, is not possible because the source material is too fragmentary (the Gospels, our best sources, leave out enormous sections of Jesus’ life). Roughly the first half of volume one explains this in great detail.He calls it “a very narrowly defined academic reconstruction” which “is not the real Jesus.”
Meier’s consistency in staying true to his goal - a work of history unaffected by theological concerns - is his most remarkable skill as a historian.
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Hereiam
Guest
Good series…but is academic theology, not Catholic theology…so if you are sensitive and restrictive in your view of theology, might not be what you want to deal with.
I myself love theology. Even Fulton Sheen was a fan of William Barclay, a Protestant, who wrote a wonderful series of commentaries on the New Testament.
I myself love theology. Even Fulton Sheen was a fan of William Barclay, a Protestant, who wrote a wonderful series of commentaries on the New Testament.
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