Dethroning Jesus: Exposing Popular Culture's Quest to Unseat the Biblical Christ - eBook

Darrell L. Bock (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is senior research professor of New Testament studies and Executive Director for Cultural Engagement at Dallas Theological Seminary. Known for his work in Luke-Acts, Dr. Bock is a Humboldt Scholar (Tubingen University in Germany), is on the editorial board for Christianity Today, and a past president of the Evangelical Theological Society (2000-2001). A New York Times bestselling author, Bock has written over forty books, including Luke in the NIV Application Commentary series.

 

Daniel B. Wallace (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is a noted textual critic, serving as head of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, and is author of Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, Basics of New Testament Syntax, and (with Grant Edwards) of A Workbook for New Testament Syntax.

In their book, Dethroning Jesus, Darrell L. Bock and Daniel B. Wallace seek to disprove “Jesusanity” and to place the biblical Christ back on his throne. Popular culture and some scholars are attempting to emphasize Jesus’ humanity and cast aside the fact that Jesus is much more than a mere human. Bock and Wallace, however, are successfully attempting to prove them wrong with convincing arguments and statistics.

Bock and Wallace discuss and disprove the following arguments: whether the New Testament is too corrupted by copyists to be recovered, whether Gnostic gospels prove the existence of early alternative Christianities, whether the Gospel of Thomas alters our understanding of Jesus, whether Jesus’ message was fundamentally political and social, whether Paul exalted Jesus and included Gentiles when he should not have, and whether Jesus’ tomb proves that he was not resurrected physically.

The authors’ main point is that Jesus is divine but some are trying to dethrone him by relying on the Gnostic gospels and on a tomb that many believe belonged to Jesus and his family.

“Our goal in this book has been to look at how this Jesus has been represented in the public square and whether we have access to him,” explain the authors.

Christianity holds to the belief that Jesus is the one who shows the way and provides the means by which people can be reconciled to God. According to Wallace and Bock, “Jesusanity” portrays Jesus as a great religious figure who instructs and confronts but who is not our Savior and the mediator of salvation.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is confused about the divinity of Jesus. Christa Mullen, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com

Ph.D.s and writers Bock (Jesus According to Scripture) and Wallace (author of one of the most widely used textbooks on New Testament Greek grammar) team up to address what they refer to as “Jesusanity”—the trend to “dethrone” Jesus and view him as a wise and revered leader rather than as the Christ of Christianity. They examine the ideas of numerous scholars and theorists, including Bart Ehrman, Elaine Pagels, Marcus Borg and James Tabor. With precision and care drawn from their years of research, they study six key claims—including the idea that the original New Testament manuscripts were corrupted beyond recovery, that Jesus' message was primarily political, that new gospels like Thomas and Judas throw traditional views of Jesus into doubt and that Jesus' tomb has been discovered. What emerges is an appreciation for the rigors of biblical study and a wealth of support for traditional views of Jesus. The writing is at times unclear and difficult, and could not compete on its own with the books Bock and Wallace critique. However, this overview provides a concise and well-researched evangelical Christian response to numerous popular theories, and conservative readers will be especially likely to welcome it. (Nov. 6) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.