Part I
In the Author's Preface of A Hitchhiker's Guide to Jesus, Bruce Fisk sets up a persona, "Norm", a college graduate who wants to journey through the land of The Bible and the biblical text at the same time. This sets the tone for chapter one, where we see Norm preparing for a this journey, including saying goodbye to his mother and dog, as well as reflecting on some of the education that he has had, both in college and in the church. While on the plane, Norm makes observations about the people in his immediate vicinity. One of these people, a woman named Dorothy, strikes up a conversation with Norm, discussing Christian persecution by the Romans and evidence of the historical Jesus. Dorothy cannot understand why Christians were persecuted so heavily by the Romans and Norm attests that it was a matter of finding out what they believed. In the case of Nero, Norm notes that Christians were executed as a means to mask the true problems of society. They also discuss Josephus, who Norms says, "gives the best evidence of Jesus" (p. 32). Another passenger on the plane notes that Josephus also gives us evidence of a brother to Jesus, a man named James. When we leave Norm in this chapter he is exiting the airport terminal.
Part II
I think that one of the important things that Fisk notes is that he is not trying to disclaim the accounts of the Gospels as he was taught to, but rather that he is trying to find a way to examine the Jesus of faith and the Jesus of history more closely and in some ways, examine how the two relate to each other. Fisk notes a lot about the persecution of the early Christians and I think that it would be interesting to see how his journey and his knowledge of Jesus would change his perspective on why that happened. The four Germans that Fisk notes on, Reimarus, Strauss, Wrede, and Schweitzer, each express a certain distrust in the miracle stories and the more supernatural aspects of the history of Jesus that was noted upon by the early Christians (17). The recounting of Pliny's story of the eruption of Mt. Versuvius questions the difference between "private opinion and public fact" (22). Might the early Christians fabricated the supernatural aspects of Jesus' life in order to make an ordinary man extraordinary? This can be examined in two different ways. If the early Christians were simply retelling the stories to a close friend or relative, they would have probably been more inclined to tell the truth, based on a level of trust and comfort. But if the early Christians intended to gain followers and start a religious revolution, then adding in fantastic stories and details to an otherwise "boring" story would have proved to be quite helpful.
In the Author's Preface of A Hitchhiker's Guide to Jesus, Bruce Fisk sets up a persona, "Norm", a college graduate who wants to journey through the land of The Bible and the biblical text at the same time. This sets the tone for chapter one, where we see Norm preparing for a this journey, including saying goodbye to his mother and dog, as well as reflecting on some of the education that he has had, both in college and in the church. While on the plane, Norm makes observations about the people in his immediate vicinity. One of these people, a woman named Dorothy, strikes up a conversation with Norm, discussing Christian persecution by the Romans and evidence of the historical Jesus. Dorothy cannot understand why Christians were persecuted so heavily by the Romans and Norm attests that it was a matter of finding out what they believed. In the case of Nero, Norm notes that Christians were executed as a means to mask the true problems of society. They also discuss Josephus, who Norms says, "gives the best evidence of Jesus" (p. 32). Another passenger on the plane notes that Josephus also gives us evidence of a brother to Jesus, a man named James. When we leave Norm in this chapter he is exiting the airport terminal.
Part II
I think that one of the important things that Fisk notes is that he is not trying to disclaim the accounts of the Gospels as he was taught to, but rather that he is trying to find a way to examine the Jesus of faith and the Jesus of history more closely and in some ways, examine how the two relate to each other. Fisk notes a lot about the persecution of the early Christians and I think that it would be interesting to see how his journey and his knowledge of Jesus would change his perspective on why that happened. The four Germans that Fisk notes on, Reimarus, Strauss, Wrede, and Schweitzer, each express a certain distrust in the miracle stories and the more supernatural aspects of the history of Jesus that was noted upon by the early Christians (17). The recounting of Pliny's story of the eruption of Mt. Versuvius questions the difference between "private opinion and public fact" (22). Might the early Christians fabricated the supernatural aspects of Jesus' life in order to make an ordinary man extraordinary? This can be examined in two different ways. If the early Christians were simply retelling the stories to a close friend or relative, they would have probably been more inclined to tell the truth, based on a level of trust and comfort. But if the early Christians intended to gain followers and start a religious revolution, then adding in fantastic stories and details to an otherwise "boring" story would have proved to be quite helpful.
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