Part I
In A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jesus, Fisk begins by telling the reader about a fictional representation of himself named “Norm”. The story is all about “Norm” and his journey to seek answers to his questions about the religious Jesus vs. the historical Jesus. In the first chapter, Fisk starts his journey from the very beginning…the arrival at the airport. He then goes on to discuss the conversations that occur between him and a fellow traveler named Dorothy, who was on a religious journey to confirm her faith. After Fisk introduces the writings of many influential scholars, such as Pliny, Tacitus, and Josephus, the chapter ends with his conversation with Professor Carpenter about Josephus.
Part II
One of the aspects that I really appreciated in this book was how Fisk lays out his goal for the reader in the very beginning pages. He also starts off by reassuring the reader that the hardest step in studying the historical Jesus is to admit that there is a separate historical Jesus (15). Another thing that I found creative about Fisk’s writing was his use of modern day metaphors when explaining or relating things, such as the reference to puberty when discussing the time in a theological student’s studies when he realizes that some questions cannot be answered (17). By reading this after our Wednesday discussion, it also helped me to understand certain topics such as the Embarrassment Criteria, because Fisk explains it to Dorothy by using the writings of Tacitus as an example (31). I also found that I enjoyed the way Fisk discussed various scholars, such as Pliny and Tacitus who wrote about the hatred they had for Christians (21-31), and Josephus whose writings provide the best evidence about the existence of the historical Jesus (31), instead of just focusing on one specific writer.
In A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jesus, Fisk begins by telling the reader about a fictional representation of himself named “Norm”. The story is all about “Norm” and his journey to seek answers to his questions about the religious Jesus vs. the historical Jesus. In the first chapter, Fisk starts his journey from the very beginning…the arrival at the airport. He then goes on to discuss the conversations that occur between him and a fellow traveler named Dorothy, who was on a religious journey to confirm her faith. After Fisk introduces the writings of many influential scholars, such as Pliny, Tacitus, and Josephus, the chapter ends with his conversation with Professor Carpenter about Josephus.
Part II
One of the aspects that I really appreciated in this book was how Fisk lays out his goal for the reader in the very beginning pages. He also starts off by reassuring the reader that the hardest step in studying the historical Jesus is to admit that there is a separate historical Jesus (15). Another thing that I found creative about Fisk’s writing was his use of modern day metaphors when explaining or relating things, such as the reference to puberty when discussing the time in a theological student’s studies when he realizes that some questions cannot be answered (17). By reading this after our Wednesday discussion, it also helped me to understand certain topics such as the Embarrassment Criteria, because Fisk explains it to Dorothy by using the writings of Tacitus as an example (31). I also found that I enjoyed the way Fisk discussed various scholars, such as Pliny and Tacitus who wrote about the hatred they had for Christians (21-31), and Josephus whose writings provide the best evidence about the existence of the historical Jesus (31), instead of just focusing on one specific writer.
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