A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jesus by Bruce Fisk takes the historical search for Jesus to a level where there are no perfect answers but understanding of the profession and task presented to historical Jesus scholars. C.S. Lewis’ quote on page 40-41 emphasizes the theme of this book very nicely. Lewis points out that the historical study is constructed not by faith but by one’s ideology. This construction of Jesus is dangerous, which could result in Christians rejecting the faith. Norm continues to find himself reading the Gospels writers and Roman scribes constructing Jesus in their own image from fulfiller of the Old Testament prophets to political alternative to Roman authority. Both Norm and C.S. Lewis understand that people see Jesus with their own worldview. This affects the study of the historical Jesus because it makes it complex to find definite character traits of Jesus or chronological list of events of his life. Norm concludes in several chapters that there is no one direction that leads to historical Jesus. The Gospel writers paint Jesus each differently and read more like narratives than history. With that said the search for historical Jesus is a lot of peeling back layers of subjectivity and variation to find some core of objectivity. This process is present in every chapter when Norm presents all of the theories and Gospel passages in comparative charts to weave a complete story from many different viewpoints. After reading this book, I realize it is a tough task historical Jesus scholars face.
I really enjoyed how the book was formatted in a conversational manner. It felt like I was on the quest with Norm wondering the same questions about the historical Jesus and characters like John the Baptists. The book does a great job using Roman sources, academic religious scholars, and Gospel writers to present a multifaceted approach to this quest. There was no sure answer to Norm’s questions only possibilities which lead me to both appreciate the Gospel more and the task Norm had to achieve. I also enjoyed the introduction to Jesus as a political leader. In church, I was only presented with the spiritual element of Jesus. I believe he was a nice and moral guy, but I never thought to classify Jesus as a political alternative to Roman rule. This book helped me see how interconnected the New Testament is with the Old Testament. I liked how Norm charted this dialogue between the two from constructing Jesus as Moses, David, or prophets of old. I was able to appreciate Jewish history along with recognize every writer has a worldview and the Gospel writers are no different. They also construct Jesus to meet their agendas. I was able to see those worldviews summarized and highlighted by Norm in this book.
I really enjoyed how the book was formatted in a conversational manner. It felt like I was on the quest with Norm wondering the same questions about the historical Jesus and characters like John the Baptists. The book does a great job using Roman sources, academic religious scholars, and Gospel writers to present a multifaceted approach to this quest. There was no sure answer to Norm’s questions only possibilities which lead me to both appreciate the Gospel more and the task Norm had to achieve. I also enjoyed the introduction to Jesus as a political leader. In church, I was only presented with the spiritual element of Jesus. I believe he was a nice and moral guy, but I never thought to classify Jesus as a political alternative to Roman rule. This book helped me see how interconnected the New Testament is with the Old Testament. I liked how Norm charted this dialogue between the two from constructing Jesus as Moses, David, or prophets of old. I was able to appreciate Jewish history along with recognize every writer has a worldview and the Gospel writers are no different. They also construct Jesus to meet their agendas. I was able to see those worldviews summarized and highlighted by Norm in this book.
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