Jesus Remembered: Christianity In The Making

Book Summary

James Dunn is regarded worldwide as one of today's foremost biblical scholars. Having written groundbreaking studies of the New Testament and a standard work on Paul's theology, Dunn here turns his pen to the rise of Christianity itself. "Jesus Remembered" is the first installment in what will be a monumental three-volume history of the first 120 years of the faith. Focusing on Jesus, this first volume has several distinct features. It garners the lessons to be learned from the quest for the historical Jesus and meets the hermeneutical challenges to a historical and theological assessment of the Jesus tradition. It provides a fresh perspective both on the impact made by Jesus and on the traditions about Jesus as "oral" tradition -- hence the title Jesus Remembered. And it offers a fresh analysis of the details of that tradition, emphasizing its "characteristic" (rather than dissimilar) features. Noteworthy too are Dunn's treatments of the source question (particularly Q and the noncanonical Gospels) and of Jesus the Jew in his Galilean context. In his detailed analysis of the Baptist tradition, the kingdom motif, the call to and character of discipleship, what Jesus' audiences thought of him, what he thought of himself, why he was crucified, and how and why belief in Jesus' resurrection began, Dunn engages wholeheartedly in the contemporary debate, providing many important insights and offering a thoroughly convincing account of how Jesus was remembered from the first, and why. Written with peerless scholarly acumen yet accessible to a wide range of readers, Dunn's "Jesus Remembered," together with its successor volumes, will be a sine qua non for all students of Christianity'sbeginnings. A monumental history of the early church James Dunn has long been admired as one of today's finest Christian scholars. After writing groundbreaking studies of the New Testament and a standard work on Paul's theology, Dunn has finally turned his pen to the rise of Christianity itself. Jesus Remembered is the first installment in his monumental three-volume history of the first 120 years of the faith. Appropriately, Jesus Remembered explores the life and mission of Jesus. Drawing on an unrivalled knowledge of the written sources as well as on the best, most recent archaeological and sociological research, Dunn investigates the impact of Jesus' mission on his early followers and the convictions about him that so rapidly coalesced and gained force in the nascent church. The first part of the book reviews the now-famous "quest for the historical Jesus, " highlighting and evaluating crucial issues surrounding the study of Jesus over the past two hundred years. Dunn argues convincingly that the Gospel traditions provide a clear and accurate portrayal of the Nazarene. The main body of the book provides a comprehensive overview of the historical context and main themes of Jesus' mission. Here Dunn explores such engaging questions as what Jesus' hearers thought of him, what he thought of himself, and why he was crucified. The book concludes with a discussion of how and why the belief in Jesus' resurrection began, and what this claim has meant to the Christian community at large. Written with peerless acumen yet accessible to a wide range of readers, Jesus Remembered, together with its forthcoming companion volumes covering the rise of the church, will be a trusted study for years to come.

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