Jesus lived a very short life in the public eye, but has had a very long period of influence. Significantly, in recent years there has been a publishing boom of fictional accounts of Jesus' life, and also some fairly misleading analyses.
John Dickson has written on Jesus many times, including Jesus: A Spectator's Guide, and The Christ Files; his latest offering is published by Lion and is titled Jesus, A Short Life.
John has a PhD from Macquarie University and is currently an Associate Professor with that university's Ancient History Department. He explains that in this book his intention is to analyse Jesus' life from a historical perspective, to debunk some of the false claims.
In some ways it resembles Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ, however instead of taking a lawyer/journalist's perspective, Dickson is examining the historical evidence.
The book is beautifully presented, with glossy photos, and clear text, and nice break-out quotes. It is obviously designed to appeal to curious non-Christians. It will probably be a good seller running up to Easter.
The style of writing is a nice mix of popular speech and authoritative reference. It is also filled with eye-witness accounts from the author, documents he has personally viewed and biblical places he has visited. There is almost a boy scout wonder expressed, which is endearing.
My only criticism of the book is how Dickson deals with those he wishes to argue against, in particular Richard Dawkins and Shelby Spong. His argument is strong without the need to describe Spong as proof that "even theologians feel the allure of controversy"; and the comment that "even someone as brilliant as Richard Dawkins can be fooled". The faint odour of sarcasm is unnecessary and diminishes his rhetoric.
What is affirmed through the book is all that we know about Jesus that is agreed by mainstream scholars including: when and where he lived, his fame as a teacher and healer, his proclaiming of the kingdom of God, his radical ethic of love, that he was handed over to Pontius Pilate and crucified as "King of the Jews', that many men and women claimed to have seen him alive after his death, and that those followers established a community looking forward to Christ's kingdom.
This is greatly encouraging, and a verification of the biblical account. Dickson concludes his book by pointing out the gap between knowledge about the historical Jesus and the desire to worship him. He likens leaping that gap to the decision to marry, a leap of faith, but one based on strong evidence.
I hope this book will encourage many to take that leap into the unknown, into mystery, informed and affirmed by history.
