in 1775. They are based upon revelation,rnnot mere information; they claim, andrnthose who value them believe, that theyrnoriginate in God’s revelation or inspiration.rnAsking the Gospels to give historicalrnrather than gospel truth confusesrntheological truth with historical fact, diminishingrnthem to the measurements ofrnthis world, treating Jesus as precisely thernopposite of what Christianity has alwaysrnknown Him to be, which is unique.rnWhen we speak of “the historical Jesus,”rntherefore, we dissect a sacred subjectrnwith a secular scalpel, and in thernconfusion of categories of truth thernpatient dies on the operating table; thernsurgeons forget why they made their cut;rnthey remove the heart and neglect tornput it back. The statement “One andrnone are two,” or “The ConstitutionalrnConvention met in 1787,” is simply notrnof the same order as “Moses received thernTorah at Sinai” or “Jesus Christ is Son ofrnGod.”rnWhat historical evidence can tellrnus whether someone really rosernfrom the dead, or what God said to thernprophet on Sinai? I cannot identify arnhistorical method equal to the work ofrnverifying the claim that God’s Son wasrnborn to a virgin giri. And how can historiansrnaccustomed to explaining the causesrnof the Civil War speak of miracles, ofrnmen rising from the dead, and of otherrnmatters of broad belief? Historians workingrnwith miracle stories turn out somethingrnthat is either paraphrastic of thernfaith, indifferent to it, or merely silly. Inrntheir work we have nothing other thanrntheology masquerading as “critical history.”rnIf I were a Christian, I would askrnwhy the crown of science has now to bernplaced upon the head of a Jesus reducedrnto this-worldly dimensions, adding thatrnhere is just another crown of thorns. Inrnmy own view as a rabbi, I say only thatrnthese books are simply and monumentallyrnirrelevant. Premodern Christianityrnnever produced this kind of writing,rnthough it studied the life and teachingsrnof Jesus; Christology was never confusedrnwith secular biography until the 19thrncentury. Before then, distinguishing betweenrnthe Jesus of history and the Christrnof faith would have produced utter incomprehension.rnAnd yet, Protestant Christianity fromrnthe carlv 19th century and RomanrnCatholic Christianity since World War IIrnhave produced writers who suppose thatrnthe Gospels’ Jesus and the actual manrnare not one and the same person. Insteadrnof interpreting one saying in lightrnof another and the whole in light of traditionrnor creed or theological premise,rnscholarship distinguishes, by various criteria,rnbetween things Jesus really saidrnand things that the Church, respondingrnto its own concerns, attributed to himrnlater on.rnThese rules dictate the result of arnscholar’s study at the outset of his venture,rnsince by definition they excludernmost of what Christians by faith know tornbe truth: the miracles, the resurrection,rnthe givenness of the Gospels’ message,rnthe (admittedly Catholic) conceptionrnthat the Bible is the gift of the Churchrntogether with that other gift, tradition.rnBut the quest begs the question: ShouldrnChristians concern themselves with thisrnparticular Jesus at all? And to whomrndoes the life of a marginal Jew or arnMediterranean Jewish peasant (or arnGalilean rabbi, or a homosexual magician,rnor any and all of the other historicalrnJesuses that people have produced) matterrnvery much anyhow?rnNonetheless, for those interested notrnin “the historical Jesus” but in how contemporaryrnscholarship claims to formulaternas historical questions what is in factrna theological quest, John P. Meier’s ArnMarginal jew is a masterpiece of scholarship.rnMeier succeeds in bridging therngap between the expert and the lay reader.rnHis is a beautiful piece of writing andrnresearch; it is difficult to imagine a finerrnpresentation of the subject. The text isrnclear and undemanding, the notes superbrnand enlightening. Meier sets forthrnthe evidence and the issue of methodrnand then tells us what he thinks we canrnknow about the life of Jesus before hisrnpublic career (volume two will proceedrnfrom here).rnMeier leads us along the path towardrn”the Jesus whom we can recover by usingrnthe scientific tools of modern historicalrnresearch.” He offers the following criteriarnfor deciding which words actuallyrncame from Jesus: the criteria of embarrassmentrn(the Church was eventuallyrnembarrassed by a saying, so it must bernauthentic), discontinuity (from Judaism),rnmultiple attestation, coherence,rnand rejection and execution (Jesus didrnsomething to alienate powerful people).rnMeier lists as “dubious criteria” traces ofrnAramaic, accurate references to thernPalestinian environment, vividness ofrnnarration, instances of the developingrnsynoptic tradition, and historical presumption.rnIf you want to know what people thinkrnabout the historical Jesus, you must startrnwith Meier’s book. But why bother lookingrnfor the historical Jesus at all? Meierrnresponds with an essential theologicalrnanswer: “the quest for the historical Jesusrncan be very useful if one is asking aboutrnfaith seeking understanding, i.e., theology,rnin a contemporary c o n t e x t . . . . faithrnin Christ today must be able to reflect onrnitself systematically in a way that will allowrnan appropriation of the quest for thernhistorical Jesus into theology.”rnFirst, he explains, “the quest for thernhistorical Jesus reminds Christians thatrnfaith in Christ is not just a vague existentialrnattitude or a way of being in thernworld. Christian faith is the affirmationrnof and adherence to a particular personrnwho said and did particular things in arnparticular time and place in human history.rnSecond, the quest affirms that thernrisen Jesus is the same person who livedrnand died as a Jew . . . a person as trulyrnand fully human . . . as any other humanrnbeing. Third, the quest for the historicalrnJesus . . . has tended to emphasize thernembarrassing, nonconformist aspects ofrnJesus Fourth, the historical Jesus sub-rnTHE RIGHT GUIDErn1993rn”It touches all the bases. No other referencernto organizations covers as much ground.”rn(M. WARDER, EXECUTIVE V.P., THE ROCKFORDrnINSTITUTE); “Inunensely usefulrndirectory.” (R. HESSEN, HOOVERrnINSTITUTION); “Nowhere else can you findrnthis information.” (N. TANIS, PAST PRES.rnNATIONAL LIBRARIANS Assoc); “Wellrnresearched..scholarly..indispensable.” (D.rnMARTIN, JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE);rn”Coverage of hbertarian organizations isrnboth careful and extensive.” (W. NISKANEN,rnCATO INSTITUTE)rnTbE RIGHT Gvnm lists 2,500 organizationsrnby name, address and contact; 500 in-depthrnprofiles, programs, publications and more.rnArticle-style features of prominent groups,rnincluding; The Ludwig von Mises Institute,rnHillsdale College, Foundation FranciscornMarroquin and more. Keyword Index.rnPARTIAL LIST OF SUBJECTS COVERED: Art-rnLiterature-Culture, Economics, Education,rnForeign PoUcy,Gold-Backed Money, HealthrnCare, Immigration, Pro-Life. 456 pages,rnclothbound. $49.95 (includes shipping).rnEconomics America, Inc.rn612 Church St.rnAnn Arbor, MI 48104rnCredit Cards (Visa/MC): (800) 878-6141rnlULY 1993/33rnrnrn