The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable is the Gospel Tradition? by Robert M. Price
What happens when one puts forth a rational, objective method of researching historicity and applies it to the canonical gospels of the bible? Dr. Robert M. Price, aka The Bible Geek, comes to a very unpopular conclusion: there is no evidence to support that a historical Jesus ever existed.
TISSOM begins by outlining the rationale for Dr. Price's methodology, and then goes event by event through the gospels, comparing the accounts given by the four gospel writers. To each event, he details the contradictions and similarities, outlines the history of the event's likely origin(s), and proposes the probable motive(s) and rationale(s) of each gospel writer when formulating his particular account.
While seemingly an average-length book, TISSOM took me quite a while to get through. It's enthralling and enlightening, which also makes it a book to slowly digest and contemplate rather than quickly consume. And though the subject matter can be ponderous, Dr. Price's style is rather light-hearted. His genuine interest in and voluminous knowledge of the New Testament, combined with his biting humor, keeps the reader both challenged and entertained. I highly recommend it, especially to those interested in ancient religions or the origins of modern Christian superstitions. Or zombies...
I've already purchased his answer to the bombastic-yet-delicate whiny Christian apologists: Jesus Is Dead. I'll let you know how it goes. But I think I've found my new favorite hobby de jour of the day: critical biblical study.
Two side notes:
- Dr. Price has a podcast, TheBibleGeek.org, available free at iTunes. It is easily my favorite and most anticipated podcast.
- Dr. Price is also a Lovecraft scholar. And while I can go along with his whole "Jesus never existed" thing, his insistence that Cthulhu is fiction is simply absurd...
I am sold.
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