Son of God Book

In 1962 the Protestant scholar Rudolph Bultmann wrote, "I do indeed think that we can now know almost nothing concerning the life and personality of Jesus." Bultmann's scepticism hasn't discouraged a whole army of biblical scholars, archaeologists and scientists from continuing the quest for the historical Jesus. The result has been a plethora of theories from the bizarre to the bare facts. Angela Tilby--an Anglican priest, broadcaster and tutor at Cambridge--has put together a fascinating book about the historical Jesus which draws evidence from a whole range of disciplines. Designed to tie in with the new BBC series of the same name, Son of God takes the reader on a tour of the present scientific, archaeological and historic evidence for Jesus. Unlike many New Testament scholars, Tilby believes we can piece together quite a lot of information about Jesus. She is not crudely fundamentalist however. She understands the complexity of historical material and gives careful consideration to all the evidence and theories which contradict a simplistic reading of the Gospels. As is fitting for a TV tie-in, the book is well researched and carefully objective while remaining popular and readable. There are good illustrations from the TV series complete with cool computer reconstructions of the cities of Jesus' day. Son of God is clear, concise and fascinating. A better reading list could have made it an excellent introduction to the literature on the historical Jesus. As it stands it serves as a first-rate introduction to the facts on which the Christian faith is based. --Dwight LongeneckerRead More