Why historical scholarship cannot find the living Jesus

Martin Marty rsquo s new book appears in a series called ldquo Modern Library Chronicles rdquo which includes similarly concise volumes on such complex subjects as the Renaissance Shakespeare and the Catholic Church by authors as redoubtable as Paul Johnson Frank Kermode and Hans K uuml ng Tr

Robert Wilken states his book rsquo s purpose in the introduction to depict the pattern of Christian thinking as it took shape in the formative years of the church rsquo s history It is a large task but one that Wilken carries out with great learning and deep appreciation This is not a book writ

With this accessible yet critically responsible examination Paula Fredriksen the Aurelio Professor of Scripture at Boston University has made a significant contribution to the continuing debate concerning the historical Jesus Right from the start her book rsquo s several virtues ought gladly to