An inspiring scholarly look at the four synoptic gospels. The author succeeds in separating genuine Jesus accounts from the artificial "Jesus" stories inserted in the 400 years after his death by the early church. He notes the roots of institutionalized anti-Semitism added long ago, and the judgmental, condemnatory words that Jesus would not have uttered. Most poignant was his observation that people "believe" because they have not had the experience. Jesus had the experience of being one with God and tried to convey to others what he had felt. He taught the basic laws of the Torah: love for God and love for one's neighbor. The story of the good Samaritan was to illustrate that all are our neighbors. Much interwoven dialogue with Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian scholars make this a delight. ( )

Mitchell did well in general, but his mistranslation of "mamzer" irked me, especially considering that it was an easily corrected error. The closest English equivilent is "bastard," yes, that's true, but it's not exact, it's an approximation. Mamzer is, however, more specific, and only applied in cases of a child concieved out of incest or adultery.

Still, his consolidation of Jesus' teachings was very good, and his introduction (longer than the rest of the book) was also, generally, well thought out. ( )

I have several of Mitchell's translations of sacred texts and really enjoyed this one. It attempts to peel away the dogma and hubris of two millennium to get at what Jesus actually said and taught. What would I have heard if I was there to hear him speak? It's about peace and love. ( )