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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. This is a brief introduction to the historical context and meaning of the New Testament. Cahill has also written How the Irish Saved Civilization and The Gifts of the Jews, tying these works together in a theme of the "hinges of history". Cahill's prose is often eloquent, and he is very interesting on the themes of recent historical scholarship regarding the timing and dating of the books of the New Testament. His eloquence and evident belief, however, render some of his judgements about the historical significance of events a bit suspect. (  ) neurodrew | Sep 27, 2009 |  A great introduction to the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. Written in a very readable style with a flair for bringing to life the many characters that surrounded Jesus. Cahill successfully demonstrates the shift in culture and world view brought on by his subject. The effect Jesus had on Western Civilization. Cahill is the author of The Gifts of the Jews", "How the Irish Saved Civilization", "Sailing the Wine Dark Sea", and "Mysteries of the Middle Ages" all from the series called "Hinges of History". What the author sees as "the evolving Jewish idea that there must be life beyond this life" (p48) I see as God's progressive self-revelation. While he confirms his belief in God's justice and the hereafter, he is primarily addressing the movement of culture and ideas. He is looking at the same thing from a different vantage point in order to shed more light. Apparently in the interest of making the book very readable he didn't bother himself or his readers with documentation for many of his assertions. It would have been nice if he had. (  ) pwlarue | Jun 6, 2009 | Historical look at Jesus and the people he knew. Lake_O_UCC | Feb 27, 2009 | world before and after Jesus (  ) AnneliM | Sep 28, 2008 | An examination of how Jesus of Nazareth, an obscure rabbi and minor prophet from a backwater of the Roman Empire, came to be considered the central figure in Western civilization. 1  stmarysasheville | May 30, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
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After painting with broad brush strokes an entertaining picture of the Greek, Jewish, and Roman world, Cahill focuses on Jesus. With illuminating deductions and clever speculation, Jesus is seen though the eyes of his biographers in their Gospel accounts. Each of these authors' lives is reconstructed in such a way that the richness of their writing and their subject matter is wonderfully enhanced.
The section on Paul, detailing how his life and letters shaped the early church, should be required reading for every student of the Bible. From his beginnings in the cosmopolitan city known as Tarsus through his calling, like the patriarchs and prophets before him, he becomes "the perfect vehicle for this moment in the development of the Jesus Movement." His mix of Greek reasoning with rabbinical training casts the stories of the early church into a thoughtful theology. He is seen here as the earliest egalitarian who not only impacted the early church but all of western civilization.
Cahill challenges many traditional religious ideas while also taking on some of the more radical contemporary interpreters of biblical literature. As with the other volumes in this series, the marginal notes are filled with a wealth of interesting information. Combining his own fresh translation of many New Testament highlights with respect and humor, Thomas Cahill's book is for the believer and nonbeliever alike. --Tracy Danz
(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:59:50 -0500)
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