Jesus as a Figure in History

Now somewhat dated (even 11 years makes a big difference in this field), but still a good first reference before deciding which scholars to read. Powell seems to do a fairly decent job of keeping neutral. The strength of this is that he gives a good idea of what the strengths and weaknesses are of each scholar, in a form that is much easier to read than many of the books he is describing. The weakness is that most of these books are much richer than his description, and without the supporting arguments the conclusions are up in the air. It would be dangerous to argue for or against any of these positions merely on the basis of what Powell writes.

The scholars described are: Jesus Seminar, Crossan, Borg, Sanders, Meier, Wright.

Debate about the historical Jesus has been particularly intense in recent decades. This absorbing and enlightening account of modern Jesus scholarship provides a supurb critical summary of contemporary arguments.

"Here is the first comprehensive, balanced account of historical Jesus studies. Beginning with brief discussions of the early days of historical research into the person of Jesus and the methods developed by researchers at the time, [the author] offers insightful overviews of some of the most important participants in the contemporary Jesus quests: Robert Funk, John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, E.P. Saunders, John Meier, and N.T. Wright, among others. [He] concludes by outlining issues and directions for research that will likely guide these quests [in the 21st] century." from the book cover