Notes:
1. You are not expected to read everything on this list! It is compulsory to read the ‘Essential Reading’, but after that it is suggested that you investigate other books on the ‘Recommended Reading’ list that interest you.
2. On some topics there are many, many available resources, and when you are researching for your assessed paper or for your course work or your examination, you may want to read material that is not covered on this list. Further suggestions for reading on special topics will be given in lecture hand-outs, for example. Special reading lists are also available on Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls; Son of Man and the Quest and Its Methods. Please consult me for any help over reading material.
3. Only some of the available internet resources are listed here. There are lots of good on-line resources on Jesus. To access these, go to The New Testament Gateway at http://NTGateway.com/Jesus (or go direct from the Course Web Site). I will also draw your attention to good internet resources available on specific subjects as the course continues.
4. It is highly likely that I will want to add books and articles to the course bibliography as time goes on. You are encouraged to keep an eye on the Course Web Site for this.
5. If you have any difficulty in getting access to books and articles, please see me. Also I am happy to hear comments and suggestions concerning bibliography. You can share your thoughts, questions & reflections on the course E-List.
Essential Reading
Gerd Theissen and Annette Merz, The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide (London: SCM, 1998)
C. J. den Heyer, Jesus Matters: 150 Years of Jesus Research (London: SCM, 1996)
E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus (London : Allen Lane, 1993)
or: E. P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism (London : SCM, 1985)
or: E. P. Sanders and M. Davies, Studying the Synoptic Gospels (London: SCM, 1989)
J. Dominic Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1993)
or: J. Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus. The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1991)
Recommended Reading
1. Judaism in Jesus’ Time
John J. Rousseau & Rami Arav, Jesus and His World: An Archaeological and Cultural Dictionary (London: SCM, 1995)
Emil Schürer The history of the Jewish people in the age of Jesus Christ (New English version, ed. by Geza Vermes et al; 3 vols., Edinburgh : T. & T. Clark, 1973 - 1987)
C. Rowland, Christian Origins (London: SCM, 1985), pp. 23-108
Sean Freyne, Galilee, Jesus and the Gospels: Literary Approaches and Historical Investigations (Philadelphia, 1988)
E. P. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 BCE - 66 CE (London: SCM, 1992)
E. P. Sanders, Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah (London: SCM, 1990)
E. P. Sanders, "Jesus in Historical Context", Theology Today 50 (1993), pp. 429-48, reproduced on-line at http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1993/v50-3-article8.htm
N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God (London: S.P.C.K., 1992)
Richard A. Horsley, Bandits, prophets, and messiahs: popular movements in the time of Jesus (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988)
Richard A. Horsley, Jesus and the Spiral of Violence: Popular Jewish Resistance in Roman Palestine (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987)
Richard A. Horsley, Galilee: History, Politics, People (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1996)
Bruce Chilton & Jacob Neusner, Judaism in the New Testament: Practices and Beliefs (Routledge, 1995)
Gerd Theissen, The Gospels in context: social and political history in the synoptic tradition (Edinburgh : T&T Clark, 1992)
Bruce J. Malina, Windows on the World of Jesus: Time Travel to Ancient Judea (Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993)
- See also the on-line resources listed on the course web site, especially:
2. The Quest and Its History
(see also Essential Reading above, especially Theissen & Merz)
John Riches, A Century of New Testament Study (Cambridge: Lutterworth, 1993), pp. 89-124
John Reumann, ‘Jesus and Christology’, Chapter 18 in Eldon Jay Epp and George MacRae, ed., The New Testament and its Modern Interpreters (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989), pp. 501-64
Dieter Lührmann, An Itinerary for New Testament Study (ET, London: SCM, 1989)
W. Kümmel, The New Testament: A History of the Investigation of Its Problems (ET; London: SCM, 1973) [Title in German in catalogue]
S. Neill & N. T. Wright, The Interpretation of the New Testament 1861 - 1986 (2nd edition; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988)
Luke T. Johnson, The Real Jesus (San Francisco: Harper, 1995)
Marcus Borg, Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship (Valley Forge, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 1994)
Marcus J. Borg, ed., Jesus at 2,000 (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1997)
Christopher Rowland, Christian Origins (London: SPCK, 1985), pp. 122-6
C. J. den Heyer, Jesus Matters: 150 Years of Jesus Research (London: SCM, 1996)
Witherington, Ben., The Jesus quest : the Third search for the Jew of Nazareth (Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, 1995)
N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (London: SPCK, 1996), Part 1
Bruce Chilton and Craig A. Evans, Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research (Leiden: Brill, 1994)
John P. Meier, "The Present State of the ‘Third Quest’ for the Historical Jesus: Loss and Gain", Biblica 80 (1999), pp. 459-487, on-line at http://www.bsw.org/project/biblica/bibl80/Comm11.htm
Dale Allison, "The Secularizing of the Historical Jesus", article forthcoming in Perspectives in Religious Studies, reproduced (PDF format; Acrobat Reader needed) on Dale Allison's homepage, http://www.pts.edu/allisond.html
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Jesus: Miriam's Child, Sophia's Prophet: Critical Issues In Feminist Christology (London: SCM, 1995)
William E. Arnal & Michel Desjardins, eds., Whose Historical Jesus? (Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfird Laurier University Press, 1997) [Many useful articles – see in particular Hurtado’s "Taxonomy" and Jane Schaberg’s feminist reflections]
3. Classics
Ernest Renan, The Life of Jesus (London: Watts & Co., 1861)
- Also available on-line: click on title.
M. Kähler, The So-Called Historical Jesus and the Historic, Biblical Christ (ET, Philadelphia: Fortress, 1964)
J. Weiss, Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (ET, Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1985)
Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the historical Jesus: a critical study of its progress . . . (London : Black, 1910)
- Also available on-line: click on title.
Rudolf Bultmann, Jesus (Berlin: Deutsche Biblithek, 1929) [= Rudolf Bultmann, Jesus and the Word (translated [from the German] by Louise Pettibone Smith; London: Fontana Books, 1958)
- Also available on-line: click on the title.
Ernst Käsemann, "The Problem of the Historical Jesus" in Essays on New Testament Themes (ET, London: SCM, 1964), pp. 15-47
J. M. Robinson, A New Quest of the Historical Jesus (Studies in Biblical Theology 25; London: SCM, 1959)
4. General Reading
(see also the Essential Reading Above)
Dale Allison, Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998)
Paula Fredriksen, Jesus of Nazareth: King of the Jews (London: Macmillan, 2000)
Bart Ehrman, Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999)
Ben F. Meyer, The Aims of Jesus (London : SCM, 1979)
Luke T. Johnson, The Real Jesus (San Francisco: Harper, 1995)
Paula Fredriksen, From Jesus to Christ: the Origins of the New Testament Images of Jesus (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1988)
Christopher Rowland, Christian Origins (London: SPCK, 1985), pp. 122-193
Robert Stein, Jesus the Messiah: A Survey of the Life of Christ (Downers Grove, Ill.; Leicester: Intervarsity Press, 1996)
W. Barnes Tatum, In Quest of Jesus: A Guidebook (Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1981)
N. T. Wright, Who was Jesus? (London: S.P.C.K., 1992)
N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (London: SPCK, 1996)
Craig A. Evans & Stanley E. Porter, eds., The Historical Jesus. A Sheffield Reader (Biblical Seminar 33; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996)
Morna D. Hooker, The Signs of a Prophet: The Prophetic Actions of Jesus (London: SCM, 1997)
Pierre-Antoine Bernheim, James, Brother of Jesus (London: SCM, 1997)
Heikki Raisanen, Jesus, Paul and Torah (JSNTSup, 43; Sheffield: JSOT, 1992), pp. 127-48
G. Theissen, The Shadow of the Galilean (London: SCM, 1987)
Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew: a Historian’s Reading of the Gospels (London: Fontana, 1976; 2nd ed., London: SCM Press, 1983)
Geza Vermes, Jesus and the world of Judaism (London: SCM, 1983)
Geza Vermes, The Religion of Jesus the Jew (London: SCM, 1993)
John Riches, Jesus and the Transformation of Judaism (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1980)
S. G. F. Brandon, Jesus and the Zealots: A Study of the Political Factor in Primitive Christianity (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1967)
Maurice Casey, From Jewish Prophet to Gentile God: The Origins and Development of New Testament Christology (Edward Cadbury Lectures 1985; Cambridge: James Clarke, 1991)
Maurice Casey, Son of man: the interpretation and influence of Daniel 7 (London: S.P.C.K, 1979)
B. Lindars, Jesus Son of Man: a fresh examination of the Son of Man sayings in the Gospels (London : SPCK, 1983)
R. Grant, A Historical Introduction to the New Testament (London: Collins, 1963)
- Also available on-line: click on the title
C. A. Braaten & R. A. Harrisville, eds., The Historical Jesus and the Kerygmatic Christ - Essays on the New Quest of the Historical Jesus (New York: Nashville, 1964)
W. G. Kümmel, Introduction to the New Testament (ET, London: SCM, 1966; rev. ed., 1975)
Henry Cadbury, The Peril of Modernising Jesus (London: SPCK, 1962)
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Jesus: Miriam's Child, Sophia's Prophet: Critical Issues In Feminist Christology (London: SCM, 1995)
J. Dominic Crossan, The Essential Jesus: Original Sayings and Earliest Images (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1995)
John Dominic Crossan, The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened In the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1999)
Marcus Borg, Jesus: A New Vision (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1991)
Marcus Borg, Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship (Valley Forge, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 1994)
Marcus Borg, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993)
Marcus J. Borg, ed., Jesus at 2000 (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1997)
Robert W. Funk, ed., The Gospel of Mark: Red Letter Edition (Sonoma, Calif.: Polebridge, 1991)
Robert W. Funk & Roy W. Hoover, eds., The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus (New York: Macmillan, 1995)
William E. Arnal & Michel Desjardins, eds., Whose Historical Jesus? (Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfird Laurier University Press, 1997)
Robert Stein, Jesus the Messiah: A Survey of the Life of Christ (Downers Grove, Ill.; Leicester: Intervarsity Press, 1996)
Marcus J. Borg and N. T. Wright, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1999)
5. Parables and Teaching
(see also the Essential Reading Above)
R. Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition (ET, Oxford: Blackwell, 1972)
C. H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom (London: Nisbet, 1935; rev. ed., 1961)
John Drury, The Parables in the Gospels: History and Allegory (London: SPCK, 1985)
E. P. Sanders and M. Davies, Studying the Synoptic Gospels (London: SCM, 1989)
J. Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus (ET, London: SCM, 1954; 6th ed., London: SCM, 1963; 3rd rev. ed., 1972)
Eta Linnemann, Parables of Jesus: Introduction and Exposition (ET, London: SPCK, 1966)
B. B. Scott, Hear Then the Parable. A Commentary on the Parables of Jesus (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989)
H. Wansbrough, ed., Jesus and the Oral Gospel Tradition (JSNTSup, 64; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1991)
J. Jeremias, New Testament Theology: Volume 1: The Proclamation of Jesus (New Testament Library; London: SCM, 1971)
R. H. Fuller, The Mission and Achievement of Jesus (Studies in Biblical Theology, 12; London: SCM, 1954, 1970)
N. Perrin, Jesus and the Language of the Kingdom: symbol and metaphor in New Testament(London: S.C.M. Press, 1976)
- Also available on-line: click on title.
Robert W. Funk & Bernard B. Scott, eds., The Parables of Jesus: Red Letter Edition. A Report of the Jesus Seminar (Sonoma, Calif.: Polebridge, 1988)
6. Healing and Miracles
(see also the Essential Reading Above)
Morton Smith, Jesus the Magician (London: Gollancz, 1978)
Stevan L. Davies, Jesus the Healer (London: SCM, 1995)
Gerd Theissen, The Miracle stories of the Early Christian tradition (Studies of the New Testament and its world; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1983)
Gerd Theissen & Annette Merz, The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide (London: SCM, 1998)
John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking The Historical Jesus Vol.2: Mentor, Message, and Miracles (The Anchor Bible Reference Library; New York; London: Doubleday, 1994)
Graham H. Twelftree, Jesus the Exorcist: A Contribution to the Study of the Historical Jesus (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendricksons, 1993)
7. Trial and Death
(see also the Essential Reading Above)
Simon Légasse, The Trial of Jesus (London: SCM, 1997)
Ben F Meyer, The Aims of Jesus (London: SCM, 1979)
C. Rowland, Christian Origins (London: SCM, 1985), pp. 164-74
Paul Winter, On The Trial Of Jesus (Studia Judaica, Forschungen zur Wissenschaft des Judentums; Bd. 1; 2nd ed., Berlin; New York : De Gruyter, 1974)
E. Bammel, ed., The Trial of Jesus: Cambridge Essays in Honour of C. F. D. Moule (Studies in Biblical Theology 2nd Series, 13; London: SCM, 1970)
E. Bammel & C. F. D. Moule, eds., Jesus and the Politics of His Day (Cambridge: C. U. P., 1984)
N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, 2; London: SPCK, 1996)
E. P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism (London : SCM, 1985)
Raymond E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah: From Gethsemane to the Grave. A Commentary on the Passion Narratives in the Four Gospels (London: Chapman, 1994)
E. Trocmé, The Passion as Liturgy. A Study in the Origin of the Passion Narratives in the Four Gospels (London: SCM, 1983)
Ellis Rivkin, What Crucified Jesus? (London: SCM, 1984), pp. 72-9
John Dominic Crossan, Who Killed Jesus?: Exposing The Roots Of Anti-Semitism In The Gospel Story (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995)
Mark Goodacre, "Prophecy Historicized or History Scripturized?: Reflections on the Origin of the Crucifixion Narrative" (pre-publication, temporarily at http://ntgateway.com/ProphHist.doc).
Remember to consult the course web site for on-line material.
8. Jesus Outside the New Testament
C. J. den Heyer, Jesus Matters: 150 Years of Jesus Research (London: SCM, 1996), Chapter 9 (pp. 94-113)
Gerd Theissen & Annette Merz, The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide (London: SCM, 1998), Part One
Majella Franzmann, Jesus in the Nag Hammadi Writings (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1996)
Helmut Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development (London: SCM, 1990)
F. F. Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament (new ed., London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1984)
Mark Goodacre, The New Testament Gateway: Non-Canonical Christian Texts, ../noncanon.htm . In particular, see:
9. Jesus in Fiction and Film
Bruce Babington & Peter William Evans, Biblical Epics: Sacred Narrative in the Hollywood Cinema (Manchester & New York: Manchester University Press, 1993)
D. Thompson & I. Christie (eds.), Scorsese on Scorsese (Updated ed., London: Faber & Faber, 1996)
W. Barnes Tatum, Jesus at the Movies: A Guide to the First Hundred Years. Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge, 1997)
Lloyd Baugh, Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ Figures in Film (Communication, Culture, and Theology; Kansas City, MO: Sheed and Ward, 1998)
Richard C. Stern, Clayton Jefford and Guerric DeBona, Savior on the Silver Screen (New York and Mahwah: Paulist, 1999)
William Hamilton, A Quest for the Post-Historical Jesus (London: SCM, 1993)
C. J. den Heyer, Jesus Matters: 150 Years of Research (London: SCM, 1996), pp. 114-28
W. Telford, ‘Jesus Christ Movie Star: The depiction of Jesus in the cinema’ in Clive Marsh and Gaye Ortiz (eds.), Explorations in Theology and Film: Movies and Meaning (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997), pp. 115-39
Peter T. Chattaway, "Jesus at the Movies", Books and Culture March/April 2000, pp. 10-14, reproduced on-line at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2000/002/2.10.html
Roy M. Anker, "Lights, Camera, Jesus: Hollywood looks at itself in the mirror of the Messiah", ChristianityToday.com (posted 12 May 2000), reproduced on-line at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/006/4.58.html
W. R. Telford, ‘The New Testament in Fiction and Film: A Biblical Scholar’s Perspective’ in Jon Davies, Graham Harvey & Wilfred Watson (eds.), Words Remembered, Texts Renewed: Essays in Honour of John F. A. Sawyer (JSOTSup, 195; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), pp. 360-94
Gaye Ortiz, ‘Jesus at the Movies: Cinematic Representation of the Christ-figure’, The Month, December 1994 (2nd News Series Vol. 27, no. 12), pp. 491-7
Carol Iannone, "The Last Temptation Reconsidered" First Things 60 (February 1996), pp. 50-54, reproduced on-line at: http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9602/iannone.html
J. Rosenbaum, ‘Raging Messiah: The Last Temptation of Christ’, Sight and Sound 57 (1988), pp. 281-82
P. Cook, ‘Review of M. Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ’, Monthly Film Bulletin 55 (1988), pp. 287-88
S. Jenkins, ‘From the Pit of Hell: the Making of The Last Temptation of Christ’, Monthly Film Bulletin 55 (1988), pp. 352-3
Mark Goodacre, "The Synoptic Jesus and the Celluloid Christ: Solving the Synoptic Problem Through Film", Journal for the Study of the New Testament 80 (2000), pp. 31-44
Mark Goodacre, "Do You Think You’re What They Say You Are? Reflections on Jesus Christ Superstar", Journal of Religion and Film 3/2 (1999), on-line at http://www.unomaha.edu/~wwwjrf/jesuscss2.htm
Mark Goodacre, The New Testament Gateway: Jesus in Film, ../film, [see links listed for extra bibliography].
Adele Reinhartz, "Jesus in Film: Hollywood Perspectives on the Jewishness of Jesus", Journal of Religion and Film Vol. 2, Number 2 (Fall 1998), http://www.unomaha.edu/~wwwjrf/JesusinFilmRein.htm
10. Popular and Sensationalist Literature
a. Examples
Barbara Thiering, Jesus and the Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Unlocking the Secrets of His Life Story (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992) [in library]
A. N. Wilson, Jesus (London: Sinclair-Stevenson, 1992)
John Shelby Spong, Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992)
John Shelby Spong, Resurrection: Myth or Reality (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994)
b. Critiques
Luke Johnson, The Real Jesus, Chapter 2
Luke Johnson, "Reshuffling the Gospels: Jesus According to Spong and Wilson", Christian Century, April 28, 1993, pp. 457-458, on-line at http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showarticle?item_id=34
N. T. Wright, Who Was Jesus? (specifically aimed at those three authors)
Gerd Theissen & Annette Merz, The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide (London: SCM, 1998), pp. 90-124.
C. J. Den Heyer, Jesus Matters: 150 Years of Research (London: SCM, 1996)
