Title: Profiles of Jesus. Profiles of Jesus 256 p. Publisher: Santa Rosa, Calif : Polebridge Press, 2002

Cole-Arnal, Oscar

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 30Issue 1 Globalization Article 135-1-2005Profiles of JesusOscar Cole-ArnalFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationCole-Arnal, Oscar (2005) "Profiles of Jesus ," Consensus: Vol. 30 : Iss. 1 , Article 13.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol30/iss1/13Profiles of JesusRoy W. Hoover, EditorSanta Rosa, California: Polebridge Press, 2002256 pages, $18.07 SoftcoverRoy W. Hoover manages in one short volume to gather together manyof the insights which emerged from the third “Quest for the HistoricalJesus,” better known as the Jesus Seminar. As well, in this collectionof essays he manages to include some of the more well-known of thescholars who inaugurated this new effort in the 1980s, figures such asRobert W. Funk, James M. Robinson (bridge between the second andthird quests), Marcus Borg (instrumental in popularizing theSeminar’s work) and John Dominic Crossan (whose brilliance andliterary skill have crossed the boundary of scholarship and popularwriting with consummate skill). Although all the essays are worthwhile and useful to an interestedreader, I chose to highlight particular ones which seem particularlycreative or of personal interest. By way of disclaimer, I am notsuggesting that those chosen by me are of necessity better than others.Rather I focus on those which both fed me and piqued my interest themost. As a fan of Crossan’s work I read eagerly his “Jesus as AMediterranean Jewish Peasant.” At the same time I expected it to bea rehash of his earlier more extensive work. It was that (and why not),but also it was more. In this brief piece he managed to summarize hisearlier work with crispness and clarity, weaving it together with hisexpected literary panache. Kathleen E. Corley’s “Gender and Class inthe Teaching of Jesus: a Profile” challenges the earlier work ofElisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, among others, who suggest that Jesus’ministry offered a gender equality that drew oppressed women to themovement. Corley suggests rather that Jesus embodied thepatriarchal values of his society and that women’s attraction to themovement is better explained from Jesus’ connection with themarginalized economically. Although I am not prepared to adopt thisview uncritically I am committed to reading her well-reviewed bookon the subject. Stephen J. Patterson, reputed Gospel of Thomasscholar, provides us with a powerful piece in his “Dirt, Shame, andSin in the Expendable Company of Jesus.” In this finely craftedchapter we encounter a powerful apologia for theological scholarshipas well as a poignant picture of the empire of expendables Jesus124 ConsensusPublished by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2005offered over against the class, power and success driven empire ofRome and its clients. However, it is Mahlon H. Smith’s “Israel’sProdigal Son: Reflections on Reimaging Jesus” which stands out inthe arena of creativity. Dr. Smith suggests that the glaringly uniquestory of the Prodigal Son might provide the one example of Jesus’autobiographical reflections that we have. The author derives thisposition from the many passages that portray the hostility andmisunderstanding toward Jesus from members of his own family,especially the relation between James the Just and Jesus before andafter his death. Am I convinced? No, I am cautious, but I am alsointrigued. It is a compelling and appealing suggestion.So I encourage all readers interested in the work of the JesusSeminar to pick up Profiles of Jesus and give it a try. The readings areboth erudite and enjoyable. All in all Hoover’s collection provides agreat appetizer for introducing the Jesus Seminar through its ownvoices.Oscar Cole-ArnalWaterloo Lutheran SeminaryWomen & Christianity:From the Reformation to the 21st Century (Vol. III)Mary T. MaloneMaryknoll, New York: Orbis Books and Novalis, 2003334 pages, $36.14 HardcoverThis book marks the completion of Dr. Mary Malone’s monumentalthree-volume Women & Christianity work. In these three books Dr.Malone has contributed to the field of Christian history a basictextbook that has no equal. To be sure, there are a handful of otherstudies on Christian women that trace their role in the two thousandyear period in which Christianity has walked across the pages ofhistory, but none can compete with Malone in terms of depth andbreadth. Add to this a fine literary touch and you have acomprehensive series that is both erudite and artistic. This is not todiscount the extensive and deeply scholarly work of other historicalscholars in the field such as Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza andBook Reviews 125http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol30/iss1/13

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