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Reveals the true role of James, the brother of Jesus, in early Christianity * Uses evidence from the canonical Gospels, apocryphal texts, and the writings of the Church Fathers to reveal the teachings of Jesus as transmitted to his chosen successor: James * Demonstrates how the core message in the teachings of Jesus is an expansion not a repudiation of the Jewish religion * Shows how James can serve as a bridge between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam James has been a subject of controversy since the founding of the Church. Evidence that Jesus had siblings contradicts Church dogma on the virgin birth, and James is also a symbol of Christian teachings that have been obscured. While Peter is traditionally thought of as the leader of the apostles and the "rock" on which Jesus built his church, Jeffrey Bütz shows that it was James who led the disciples after the crucifixion. It was James, not Peter, who guided them through the Church's first major theological crisis--Paul's interpretation of the teachings of Jesus. Using the canonical Gospels, writings of the Church Fathers, and apocryphal texts, Bütz argues that James is the most overlooked figure in the history of the Church. He shows how the core teachings of Jesus are firmly rooted in Hebraic tradition; reveals the bitter battles between James and Paul for ideological supremacy in the early Church; and explains how Paul's interpretations, which became the foundation of the Church, are in many ways its betrayal. Bütz reveals a picture of Christianity and the true meaning of Christ's message that are sometimes at odds with established Christian doctrine and concludes that James can serve as a desperately needed missing link between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam to heal the wounds of centuries of enmity.… (more)
User reviews
Butz does many things well. For one, the book is very readable. He builds his arguments patiently, summarizes his points well, and is most willing to take some non-traditional stances. He makes abundant uses of third party scholarship and quotes directly.
However, I began to deduct stars as some things began to wear on me. For starters, Butz uses only Christian scholars and does not make use of those who have made substantial contributions to the field but are not Christian. As a result, Butz accepts much of the gospels and early Christian writings as factual. One point that particularly gnawed on me, was how he constantly repeated that Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple while not once mentioning that the Temple was destroyed prior to the writing of any of the gospels. He also does not mention that the Books of James and Jude, and some of the later letters of Paul were forged, and the pseudonyms were commonly used during that period.
He also had a weak sense of the history of the time. He refers to the Catholic church in the 3rd and 4th centuries, a period where many scholars prefer the term 'proto-orthodoxy', and Rome was competing with other Christian centers, namely Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople for ascendency and was often on the outside. The council at Nicea did not confirm Christian doctrine, but was the start of 2 centuries of conflict within the church.
Lastly, after so much effort in pointing out the divergence between Christian Judiasm and Pauline Christianity, Butz bails in his conclusions, attempting to reconcile the two theologies, and stating that the latter still faithfully reports the original message of Jesus. I would have preferred Butz heading in the other direction. How did James view the resurrection of Jesus and his subsequent divinity? The conclusion there may be quite startling.
Still, despite my reservations, I would recommend this book as it does contain some good information. However, someone who is well read on the subject will get a different reaction than someone who is new to early Christian history.