Monday, October 3, 2011

Reviews of Hitchhiker's Guide from opposite sides of the globe

The "blog tour" for A Hitchhiker's Guide to Jesus posted two new reviews today.

John Byron
, of The Biblical World, posted here. Byron is Associate Professor of New Testament at Ashland Theological Seminary. This excerpt near the end of his review was particularly encouraging:
Finally, what also makes this book unique, as well as useful, is the honest way in which Norm is allowed to wrestle with the tension between faith and history, between fact and tradition. Fisk does not duck the questions that historical inquiry raises about Jesus and the gospels. Through Norm, he thinks out loud about the implications of a faith that is not always able to find the security of historical moorings. He doesn’t provide any easy answers. Readers are given the materials they need to work with, but they are left to wrestle with the answers for themselves. I think this is the way it should be.
Also blogging today was Michael Bird, over at Euangelion. Bird is Lecturer in Theology and New Testament at Crossway College in Brisbane, Australia. Although I winced when I read the word "cute," I'm glad that Michael thinks the book approaches familiar questions in a fresh way.
I have to confess that this really is a clever and cute little introduction to Jesus. Intro’s to Jesus/Gospels are fairly bountiful, so it takes a bit of straining of the grey matter to come up with something new. Fisk has done just that in this book.
I'm expecting more blog posts throughout the week, so stay tuned!

No comments: