Christian Books & Bibles, History 

From the back cover: "Since the turn of the [twentieth-] century when two German scholars, Albert Schweitzer and Johannes Weiss, dared to oppose the established view of Jesus, numerous writers have leaped at the opportunity to present their own ideas about his unique character and status. Although each based his study on 'scientific observation,' they all arrived at most diverse results.... Was Jesus the apocalyptic 'Son of man' or more of an existentialist rabbi? Was he a Nazorean Messiah scheming a 'Passion plot' or do the Dead Sea Scrolls hold some clue to his Essene-like characteristics? Was one author close to the truth when he labeled Jesus a zealot and a revolutionary? Or, far from being any of these, did Jesus bring back the long-forgotten teachings of the early prophets, the spirit of whom was portrayed by the Chasidim, a people who have pursued 'a biblical way of life from time immemorial'? And if Jesus did represent this Hebrew prophet line, how can we redefine certain terms like 'Hebrew-Christian tradition,' 'Kingdom of God,' 'Promised Land'?... Arguments from such twentieth-century scholars as Schweitzer, Wrede, Bultmann, Schonfield, Brandon, Bornkamm, Allegro, Cullmann, and Manson are reexamined, but the author makes no attempt to settle the arguments once and for all. The book is purposely left open-ended as Jesus continues to challenge men and women with the mystery of his own identity." - from Amzon