Reviews
Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts by Jonathan L. Reed, John Dominic Crossan
prlaw1517's review against another edition
2.0
Crossan and Reed deliberately exaggerate archaeological and exegetical points to emphasize their thesis that Jesus’ Kingdom Movement stood in opposition to the imperial powers of Rome. While I completely agree with their thesis, parts of their book gloss over complicated discussions about empire and archaeology. For example, they ignore strata from the synagogue at Capernaum that does not support their argument.
Perhaps my biggest critique comes from chapter 6, where they repeatedly ask “Why is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher not called Church of the Blessed Resurrection?” This utterly ignores the Greek name for the church and the Orthodox Christians who call it the Church of the Anastasis. It may seem minor, but this reveals a lack of detail and a tendency to gloss over facts to make their main points.
Perhaps my biggest critique comes from chapter 6, where they repeatedly ask “Why is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher not called Church of the Blessed Resurrection?” This utterly ignores the Greek name for the church and the Orthodox Christians who call it the Church of the Anastasis. It may seem minor, but this reveals a lack of detail and a tendency to gloss over facts to make their main points.
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