Conflict, holiness & politics in the teachings of Jesus /

Borg's monography belongs to the forefront of recent study on the politics of Jesus. Remarkably free from religious bias, this superb historical analysis combines thoroughly familiarity with the scholarly literature and an unusually lucid expository style. In an area that has been examined so often, Borg's conclusions are surprising and convincing: Jesus' primary message emphasized the mercy of God; that was the most important divine attribute to be emulated by man. Jesus' ministry involved him in a profound redefinition of the whole notion of ``holiness.'' Rather than ``separation from sin'' as understood by the religious leaders of his day, Jesus taught that it meant ``mercy toward sin and separation from God.'' Reaching deep into the structures and symbols of Israel's religious life (meal fellowship, temple worship, sabbath observance, teaching about last things), Jesus' ``transvaluation of values'' earned him the bitter opposition of purists and patriots alike. Very similar to J. Massyngbaerde Ford's My Enemy Is My Guest (1984). A must for research libraries, the book will have as primary audience seminary students, graduate students, and research specialists rather than undergraduates.-D. Dungan, University of Tennessee at Knoxville