Hitchhiking Around the Blogs (On Fisk on Norm on Jesus)

Last updated on: October 4, 2011 at 10:35 am by Nijay Gupta

Hitchhiking Around the Blogs (On Fisk on Norm on Jesus) 2011-10-04T10:35:19-08:00 Nijay Gupta

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Take one part autobiography, one part historical fiction, one part atlas, one part history of Jesus studies, one part political commentary, one part history of religion, one part “use of the old in the new testament” guide, one part “comparison of Synoptic Gospels,” one part introduction to Biblical archaeology, one part “the Jerusalem equivalent to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” and one part “Who’s Who in historical Jesus scholarship” – and you have Bruce Fisk’s stimulating A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jesus: Reading the Gospels on the Ground (Baker, 2011). It is a book with really excellent content, and masterfully produced as well.
I will admit, though, that I was a skeptic at first. When the opportunity came to review the book, I was barely interested (mostly because I could not figure out what the book was actually about). However, then I ran into the endorsements: Richard Hays, Gary Burge, Ross Wagner, Marianne Meye Thompson, Mark Allan Powell… OK…clearly Fisk is on to something and I should figure out what it is!

The basic idea is this: a fictionalized character named “Norm” (young student of religion with doubts about his Christian faith) who has the opportunity to go to the Holy Land and work out his thoughts about Jesus right there. The book chronicles, in first person, his adventures and reflections. Fisk admits that his own (many, many) journeys to Jerusalem and its surrounding areas furnish a good amount of information for “Norm’s” itinerary and experiences. In fact, one is often left wondering, did Fisk do that? Did he really run into that person?

A major question that one must ask when reading this book is: what is the purpose of the book? Put another way, at the beginning of this post I used the imagery of ingredients for a recipe. But a recipe for what? What kind of hunger does this meal satisfy?

I think it is meant to introduce students of Jesus (especially those Fisk commonly interacts with in his courses) to a person like them (with some faith and some doubt) who can help them work out their (mis)understanding of Jesus as both real human from Galilee and also his message and what it meant. You can tell that Fisk is not interested in comfortable, quick, or easy answers. The book points towards a sense of owning the complexity in such a way that faith continues to be an adventure. There is no taming Jesus in faith, there is no taming Jerusalem (today, right now), there is no end to the exploring. And…there is a lot of fun to be had on the way (some of it involving narcotics?).

I think what Fisk understands is that most “backgrounds” books are boring. Also, they don’t engage directly in the personal challenges of faith, the questions that are raised by the mystery of who Jesus is and what he was doing in his life on earth. “Norm” illuminates our thinking not simply by answers discovered, but also in the eagerness to explore every nook and cranny of the Holy Land while reading every bit of the Gospels. This is, in a sense, “narrative therapy” for real students who need to “explore” their own doubts when they engage in historical Jesus studies.

And Oh the people you will meet along the way! Fisk has Norm bump into (in all sorts of peculiar situations) a variety of scholars who frequent Jerusalem themselves (unless dead): John Meier, Jonathan Reed, Dom Crossan Scot McKnight, James Dunn, Ben Meyer…Mark Goodacre’s blog (of course) makes an appearance as well.

The brilliant thing about this book is that Fisk is the only one really qualified to write this kind of text, with extensive knowledge of the geography, history, and political climate of Jerusalem, as well as his many years teaching on Jesus. I suppose there are others who might come close to his knowledge, but few who have the creative and engaging writing skills that Fisk demonstrates.

Are there weaknesses in the book? If there would be one that I would flag up, it is this: the uniqueness of the genre and information of the book makes it challenging to use because it doesn’t get very far in any one area of study (history of scholarship, geography, politics, personal doubt, etc…). In that sense, while it would “fit” a “Jesus and the Gospels” class, it would be difficult to assign this as one more book to read alongside an “introduction” (like Stanton or Blomberg). It might work for a hermeneutics course, but you would have the same challenge. That does not disregard its worth, but it does pose challenges for using it as a textbook. So, I am not sure how or why I would use this in a class, but I really do appreciate its creativity and grit.

One last thing – I always like a book that looks good and this is one where the publisher has invested a lot in the quality of the production, with photographs, tons of charts, and lots of sketches here and there. If you get a chance, thumb through the book at SBL or check it out online. Thanks, Bruce, for raising the bar on how Biblical scholars write engaging and illuminating textbooks for our students!

I will have another post on Thursday focusing more specifically on Fisk’s ruminations on the genre of the Gospels. That is what I found most interesting!

CHECK OUT THE BLOG TOUR OFFICIAL SITE AND ENTER THE CONTEST FOR A CHANCE TO WIN SOME REALLY GOOD BOOKS FROM BAKER!

Uncategorized

Previous Post

October 3, 2011

Joshua and Judges - second podcast/lecture is live

Next Post

October 5, 2011 Latest Biblical Theology Bulletin Online

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category (Mis)Understanding Philippians 10 Things I Can't Live Without 2023 New Books 30 OT HB Scholars to Read and Follow 5 Books Series 50-2-Follow Academia Christian Theologians to Read and Follow Cruciform Scripture: Contributor Reflections Crux Sola TV Editors Behind Great Books in NT Studies Education Gendering the Holy Spirit Gupta FB Live Lectures In Faith and Doubt In Their Own Words Living the King Jesus Gospel My Top 6 OT Commentaries New Testament Resource Guide New Word Biblical Themes Nijay's A Very Library Christmas Shopping Guide Notes from an Editor Notes on New Books NTRG OT in the NT Paul Seminary Now The Bible in God's World The Word Felt Among Us SPENCER Translating Philippians Uncategorized Why I Use Accordance Women in Ministry

Select a Month March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz