A poorly executed religious study.
An emeritus professor of religious studies presents a treatise about—and apparently against—society’s concept of “messiah.”
Wilson devotes a large part of his latest book to debunking the idea that Jesus was a messiah, but he goes further by questioning the concept of any leader, real or fictional, as deserving of the title. The author does not offer a thesis for his work; he dives right into the life of Jesus, pointing out that he did not call himself a messiah and was not viewed as such by his contemporary followers. Only after declaring that Jesus was not a messiah does Wilson investigate the definition of the term. Using the Hebrew Bible, he admits that a clear definition of messiah is difficult to find; he settles on “a divinely designated leader who has been anointed—smeared with oil and singled out to perform a task, typically that of being a ruler or priest.” Seeking a more formidable definition against which to measure Jesus, the author turns to an obscure first-century B.C.E. Jewish text called “The Psalms of Solomon.” Interpreting this text quite literally, Wilson then develops a “job description” of a messiah, which is not applicable to Jesus in a significant way: He is not a literal king over a Jewish kingdom. After dismissing the Gospel writers as mythmakers, the author then explains how—but not why—Paul created a new religion about Jesus that ignored the teachings of Jesus. Wilson goes on to argue that modernity has looked for messiah figures in political leaders—his examples include Woodrow Wilson and Hitler—and in fictional characters like Batman. He concludes that we should each be our own messiah. Though not as sensationalist as Wilson’s How Jesus Became Christian (2008) or as melodramatic as The Lost Gospel (2014), this work is nevertheless insubstantial.
A poorly executed religious study.Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64313-450-5
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Pegasus
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Essential reading for any Twain buff and student of American literature.
A decidedly warts-and-all portrait of the man many consider to be America’s greatest writer.
It makes sense that distinguished biographer Chernow (Washington: A Life and Alexander Hamilton) has followed up his life of Ulysses S. Grant with one of Mark Twain: Twain, after all, pulled Grant out of near bankruptcy by publishing the ex-president’s Civil War memoir under extremely favorable royalty terms. The act reflected Twain’s inborn generosity and his near pathological fear of poverty, the prime mover for the constant activity that characterized the author’s life. As Chernow writes, Twain was “a protean figure who played the role of printer, pilot, miner, journalist, novelist, platform artist, toastmaster, publisher, art patron, pundit, polemicist, inventor, crusader, investor, and maverick.” He was also slippery: Twain left his beloved Mississippi River for the Nevada gold fields as a deserter from the Confederate militia, moved farther west to California to avoid being jailed for feuding, took up his pseudonym to stay a step ahead of anyone looking for Samuel Clemens, especially creditors. Twain’s flaws were many in his own day. Problematic in our own time is a casual racism that faded as he grew older (charting that “evolution in matters of racial tolerance” is one of the great strengths of Chernow’s book). Harder to explain away is Twain’s well-known but discomfiting attraction to adolescent and even preadolescent girls, recruiting “angel-fish” to keep him company and angrily declaring when asked, “It isn’t the public’s affair.” While Twain emerges from Chernow’s pages as the masterful—if sometimes wrathful and vengeful—writer that he is now widely recognized to be, he had other complexities, among them a certain gullibility as a businessman that kept that much-feared poverty often close to his door, as well as an overarchingly gloomy view of the human condition that seemed incongruous with his reputation, then and now, as a humanist.
Essential reading for any Twain buff and student of American literature.Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9780525561729
Page Count: 1174
Publisher: Penguin Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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