Beyond the Quest for the Historical Jesus : A Memoir of a Discovery

by Thomas L. Brodie

In the past forty years, while historical-critical studies were seeking with renewed intensity to reconstruct events behind the biblical texts, not least the life of Jesus, two branches of literary studies were finally reaching maturity. First, researchers were recognizing that many biblical texts are rewritings or transformations of older texts that still exist, thus giving a clearer sense of where the biblical texts came from; and second, studies in the ancient art of composition clarified the biblical texts’ unity and purpose, that is to say, where biblical texts were headed.

The primary literary model behind the gospels, Brodie argues, is the biblical account of Elijah and Elisha, as R.E. Brown already saw in 1971. In this fascinating memoir of his life journey, Tom Brodie, Irishman, Dominican priest, and biblical scholar, recounts the steps he has taken, in an eventful life in many countries, to his conclusion that the New Testament account of Jesus is essentially a rewriting of the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, or, in some cases, of earlier New Testament texts. Jesus’ challenge to would-be disciples (Luke 9.57-62), for example, is a transformation of the challenge to Elijah at Horeb (1 Kings 19), while his journey from Jerusalem and Judea to Samaria and beyond (John 2.23–4.54) is deeply indebted to the account of the journey of God’s Word in Acts 1–8.

The work of tracing literary indebtedness and art is far from finished but it is already possible and necessary to draw a conclusion: it is that, bluntly, Jesus did not exist as a historical individual. This is not as negative as may at first appear. In a deeply personal coda, Brodie begins to develop a new vision of Jesus as an icon of God’s presence in the world and in human history.

Genres: Religion, Christianity, Atheism

274 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2012

About the author

Thomas L. Brodie is Director, Dominican Biblical Centre, Limerick, Ireland. After studies in Dublin, Rome, and Jerusalem, he spent thirty years teaching and researching at diverse seminaries and universities in the West Indies, the United States, and South Africa. He is the author of The Quest for the Origin of John's Gospel: A Source-Oriented Approach (OUP, 1992), The Gospel according to John: A Literary and Theological Commentary (OUP, 1993), and, as a forerunner to the present work, The Crucial Bridge: The Elijah–Elisha Narrative as an Interpretive Synthesis of Genesis–Kings and a Literary Model for the Gospels (Liturgical Press, 2000).

Reviews

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tells of the author's search for the relationship among the texts of the Old and New Testaments, and the New Testament texts among each other, and his realization of the more deliberate, literary way in which these scriptures were composed, as revealed by literary analysis. It also explains how and why he reached his conclusion that Jesus was not a historical figure and his questions about the actual existence of Paul. His emphasis on biblical scripture as history-like fiction with a theological purpose, to me, is spot on and his concluding chapters on God and Jesus are full of insight. He is not a dogmatic thinker.

[Justin Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, at least until the last couple of chapters. Being an A-theist, all of the rescuing of Jesus was white noise to my ears, and his remarks on Richard Dawkin's work on selfish genes was laughable. I'm sorry, but come on...Anyways, I also enjoyed his short response to Ehrman's latest book.

[Ancient Weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow... what a surprise this one turned out to be!

I was expecting something dull and plodding, but this book was one of the most exciting intellectual adventures I've read in quite a long time. In Beyond the Quest for the Historical Jesus, Brodie gives us a lively retelling of both his life and of his life's work. His conclusions are very radical, but if there is substance to them, they would completely revolutionize our understanding of Jesus, the Bible, Christianity, and biblical scholarship.

At this point I'm not really sure what to make of it all. I was with Brodie for about three fourths of the way through the book, but when he postulated a mythical Paul in addition to a mythical Jesus, that seemed to be perhaps a bridge too far. The concept of a mythical Jesus seems like a viable hypothesis. If true, it would make sense out of a lot of unresolved confusion in the gospels, other New Testament writings, and religious scholarship. But, a mythical Paul, too? That was when I started asking myself whether might be brilliant detective work or just conspiracy theorizing.

I still have no idea whether Brodie has in some way cracked the code of Jesus studies or not. I still don't know whether his theories are more iconoclastic scholarship or the imaginings of an incredibly creative person reading things into the texts. But this book has left me curious to seek ot more of what he's written so as to see whether he has the arguments to back up his claims.

Totally a book worth reading if you have any interest in the subject matter!