The Philosopher and the Gospels: Jesus Through the Lens of Philosophy

by Keith Ward

The teachings of Jesus examined by one of the leading philosophers of our day

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

Keith Ward was formerly the Regius Professor of Divinity and Head of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford. A priest of the Church of England and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, he holds Doctor of Divinity degrees from Cambridge and Oxford Universities. He has lectured at the universities of Glasgow, St. Andrew's and Cambridge.

Reviews

[Sam Eccleston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unusually for a book I substantially agreed with, I didn't find this work that enjoyable to read. There is something about the prose that just slips off the page without leaving any discernible impression in one's mind. While I agreed with much of what Prof. Ward claims in the book, it seemed as if he was writing in a hurry, and didn't want to take the time to examine counter arguments or opposing viewpoints in much detail. This was frustrating at times, as it seemed as if there might be a lot more to say on important issues that simply wasn't being discussed.

One criticism that could be fairly levelled at the approach taken in this book is that it applies a far too commonsensical interpretive framework to Jesus' teaching; always opting for the most straightforward, practicable reading of his utterances as recorded in the New Testament. One cannot help but feel that there is a kind of moral tension in his teachings that is not captured by this method; that somehow he says more about the potential tragedy and paradox of human life in how he teaches us to live than Prof. Ward is willing to acknowledge.

For example, when dealing with Jesus teaching around wealth, particularly those that exhort us to radical and self-sacrificial altruism, Prof. Ward simply argues that Jesus cannot have meant this literally, as if he had he would not have been advocating a workable ethic for ordinary people. Prof. Ward argues that his teaching in this regard should be read as simply intended to inculcate a particular attitude of generosity by expressing it in hyperbolic form. While I think there is some truth in this, it also seems to me that what Jesus is advocating here is a 'Godly' or 'Saintly' ethic, which teaches us (a) what God's being is like, (b) what we are called to do if we really want to aspire to holiness (c) what we might be called to do in extreme circumstances and (d) why, given that most of us cannot live up to such a standard, we need grace for salvation. None of this aspect of Jesus' teaching is adequately explored, which is, in my view, a major weakness of this work.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was a good book, mainly concerned how we should understand especially the seemingly exclusive and primitive-sounding parts of Christ's teaching. As a whole, I believe it explained naturally enough parables and apocalyptic sayings figuratively and in terms of spiritual principles. This was great. However, the author sometimes went too far in trying to make his theology inclusive (somewhere it sounded as if he did not believe in supercessionism at all - if so, I very much disagree). His view of salvation as union with God, which is not uncommon in Christian theology, was interesting but barely touched on, I felt. The worst thing was stylistic - some things were repeated and repeated at the beginning and throughout.

[Andrew Marr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief, clearly-written set of reflections on the Gospels. One may not always agree with him but his insights are well-worth pondering. T he philosophical hat is worn lightly although it becomes more visible when he discusses John's Gospels. An example of his insights is on the Parable of the workers in the vineyard where the workers who worked the whole day grumble about getting the same as those who worked only at the end. He suggests that those of us who just throw ourselves at God's mercy may be closer to God than those who work hard and pride ourselves on all the work we do for the Kingdom.

[Ed Wojniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ward, in my opinion, does an excellent job of making the case for a far more symbolic rather than literal reading of most of Scripture. To do so helps make more sense of Jesus' sayings and enlightens His primary motive which is to emphasize attitudes of the heart rather than external behaviors. Ward places a great deal of emphasis on the nature of God as being loving and how notions of His vindictive punishment flatly contradict that.