When Jesus Came To Harvard: Making Moral Choices Today

by Harvey Cox

In this urgently relevant, wholly enlightening discussion of modern moral decisions, the Harvard theology professor Harvey Cox considers the significance of Jesus and his teachings today. As he did in his undergraduate class Jesus and the Moral Life—a course that grew so popular that the lectures were held in a theater often used for rock concerts—Cox examines contemporary dilemmas in the light of lessons gleaned from the Gospels. Invigorating and incisive, this book encourages an intellectual approach to faith and inspires a clear way of thinking about moral choices for all of us.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Theology, Christian, Christianity, Spirituality

338 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Harvey Gallagher Cox Jr., Ph.D. (History and Philosophy of Religion, Harvard University, 1963; B.D., Yale Divinity School, 1955) was Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard, where he had been teaching since 1965, both at HDS and in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, until his retirement in 2009.

An American Baptist minister, he was the Protestant chaplain at Temple University and the director of religious activities at Oberlin College; an ecumenical fraternal worker in Berlin; and a professor at Andover Newton Theological School. His research and teaching interests focus on the interaction of religion, culture, and politics. Among the issues he explores are: urbanization, theological developments in world Christianity, Jewish-Christian relations, and current spiritual movements in the global setting. His most recent book is When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Decisions Today. His Secular City, published in 1965, became an international bestseller with more than 1 million copies sold. It was selected by the University of Marburg as one of the most influential books of Protestant theology in the twentieth century.

Reviews

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus? Harvard? An unlikely connection, but a very interesting one. It's an account of twenty years of teaching a course, beginning in the early 80's, as a part of a "moral reasoning" division of the undergraduate curriculum. But the idea was not to present ethics in an philosophically impersonal and abstract way, but rather to show how moral decisions are made in a specific context, that of the life of the founder of one of the great monotheistic religions of the world. The course became a examination of Jesus and the moral life.

Cox is what I suppose could be called a liberal interpreter of the life of Jesus. He emphasizes that Jesus, after all, was a Jewish rabbi firmly embedded in Jewish law and tradition. His approach, in the best rabbinical tradition, to questions about the good life, the morally responsible life, was to tell stories and parables which usually end by raising more questions that challenge traditional formulaic thinking . In this sense, there is a similarity with Zen stories at their most provocative.

Is the life and teachings of a Jewish rabbi, dead for 2000 years, relevant to making moral decisions today? At its most simplistic, people ask, "What would Jesus do?" But in Cox's view, there are never any simple answers forthcoming from Jesus. He quotes Oliver Cromwell's 1650 letter to the Scottish Church Assembly, "I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken."

There are no infallible pronouncements. The meaning of Christ's life is open-ended enough that anyone can "claim" Jesus as supporting their views, as long as they recognize that their version of the truth is never necessarily the definitive one. Too relativistic an approach? No doubt, for some, maybe most Christians, but that's what Cox has to offer.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for more from this book.

[Ron Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Tom Wolfe's depressing depiction of college students as moral idiots, it's refreshing to hear a counter testimony from someone who's spent the past 40 years on a university campus. When Harvey Cox joined the Harvard faculty in 1965, the nation's most prestigious college had long since abandoned its Puritan roots in favor of the secular study of arts and sciences. But in the 1980s, the faculty felt troubled by the sense that they were giving students "virtually no preparation for how to apply their education in a morally responsible manner." In a move both valiant and inadequate, they decided that every student should take at least one course on moral reasoning. And so Cox was asked to teach his first undergraduate class, a study of "the moral example and teachings of Jesus."

He had deep misgivings, but he agreed, and soon 800 students were signing up each year. The course remained in the curriculum for almost two decades.

For us, "When Jesus Came to Harvard" is a rare chance to sample the wisdom and charm of one of the country's great teachers addressing one of the world's richest subjects -- at a bargain price ($26 instead of $36,000, with no questions about your SAT scores).

It's also reassuring to read that, contrary to Mr. Wolfe's claims, today's college students are not speeding to hell in a handbasket. "They were scarcely an immoral lot," Cox writes. "They were bright, talkative, hard-working, and extremely intent on 'doing the right thing.' " But in weekly discussions, he also discovered that they were morally inarticulate and most anxious about appearing judgmental. "They were what I would call benevolent but uncomfortable relativists." By tackling subjects as near as plagiarism and as remote as female genital mutilation, he challenged them to study their reactions and the life of Jesus to develop an ethical process for moral decisions.

At first, the students are frustrated. Hoping to find out, "What would Jesus do?" they discover instead that "as a guide to thinking through today's issues, Jesus seemed somehow unavailable." What guidelines would Jesus advise for stem-cell research? Reforming Social Security? Pursuing nuclear power? Even in more pedestrian matters, the 1st-century Nazarene seemed remote: How could they take no thought for the morrow and study for exams? "Jesus never had to worry about a 15-year-old son he suspected might be taking drugs... or agonize over whether to place his failing mother Mary in a retirement community, or consent to disconnecting his father Joseph's life-support system."

Cox's response to their frustration is the heart of his thesis: Jesus was a rabbi. He didn't tell people what to do. Instead, in the time-honored rabbinical tradition, he asked provocative questions and told captivating stories to stir the moral imagination. He wanted to "jog the slumbering moral consciousness" of his followers "to envision alternative possibilities, and to see beyond what sometimes appears to be an impasse." So Cox keeps drawing his students away from sweet aphorisms stitched on pillows and into the tough, irresolvable passages of the Gospels.

He moves through stories by and about Jesus, from the Nativity to the Resurrection, selecting significant events and parables. Sometimes, he explicates the ancient texts; other times the Scriptures are just a spark for the exploration of some modern quandary. He re-creates his students' small group discussions or leaves them behind to tell us about his own childhood. The Annunciation inspires a discussion of students selling their embryos to wealthy couples who can't conceive. The Sermon on the Mount leads to a searching consideration of money. One chapter is a fiery denunciation of popular eschatology and anti-Semitism in the "Left Behind" series (41 million copies in print). The Crucifixion leads the class to debate the uses of torture.

Cox's approach is suggestive, rather than exhaustive. In fact, he's often breezy, as though he just wants to give us a few suggestions for further exploration. This is frequently as frustrating as it is tantalizing. His discussion of the trial of Jesus, which involved a reenactment in the classroom with Alan Dershowitz as counsel for the defense, is particularly cursory. And unfortunately, his presumption that Jesus was God is never tested against countervailing passages in the Gospels, testimonies of some early Christians, or other contemporary Christian traditions.

One of the best chapters, though, is called "Why the Crowds Came." It's a profound examination of Jesus' healings. Cox admits that he skipped those Gospel passages for a few years, feeling they were anachronistic at a major research institution and maybe even a little embarrassing with handicapped students in the class.

But one day, he received a call from Dr. Herbert Benson, a heart specialist at the Harvard Medical School who had started -- daringly -- to study the practice of spiritual healing. Together they read and observed, and Cox felt he had to bring the healings into his class as an integral part of Jesus' message. Interestingly, he discovered that the medical students were, in fact, the most interested in this issue, having considered the limits of medical science far more deeply than their peers.

In his discussion of "the woman with the issue of blood" and Jairus's daughter, Cox notes that Jesus "completely rejected the sickness-as-punishment idea.... He did not scold.... He did not speculate about it.... He recognized that disease was not a legitimate part of the natural order." While others have called these healings "miracles," Cox claims that Jesus "saw them as preliminary hints of a whole new order of things, one that lies beyond human grasping but can be discerned by those with eyes to see and ears to hear."

Clearly, this is a teacher who sees and hears carefully. When Jesus Came to Harvard isn't, unfortunately, a transcript of his popular course, but at least it's a chance to sneak into the back row and catch a few snippets of a master at work.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if a university concentrated all its energy and resources into producing the best and brightest in every field, but the students’ moral decision-making proved lacking? Enter Harvey Cox at Harvard University, decades ago, to offer a course on moral reasoning based on the teachings of Jesus, the rabbi of Nazareth.

Whether the reader has a faith background or not, is familiar with the Old and New Testaments or not, and/or is connected to a religion or not, the author’s writing will challenge your thinking, surprise you sometimes with his perspective, satisfy you with his research, and impress you with his passion for his students and their well being. What would Jesus do if her were alive today, facing the issues and questions of our times? For me, Jesus became accessible during my reading as I appreciated his use of story, of narrative, and often turning the parable on its head. The rabbi, the teacher, he shook up the thinking of the people, Romans and Jews, and did the same for me over two thousand years later. I was able to recognize my difficulty dealing with what I have read and understood in the past, and gain new insights. More importantly, however, the emphasis on moral reasoning and its application to the challenges and issues of our world and the need for continuous discussion on moral reasoning are important reminders in these times.

Doing the right thing, living by one’s conscience, and having moral courage may not always be easy. “A moral life is larger than moral reasoning.”

[Jay Cowsill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book on ethics rather than religion, When Jesus Came to Harvard summarizes theologian Harvey Cox’s experience of teaching a course entitled “Jesus and the Moral Life” at Harvard for nearly twenty years. Cox stresses that ethical living requires more than a capacity for moral reasoning: more crucially, it requires imagination and the ability to tell and share stories. He makes his point by presenting Jesus as a rabbi immersed in Jewish tradition. Cox reaffirms his lifelong commitment to fleshing out Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s vision of a post-religious Christianity and celebrates the fact that the “church has lost whatever monopoly it once had, or claimed to have, to control interpretations of Jesus” (301), thereby releasing him to the world so that people of all persuasions can claim him. Cox eschews the non-ethical escapism of mystically transcending this world. His readings of the Jesus stories emphasize the pursuit of social justice along lines popularized by Latin American liberation theology. When Jesus Came to Harvard is highly accessible: it requires no specialist knowledge of ethics, religion, or the NT.

[Lam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is a professor at Harvard, who for twenty years taught a course in which he and his students explored how the teachings of Jesus might be applied to contemporary ethical questions. I liked the author's overall perspective that Jesus was a rabbi who, in keeping with the tradition of Judaism, told stories to engage his listeners imagination as an essential part of coming to moral decisions. It was refreshing to read a book about Jesus that didn't pretend to have answers but rather focused on exploration of questions.

[Hansen Wendlandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once while studying in Cambridge, Mass, I tried out a course on 16th Century mystical Spanish poetry—that or some such silly specialization that gets taught in these sorts of places. In a distinct occupational weakness, the professor would spit every time he said words like “Teresa”. So, I left a little early and a little wet, aiming for a hopefully more interesting course on Science and Faith Dialogue. On the way past Widener Library, I turned a corner as nonchalant as anyone might turn a corner, and there he was: the Dalai Lama, standing as nonchalant as any spiritual incarnation might stand. Too shocked even to get out my cell phone, all I could do was to keep walking. Eminently stable, he remained standing with men in saffron robes, probably discussing about something sublime and riveting, something like Teresa’s poetry.

When the Dalai Lama came to Harvard, it was a big deal. Students ignored coursework. Renowned faculty groveled to shake his hand. Still, it may have been an even bigger deal when Stephen Hawking debated at Oxford a few years earlier. For him, my friends were so fascinated they considered ‘borrowing’ the poor man, just to see what he would say with a few beers… I had odd friends… The point here is that when interesting people come to interesting places, memorable things can happen. When Jesus Came To Harvard describes just that, the story of how Harvey Cox brought the wisdom of Jesus through the classroom and into the everyday lives and momentous decision-making of a few fortunate students.

Different pastors tend to preach confidently, even exclusively about very different Jesuses. Politicians and philosophers paint their own pictures, often with particular and distinct agendas. American evangelicals love their personal relationships with very different and nebulous images of their Savior. Cox isn’t nearly as interested in describing yet another figure of who Jesus was or is, why he matters spiritually, or even what values he promoted. There are enough static and contradictory Jesuses to boggle even Stephen Prothero. Instead, Cox wants to describe how Jesus instructs us to think about our habits and decision. How did Jesus truly matter to his contemporaries, and how does Jesus matter to our world? Running slightly contrary to Sunday Schools everywhere—and therefore probably correct—Cox claims that, as a first-century story-telling Rabbi, Jesus pushes us not so much toward “concrete guidance” (15) or hierarchies of mores, but to think and act in ways that re-imagine and re-examine life. He offers a process, far more importantly than a product. “The premise of this book is that despite all the sacred formulas and pious bumper stickers, and behind all the doctrines and dogmas about him… [Jesus] still has a powerful, even imperative, moral significance for our times.” (13)

Cox could have addressed that significance by building a particular academic argument about Jesus and modern faith (as some of his other classic books do), or by surveying certain moral issues (as many other Ethics courses do), or by urging a particular Christian message through certain Scriptures (as many courses about Jesus do). Instead, his method is to let the stories about and by Jesus live through creative exegesis, interpretation and application. More than most any scholar you will ever come across, he respects his students enough to give their insights serious weight. And more than most any person of faith I have ever encountered, Cox respects Scripture for what it means. Understanding Jesus and his moral significance for today is, therefore, less about what this or that story says, and more about what those stories express. We search for meaning, well beyond the simple facts they include, assume, or imply. In Cox’ words, “The challenge for the person who is both ‘modern’ and ‘religious’ in some sense… is how [facts and meanings] go together.” (233) Especially when it comes to our deepest questions, “We can sing about it, but we cannot describe it.” (293)

For example, when analyzing the story of the Temptation of Jesus, Cox doesn’t worry about whether the Devil is somehow ‘real’. If it is, if it isn’t, doesn’t really affect the valuable moral impact of the story. For, “when the ancients talked about good and bad angels, they were struggling… with the mysterious origins of good and evil. And they were wrestling with the age-old question of why evil persists not just in individuals but also in cultural patterns and institutions… Angels and demons are mythical expressions of our awareness of powerful currents in our world that can pick us up and sweep us along.” (102) To follow the moral example of Jesus in this story is to consider how to resist the temptations of culture. Whether we are secular or religious people, whether we fret over some a ‘real’ or symbolic Devil, how much more important is that existential, moral message in this story, than, say, the historicity of whether Jesus ‘actually’ fasted for 40 days!

Or, some Christians think the Beatitudes offer a list of values to prize, something to rank alongside the Ten Commandments, perhaps above similar sorts of codes from Greek philosophers, Roman poets, Buddha and the like. Instead, for Cox, “the Sermon on the Mount is a description of how people would live when the reign of God, which Jesus believed was dawning, had come in its fullness.” (118) This Sermon does not tell us what to do or even how to embody godliness—there is, after all, hardly a word of direct advice, not a single imperative until well past the ‘blessed are’ sayings. Neither is Jesus very interested in rules, which most people know well enough. Rather, he offers a picture of what happens after we act morally. Here he gives a glimpse of the results of moral behavior, in order to motivate us to get there, whatever creativity it might take. From Cox’ introductory chapters: “for all their importance, neither ethical principles nor moral theories actually motivate anyone. What motivates people are stories… in which choices must be made and stands taken.” (25)

For a few other examples of how Cox leads us to consider what Jesus means for the moral life, consider how he dissuades us from over-spiritualizing Scripture, by explaining so well that “The parables… are not about God… God is only mentioned in one or two… Rabbi Jesus obviously wanted us to look closely at this world, not some other one. It is here and now—all around us in the most ordinary things—that we find the divine presence.” (155) Our moral motivation must be to this world, not to some theological consolation that our victims will be vindicated after death. As well, Cox is careful not to evade the stories that are difficult for the modern imagination. He assures us that “It is perfectly clear that the mobs of people who thronged Jesus did not seek him out to hear his message. They came because he had gained a reputation as a healer.” (169) We must hold a primary moral motivation in ‘healing’, as wide as that concept might be. Jesus tells us, after all, that he came for the sick, not those who are well.

Further, concerning the stories that so many Christians today understand as ‘eschatological’, Cox describes views like dispensational millennialism as “a breathtaking trivialization of Jesus’ vision of the reign of God.” (188) Jesus’ followers expected time to end very soon—Paul seems to have given up on that idea later in his life—but they expected an end composed of grace and renewal. (Many believed that the beginning of that graceful end had come in the person of Jesus, Heaven on Earth, happening right now. Somehow this very clear story by Jesus and about Jesus has become nearly apostate in American Christian culture, which finds in a Divine Terminator much more entertainment and a better license to judge and gloat. But I digress…) The scary imagery of apocalyptic literature was and is a powerful rhetorical device, but none of those stories are nearly as dystopic as so many Christians assume. Daniel, Revelation and the message of Jesus unequivocally promote the presence, or at least the hope, of a New Heaven on Earth. From Cox, “Jesus believed the message he taught was good news for his own people and for all humanity. But this recent end-time theology is bad news for nearly everyone.” (192) To follow Jesus’ example, it is an essential principle of the moral life to consider and work for the good of all. The focus on a narrow, personal scheme of salvation is an abandonment of our duty to fulfill God’s purpose and end.

Perhaps the deepest source for moral motivation is Jesus’ central story. In the crucifixion account, Christians have always been uneasy about Pilate’s responsibility. Is he to blame as a murderer, or to pity for getting caught up in this mess? Or, is his sin the very lack of focus of which we are constantly guilty? Cox brands us all: “How many grave injustices are perpetuated just because the policy-makers involved are bored, distracted, inattentive, or don’t want to be bothered?” (225) Or similarly, when Jesus forgives his executioners (‘They know not what they do.’), Cox sees in these words the motivation to be more aware of the “full implications of the things we do.” (248) Even for the socially conscious, we are never in a position to know all the pain we cause. Especially in our interconnected world, “to be unaware is to be less than moral.” (247)

To the rest of Jesus’ central story, Christians have been fascinated by the resurrection since that first Easter morning. Cox summarizes the feelings of many faithful people: “By the time I graduated from college and began seminary, I knew three things. One was that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, whatever it was, is not peripheral to Christianity but is at its core. Another was that I did not know what it meant or what I believed about it. Finally, I realized that I would probably never answer the questions I had…” (270) There are questions of fact right at the core of this story, less important perhaps; but there are also questions of meaning. Does the resurrection mean something like a substitutionary atonement theory, that our sins have been paid for by another? Or, does it mean God and good will always triumph over evil, sin, death? Or, does it mean that God has begun to fulfill the promise that all people, or at least the saved, will be given new spiritual bodies at the end of time? Or what?

To answer that, we must keep in mind that religious literature, even more so than poetry, tends to lean on symbols. Words fail to do justice to the ineffable realities of God, but the drive remains powerfully for us to tell our experience. The ‘deeper’ the idea, the ‘richer’ the symbol. In Cox’ words: “Like any truly mystical experience, they could not be described in everyday language because everyday language describes everyday events. Mystical experiences ‘break the language barrier’, which is why mystics so often turn to symbols or song or silence.” (272) So, whatever rich or sublime concepts are wrapped up in the story of the resurrection, this study on the moral impact of Jesus calls us to reach specifically for the particularly moral symbols involved therein. For that, we can look at how this story resonates with those told before Jesus, namely, in the Hebrew Bible: “[S]tories of raising the dead in the Old Testament did not have to do with immorality. They are about God’s justice. They are expressions of a human hope that is born of a moral, not metaphysical, impulse. They did not spring up from a yearning for life after death, but from the conviction that ultimately a truly just God simply had to vindicate the victims of the callous and the powerful.” (274) The story about Jesus being raised from the dead is, at one vital level, an extension of that theme. We should be motivated to support victims in this world, and further, to bring down the systems that cause victimization. As Cox explains, “To restore a dead person to life might be seen to strike a blow at mortality. But to restore a crucified man to life means to strike an equally decisive blow at the system that caused his wrongful death.” (277)

When Jesus Came to Harvard offers brilliant Biblical interpretation and a great insight into what living like Jesus might look like today. If it has any weakness, it is perhaps that some Christians will want more. Their protest, especially relevant to Cox’ treatment of the resurrection, might be this. Anyone can be motivated by the story of Jesus being raised from the dead, but what about the distinctly Christian messages in Jesus’ stories? How, for instance, does the resurrection story uniquely affect the moral life of the faithful? In other words, alongside the general moral impact of these stories, how do the basic Christian beliefs about and within these stories lead to special Christian moral imagination? Fair enough. After all, it is not simply Jesus the rogue carpenter’s son who is raised from the dead; it is the Christ, God’s own Son. That’s quite a different story, even if it is ‘just a story’, even if it is ‘just a fact’. And so, maybe to answer this sort of feeling, in just about the only place where Cox slips past moral imagination and into theologizing, he tells us, “The exodus story suggests that God… stands on the side of all peoples who cherish this hope, not just the ancient Israelites. The Easter story means that God eventually vindicates the victims of all forms of persecution”. (283) The Easter story means something special to Christians, not just that you should vindicate the victims of persecution, but that God will. To be motivated by the resurrection is fine enough. But to believe that God will prevail, or at least to act on that belief, is to live convinced that moral behavior matters, which is some serious motivation. For a Christian, moral behavior is not an end in itself, but is something that fits within God’s purpose. On a theological-moral level, the story about God raising Christ tells Christians that they take part in a huge plan. In that story, every act and every Christian matters—and matters enough for God to sacrifice God’s own Son.

[Charity · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author talks about teaching an ethics class at Harvard, often using Jesus' teachings to spur debate among his students, which included people from a vast array of backgrounds and religious beliefs. His intention was not to give out answers but to challenge the participants to engage in heavy discussion and debate, with often interesting results.

Some of the statements in this book may challenge the literalists, but that's precisely why everyone should read it. If it has a flaw, it's that he doesn't often go deeper into his more controversial statements, although there is a full index in the back listing resources. Sometimes the absurdity of cultural perception is never more apparent than when it's spelled out, as the 'end times' chapter does in vivid detail. He, rightfully, wonders how people got from the peaceful troublemaker of Jesus (here, with the historical context fully fleshed out, the reader becomes glaringly aware of just how much trouble Jesus was causing, and how he intended to cause it) to a blood-soaked warlord on a white horse.

It may undermine what you think you know, and leave you with more questions than answers -- but in doing so, it attains the same level of intellectual challenge that the rabbi Jesus' moral and ethical parables left those who listened to him to ponder. Christianity somewhere along the way lost the mystery and became too straightforward; Cox, in his own way, invites us back into the enigma of intellectual thinking in which there are few straight answers, and he demolishes a lot of traditional beliefs (unfounded, or based in creative reinterpretations) along the way.

[Danny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing.
I expected more courage. I suppose the author did a lot of good in exposing Harvard undergraduates to the example of Jesus as a moral teacher, but that’s about as far as he’s willing to go.
I know a little something about the history of Harvard, initially begun as a Divinity school.
Today, even though Harvard rightfully boasts an impressive academic reputation in many areas, my view is it has succumbed to the influence of the world with regard to religious matters.
I didn’t end up reading the whole thing. I focused my time on the several chapters dealing with the most important doctrinal aspects of the life and mission of Jesus Christ. What I found was lacking.
The book seems an apologetic for a humanist perspective. The author is someone who could have effectively carried the torch for real faith in God and his eternal plan for his children. He does not appear, as expressed by his doubts and fears on the written page, to be willing or able to do his part. I cannot concur that what he did accomplish in his teaching effort was the most that he could do. So again from my limited viewpoint, it was disappointing.

[Denise Kettering · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has Cox's spirited and powerful writing accompanied by thoughtful analysis of how narrative can be a powerful guide for making moral decisions in today's complex society. The book reinterprets more traditional understanding of Christian morality by asking deeper and more complex questions than "what would Jesus do?" In particular, Cox considers the New Testament accounts of Jesus and how the narrative as Jesus' teaching tool can serve as a meaningful guide to making decisions. While there is significant reinterpretation of Christian ethics, there are aspects that certainly draw attention, such as his concerns about eschatology as it is taught in regard to the endtimes, and how to deal with miraculous stories. Overall, this book should at least onsider a reconsideration of some key aspects of Christian morality, even if it doesn't lead to the exact ideas that Cox himself advocates.

[David Doel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not remember buying this book. I started it with low expectations and they were not improved as I read through the Introduction. But, starting with chapter 3, I began to enjoy the discussions and information offered. Talking about Jesus is guaranteed to be controversial and Harvey Cox doesn't steer clear of controversy. He does offer some different takes on Jesus, the gospels and moral choices that I found to be useful. Perhaps my favorite was inspired by a song both he and I sang as children: "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

[Joanne Pascoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking. A group from my church read and discussed over 5-6 evenings. A very different look at Jesus from what I'm accustomed to, worth considering.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, insightful look at Jesus of Nazareth, and at us, too.

[Neil Sagebiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking. Good writing on challenging topics.

[Arminzerella · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever wondered about the relevancy of Jesus' teachings for today's world/problems, this is an excellent introduction into the possible/probable meanings of his words. It includes a lot of historical/political context, as well, so you can understand what was going on at the time, what his words meant to the people who heard him during that time, and why they might have engendered the response that they did. This book won't attempt to convert you to a Christian life, but it will get you thinking about Jesus' life and words.

I started reading this about 3 months ago (I think I maxed out my renewals - 3x) at a park, on a picnic blanket. And while it's excellent and thoughtful, I kept getting distracted by other books on my to-read list. So it got pushed back a lot. I didn't add it to the "not going to finish" shelf, because I may someday return to it (and I'll have to start afresh from the beginning so I can have the kind of thoughtful dialogue I want to have with it), and because I liked it so much. A lot of the philosophy books that I read in college were so inaccessible to the reader - you had to DIG for meaning and really force yourself into the philosopher's brain. I wished a lot that they'd just speak plainly, you know, like they wanted you to understand? :) Anyway, Harvey Gallagher Cox is very readable, and based on his writing here, I'd love to take one of his classes. I am not, however, a Harvard gal, so I don't see it happening any time soon.

[Bookmarks Magazine]

Cox (The Secular City, Fire from Heaven) links a rabbi's 2,000-year-old teachings to today's vast ethical issues to illuminate how we can apply Jesus's philosophy to our own times. In Cox's eyes, for example, the Prodigal Son becomes a rebellious dropout. If this situation doesn't exactly ring true in your view, you may still find inspiration in this provocative, wise, and often humorous book, no matter your religious bent. As one critic points out, When Jesus Came to Harvard does not provide guidance on making moral choices, nor does it take readers step-by-step through Harvard students' dilemmas. Instead, Cox considers different interpretations of the Bible and cautions against various fundamentalist movements. When in doubt, he writes, just ask yourself, "What would Jesus have done?"

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

So there hadn't been a course at Harvard with ""Jesus"" in the title since 1916 or so, when Harvey Cox got his new assignment...a survey course on what Jesus was about.
I love this book. He anticipates where a majority of the questions and problems are going to come from. He's thoughtfully, honestly preparing for numbers of students without any information on Jesus at all, save perhaps standard automatic concerns about fundamentalism from someone admitting to being Christian.
See if his answers resonate.

[Cara Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It wasn't preachy nor academic (two of my concerns whenever I pick up a book written about religion). Instead, the author works very hard to demonstrate the inter-connectedness of the Jewish and the Christian religions as well as other religions world-wide. Furthermore, he demonstrates how anyone and everyone can benefit from studying religion and applying (or attempting to apply) the lessons learned into their daily lives. Readers who are interested in exploring religion will like this book.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The following is an excerpt from the book, from the chapter entitled "Exiles from Eden":

"A careful reading suggest that their fatal mistake was their refusal to be content with being human, and therefore mortal. Mere paradise, crammed with all that fresh air and ripe fruit, even having each other as loving partners, was not good enough for them. They wanted to shake loose from aging, death, and the other inconvenient liabilities of earthliness. They longed for unlimited possibilities. They craved, as the serpent so succinctly whispered, "to be like God".

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author refelcts on 15 years of teaching "Jesus and the Moral Life" at Harvard University. These reflections constitute an insightful overview of the life and teachings of Jesus. Cox's fresh perspectives, imagination, and questioning stimulated his students and their responses, in turn, brought him new understanding and pushed him out of his comfort zone.

[John Fredrickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. The author is very unpretentious and communicates his points in a very realistic, grounded way.

The book itself exhibits a very 'human' approach to trying to understand the life and stories surrounding Jesus. It is very refreshing to step away from religious doctrine and dogma and to consider what the human being of the time may have been saying.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harvey Cox offers familiar text from the New Testament with interesting insights into its application for people seeking spiritual direction in the 21st century. His course at Harvard was wildly successful!!

[Lisa Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok and interesting. Harvey Cox taught a course at Harvard about how Jesus' life and teachings influence our moral choices today even if we are not Christian. It's more about morals and ethics than it is about Jesus.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus is a curiosity to students of all religion and author taught a course re: his moral values. Cox learned from his students and adjusted his course over 15 years. Presumably the book chapters are drawn from the lectures and are very clear and straightforward. It's easy to remember the content.

[Tommy Estlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I really enjoyed this book. It really spoke to a deeper understanding of who Jesus was as a man, which I find a wholly under discussed topic. Highly recommend this book to have a survey of Jesus' life in a historical and cultural context.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really liked this book. I'd give it five stars if it started right in on the stories about Jesus and skipped all the Harvard intro. Most of the content was so interesting and helped me to really think about stories I've known forever.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

his experiences teaching an undergrad course on Jesus

[David Taylor]

So far, great stuff. Great Book. Wonderful insight. Approach with an open mind and heart.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Harvard course is apparently offered asking students to ponder practical moral questions with Bible stories as prompts.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a marvelous book. Gave me such perspective on the times as well as how we make moral choices and decisions in a secular world.