Book Review: Desire of the Everlasting Hills by Thomas Cahill

Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus by Thomas Cahill

After his successes with How the Irish Saved Civilization and The Gifts of the Jews, Thomas Cahill continues what has become a series called The Hinges of History. The series is meant to chronicle people and events that influenced Western Civilization for the better. In this book, he looks at the impact of Jesus.

After a brief and colorful review of the Greek and Roman world that led up to the time of Jesus, Cahill gets into Jesus's story. A lot of people in Jewish society were expecting an apocalyptic revolution that would put Israel back on the map. After a time of hardship and suffering, the Kingdom of God (that is, the Kingdom of Israel) would be restored. Jesus's preaching does not follow this track according to Cahill. Jesus taught a time of reconciliation that would bring about peace in our time through loving God and our neighbors. Cahill's description and analysis is very earthy and very modern. Jesus's teaching on marriage, that it should be indissoluble, Cahill interprets as a triumph for feminism and a great social advance--no more "guys only" free divorce or blaming the woman for adultery. Cahill says that the Gospels give very little evidence what Mary, Jesus's mother, was like, and then proceeds to characterize her as a brilliant and manipulative schemer who wants the downfall of the rich and the rise of the poor (because that's what the Magnificat is all about, right?) orchestrated by her Son. 

The first chapters have so many moments where Cahill is so off-the-mark that I found it very hard to read. His text isn't confusing or excessively erudite, just a modern scholar reading in his own biases and calling it a "fresh and new understanding." If only there was something fresh or new or accurate! He briefly discusses metanoia, a famous Greek word used in the Gospels that identifies the change Jesus makes in His followers. It's a compound of meta and nous, which Cahill claims is a change (the meta) of mind (the nous). People are being persuaded to new ideas and understandings. But the word nous refers to much more than a person's thinking part. It is the core of a person's being, so the change is more fundamental than just being persuaded by an argument or behavior. The Gospels even have a word for the "change of mind" that Cahill references, metameletheis, which is used to describe Judas Iscariot's attitude after he betrayed Jesus. If Cahill is really a Greek scholar or a Bible scholar (which he definitely presents himself as), how can he not know this? He has plenty of other little and big errors. I gave up reading the book after a hundred pages because I felt like I was wasting my time. At least The Davinci Code, for all its ridiculous misrepresentations, admits it is fiction and has some interesting puzzles in it.

Not recommended.

Book Review: The Christus Experiment by Rod Bennett

The Christus Experiment by Rod Bennett

Billionaire Anson MacDonald has financed what has to be the most outrageous experiment in time travel ever imagined--going back and capturing Jesus of Nazareth to see whether He really deserves that capital H or not. MacDonald's desert compound has a recreation of a Palestinian village so He doesn't get contaminated with information about the future. The compound is populated with scientists and theologians. The scientists are there for the extraction and eventual return (so there's no time paradox where Jesus suddenly vanishes in the middle of his ministry years). The theologians are there for assessment. Most of them are skeptical about the historical Jesus and have their own agendas. They grill the man but find out very little. So MacDonald brings in a different type of expert. Sylvie Fortune is a wheelchair-bound police consultant who has vivid flashes of traumatic events whenever she touches personal items of people who have been through great trauma. Maybe she can discover something the other experts haven't.

The book is both very imaginative and very grounded. The various characters all have different and strained relations with Christianity, so naturally they are guarded or even hostile with Christ Himself, except for the Mexican maintenance staff who were specifically selected for their indifference to or ignorance of Christianity. Jesus opens up to the Mexicans and not to the experts and important people in the compound. He has a simple and direct attitude that the theologians can't come to grips with. The frustration mounts as the time to return Jesus draws near and some anomalies in the security system indicate that someone may be sabotaging the experiment. The characters are realistic even in their fantastic setting.

The author starts his acknowledgements by saying, "This book is a spiritual and psychological adventure story full of wild and irresponsible religious conjecture, equally indefensible whether taken as theology or speculative fiction." Like any good fiction author, he presents a variety of ideas which may or may not conform to his beliefs. He's able to have different people with different attitudes and agendas meshing together in credible ways. Even if you don't agree with them, the encounters are entertaining and thought-provoking in the best sort of way. The plot goes a little weird at the end (it is a time travel story, after all) and fits well with the "wild and irresponsible" tone of the story.

Recommended.

Movie Review: The King of Kings (1927)

The King of Kings (1927) directed by Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille is the king of classic epics. His color, talkie version of The Ten Commandments (yeah, he also made a black and white, silent version thirty-three years earlier) was a staple of Easter viewing when I was a kid. He also made a biopic of Jesus Christ called The King of Kings thirty-four years before the color, talkie version by some other director. How was DeMille's take on the gospel narratives?

The production values are classic DeMille. In addition to the lavish sets and costumes, two sequences are shot in color--the opening sequence showing the opulent lifestyle of Mary Magdalene and the resurrection sequence near the end of the film. Jesus is often depicted as shining or glowing, which is a bit cheesy to me. Other special effects are amazing, like the casting out of the seven demons from Mary Magdalene and the earthquake at the end of the crucifixion scene. The acting is typical of the silent era with the occasional affected melodramatic pose. H. B. Warner's performance as Jesus is a bit too detached and otherworldly for my tastes but is a choice I understand even if I don't find it inspiring.

The story is mostly faithful to the Scriptures, even using quotes for the dialogue/title cards with chapter and verse cited. The movie is intentionally reverent and an early title card notes Jesus's call to His disciples to spread the news of His life, a mission which this film also wants to serve. The movie's focus is solely on Jesus's public life (so no nativity sequence, alas). Some artistic and narrative liberties are taken. Events are put together in logical rather than chronological sets--when Jesus has to pay the tax (and he has Peter go fishing for a fish that just happens to have a coin in its mouth!) is joined with a pharisee questioning whether it is proper to pay the taxes. The scene concludes with Jesus calling Matthew the tax collector to be an apostle. The biggest creative licenses are Mary Magdalene as a wealthy and independent courtesan who becomes a follower of Jesus and the evangelist Mark being a child whom Christ cures and who follows the Savior throughout the movie. High Priest Caiaphas prays in the temple after the crucifixion that the crime of killing Jesus only be blamed on him and not the Jewish people, mollifying his villainous behavior earlier. These choices are interesting and certainly inoffensive to Christian sensibilities.

The pace of the movie is slow but not boring. I watched the premiere cut that played at Grumman's Chinese theater in 1927 which is 155 minutes long. The Criterion Collection DVD includes that version and the 112 minute general release version of the film.

Recommended.

Book Review: Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week by Benedict XVI

Jesus of Nazareth Part II: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection by Benedict XVI

Benedict continues his deep analysis of the Gospel texts to understand who Jesus is and what faith in Him brings about for believers. This book follows Jesus from His Palm Sunday entrance into the holy city of Jerusalem through the resurrection with an epilogue about His ascension. Naturally, other relevant texts from the Old Testament and the New Testament are referenced and explained in light of Jesus's passion, death, and resurrection. The songs of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah and a surprising number of the Psalms have fuller and deeper meaning. The book is steeped in Holy Scripture.

The book is also very aware of recent scholarship about Jesus. Benedict frequently references the work of the historical-critical method without going into depth about the method. Rather, he uses their work to investigate who Jesus is and what faith in Him brings about for believers (i.e., Benedict sticks to his purpose!). Benedict has an awareness of academics and often references their work, not to engage in controversies, but to grow in understanding. He also references the Church Fathers and the great theologians from history such as Saint Augustine of Hippo and Saint Thomas Aquinas. The book never bogs down in scholarly conundrums or technical details.

Benedict stays focused on certain details and often admits that more can be said about the events and details than he presents. Such a claim is amazing considering the depth and originality of his own analysis. Consider his discussion of Jesus's trial with Pilate, where John quotes the crowd as demanding Jesus's death and saying that His blood will be upon them and their children. Historically, this text is used to justify anti-Semitic violence and hatred, a fact Benedict acknowledges. But he goes deeper and says that "the Christian will remember that Jesus' blood speaks a different language from the blood of Abel (Heb 12:24): it does not cry out for vengeance and punishment; it brings reconciliation. It is not poured out against anyone; it is poured out for many, for all." [p. 187, emphasis in original] The crowd is just as worthy as anyone else to be redeemed by His blood, even if they did not immediately intend it. Benedict also says the crowd was probably full of Barabbas supporters waiting for the moment when they could get their condemned man out of trouble by taking advantage of Pilate's Passover amnesty. The crowd certainly didn't represent the Jewish people as a whole. Benedict does go into detail when discussing events and issues when he deems it appropriate. Naturally Jesus's death and resurrection are so fundamental to Christian history and faith that endless details and meanings can be brought out of them.

This book is a wonderful presentation of Jesus in the definitive moments of His mission for us, that is, to reconcile mankind to the Father and to open up a greater intimacy between God and His creatures. Readers will find much to inform and inspire them to strive for that intimacy through greater knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth.

Book Review: Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Benedict XVI

Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Benedict XVI

Before his resignation, Pope Benedict XVI finished a third volume of theological reflections on the life of Jesus. He describes this book as an "antechamber" (p. xi) to the other volumes. Here he looks chiefly at the first few chapters of Matthew and Luke, the birth and early childhood of Jesus. He considers the intent of the authors in what they wrote, various historical interpretations and understandings of what they wrote (including present-day exegesis of the texts), and the practical impact these writing should have for us.

His explanations of events and their various interpretations is quite clear and insightful. For example, he discusses the manger as the first resting place of the infant Jesus. In addition to the obvious idea that this shows Jesus's humility, Benedict discusses it as the first altar from which Jesus's sacrificial life begins. The manger is a feeding trough for animals, a subtle and surprising parallel to the table of the Last Supper (and by extension, to our churches' altars) where Jesus offers His own flesh as food for us. The book is overflowing with many similar and profound insights.

Another impressive feature of Benedict's writing is his honesty when considering some probably unsolvable problems. He discusses the star that led the Magi to Israel. During the two thousand years since the words were written various possibilities have been considered: a supernova, the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation Pisces, etc. While all are interesting and have various implications, Benedict notes that identifying the exact astronomical phenomenon is probably impossible. Additionally, how the magi came to interpret this phenomenon as the announcement of a new king in Israel will always be "an open question." (p. 100)

The former pope's book on Jesus's infancy is well worth reading, especially during Advent as Christians across the world prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus.