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Prospective readers may be interested to know that the dustjacket of the hardcover edition features a very approving quotation by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger who is now Pope Benedict XVI.
2 Good Intentions, Poor Execution
Neuser's purpose is not to argue the truth claims of either Judaism or Christianity, ie. which religion gets "it" right. Rather, he tries to model an interfaith dialogue into which each party enters with honorable intent and with full respect for the person and position of the "other." More particularly, he tries to point out some of the essential differences between the teachings of Jesus (as expressed in the Gospel of Matthew) and the teachings of Moses (as expressed by the Rabbinic traditions of about the same period in time).
While the author's purpose here is very noble and is executed with the utmost respect for the words and teachings of the "other side," and while he does makes some excellent points regarding the foundational differences between the two faiths, the place where I believe he fails the most is in his literary presentation. Put simply, this book begs for a good editor! The interesting and thoughtful arguments that Neusner makes utilizing his encyclopedic familiarity with the source texts, biblical and rabbinic, get almost completely lost in his excessive repetition of argumentative points and his extremely wordy and complex sentences that force the reader to read and reread them in search of corresponding subjects and verbs. Too many times I have sadly wanted to give up reading this book, because it took just too much effort to uncover the points and follow the argument. And this text is not one of the author's more scholarly and erudite efforts (which themselves too often suffer from the same malady).
My hope is that someone of similar concern for these issues will come along and attempt to make the case that Neuser tries to make, in a book that is far more readable and engaging for both layperson and scholar than this one.
3 reasonably well done
As another reviewer points out, Neusner does not try to address Christianity as a whole. Rather, he addresses a much narrower question: leaving aside the question of whether Jesus was a supernatural figure, how consistent are his teachings with the Torah? Neusner asserts that even if one sees Jesus as a rabbi, his views differ from those of the Torah and of classical Judaism. The major difference: Jesus speaks to the individual, Judaism to the community as a whole. Jesus says "follow me", classical Judaism says "follow the Torah". After reading this book, I understood both Christianity and Judaism a bit better.
4 Good Concept, Bad Followthrough
In this book, Jacob Neusner seems to be attempting to find a common ground for interfaith dialogue. He does so by addressing Jesus as if he were really in the first century. The premise is to demonstrate how Jewish Jesus is. A good notion, but Neusner fails at it miserably. The main problems result from the responses of Jesus. We must really ask ourselves would Jesus answer with the words Neusner gives him. That brings up two questions: 1, did Jesus consider himself the Messiah and 2, if he so, did Jesus also think he was divine? If any Christian were to write this book, obviously the answers would be yes. Of course, Neusner, writing from his own theological perspective, discounts two entirely and really hedges his bets on one. So, his own ideas in reality override those of Jesus. Also, using JUST Matthew's Gospel presents a unique problem in that it's not a "whole" picture of Jesus. In undertaking a job like this, one must use as much information as available. That is, at least the synoptic Gospels and at best all four. The limitations Neusner places on his work thus inhibit it's own natural growth. The writing was also horrible. The book, aside from the dialogue, followed no particular though pattern and seemed clouded in the general construction of the text. Of course, there are some redeeming qualities of the work. For one thing, it does give a Jewish perspective on the teachings of Jesus, though there are works out there that do so with vastly greater amounts of clarity than this. In all, a well conceived (though poorly executed) project, worthy of two stars if for nothing else than he had a good idea.
5 Why or Why Not follow Jesus - A Jewish perspective.
Jacob Neusner tackles a difficult task which for many people would be too emotionally charged for them to do the job in a fair an respectful manner. Rabbi Neusner shows himself to be up to the task. His conclusion is (in part) that the crux of the matter is not what Jesus taught but rather who Jesus was. This examination proceeds from the perspective of a contemporary of Jesus who is diligently focused on being an authentic Chosen Person in a Chosen People. "Would I or would I not follow this man?" is the question. His analysis presents serious concepts to consider both on the part of the modern day Jew and Christian.
6 Wonderful idea, expertly carried through.
A very informative and potentially dangerous project. I learned much about the Judaic view of Jesus. Although done with respect and reverence, I wasn't convinced by Neusner. I never actually believed 'his' Jesus. For a far more convincing subject, take a look at Richard G. Patton's incredible work "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years". Patton's Jesus is a believable human being and accessible, NOT the Divinely 'Appointed' Son of God we have traditionally been offered. Neusner has done a great service, by allowing us Gentiles to have a small insight into the Jewish perspective of one of histories greatest spiritual leaders. Highly recommended.