John J. Pilch

Honor Among Christians

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Taking up and refining insights from recent social–scientific exegetical research on secrecy in the Ancient Mediterranean world, Watson convincingly demonstrates that Wrede's Messianic Secret hypothesis is entirely culturally implausible. Concealment passages in Mark primarily reflect the day–to–day concerns about honor and shame among early believers who would have understood the Gospel to be addressing these issues.”

Jesus and Magic

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Horsley challenges the traditional understanding of Jesus's activity as miracles and/or magic. Instead, he argues convincingly for a relational and contextual approach to analyzing the figures and scenes in the gospel healing and exorcism stories about Jesus. They make sense only in the concrete sociocultural context of Roman Palestine and Israelite tradition. This is Horsley at his critical best.”

The Life of a Galilean Shaman

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Craffert's groundbreaking study lifts contemporary historical Jesus research out of frustrating dead ends to move it in a new and richly rewarding direction. According to him, Jesus is best understood as a shamanic figure who lived in first century Galilee. Everything the New Testament reports about Jesus, his teaching and his activities, fits the model of a shamanic complex. This model offers the most culturally plausible interpretation of biblical evidence that others have judged to be purely literary compositions with no basis in reality contrived to teach a 'theological' or 'spiritual' lesson. Craffert's new view of Jesus makes him as intelligible as other universally documented holy persons who have appeared in all cultures throughout the millennia of human existence.”