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Views from the Choir Loft

Book Review: Killing Jesus

Fr. David Friel · April 20, 2014

DMITTEDLY, I am a little late to throw my hat in the ring. Nevertheless, I would like to share my thoughts about one of the best-selling books of the last year, since one of my Lenten projects was to read it. Co-authored by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, Killing Jesus: A History is an exploration of the Person of Jesus and a view into the experience of life in ancient times.

[DISCLAIMER: I don’t like television; I seldom watch television; I don’t even own a television. As such, my reasons for reading this book and blogging about it have nothing to do with Bill O’Reilly, his politics (about which I know little), or his news show (which I understand draws sharply divided responses from the general populace). My interest is Jesus and what this book has to say about Him.]

With its concise subtitle, this book claims to be “A History.” What is meant by that would be difficult to intuit without reading the book. Categorizing this text in the history genre, to me, seems at once accurate and inaccurate. If the purpose of the subtitle is to dissuade potential readers from expecting a devotional work, then the term “history” works well. The book includes more than a few imaginative sections, however, wherein historical events are told in narrative format, and at these times the term “history” appears misapplied. A librarian could have real difficulty assigning a Dewey Decimal System number to this volume, but arguments could be made for the 200’s, the 900’s, or even the 92 biography section.

What I enjoyed most about this book was its presentation of major characters in the life and times of Jesus. These characters include Herod & Pompey the Great, John the Baptist & Mary Magdalene, Caiaphas & Pontius Pilate. So often, these can become mere names confined to the pages of history texts, rather than dynamic persons who shaped history. In developing these characters and others, the authors obviously utilized extra-Biblical sources. The book also describes in great detail for readers several important locations, such as Sepphoris, Jerusalem, and the Kidron Valley. In general, the sketches of both characters and places were helpful in establishing the wider context of Biblical life & times.

Another aspect of the work that I enjoyed is the authors’ decision not to divide the supposed “historical Jesus” from the “Christian God.” Since the advent of the historical critical method, it has become vogue to separate the “Jesus of history” from the “Christ of faith,” but O’Reilly and Dugard seem content to address matters factually and leave it to the reader to determine whether Jesus constitutes a divide or a unity.

Many reviewers have criticized the authors’ tendency to take the Gospels at face value, rather than treating them with the trenchant skepticism that is more acceptable in modern academia. For my own part, as a believing Christian who accepts wholeheartedly the canon of Sacred Scripture, I do not question the historicity of the Gospels. Actually, I rather appreciate the matter-of-fact acceptance of what the Evangelists have written. What other sources exist that are more worthy of trust?

Most of the “inaccuracies” highlighted by other reviewers are not so much true historical inaccuracies as points of squabble among the authors’ adversaries. For instance, was Paul a “former Pharisee who became a convert to Christianity,” as the authors describe him? Presuming that by “Christian,” one means a follower of Christ, this seems like a perfectly true statement.

I possess no faculties to grant an imprimatur, but for those who are concerned about issues of orthodoxy or scandal, I found nothing questionable in Killing Jesus. What I found was an eminently readable portrait of Jesus of Nazareth that has helped me to see His life in fuller context and to recognize some of the many factors that precipitated His death.

Is this book the definitive account of Jesus’ life? No, we still have the four Gospels for that. But is it a worthwhile companion that might spark new ideas, perspectives, and questions in the heart and mind of a believer? I believe so.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Fr. David Friel

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anselm Parish in Northeast Philly. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America.—(Read full biography).

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Can You Spare 33 Seconds?

Here’s an audio excerpt (33 seconds) of a setting for Kyrie VIII which was recorded live last Sunday at our parish in Los Angeles. The setting (“Missa de Angelis”) is by composer Richard Rice, and you can download the free PDF if you click here and scroll to the bottom. I think Richard’s composition is marvelous. I missed a few notes on the organ, but I’ll get them right next time.

—Jeff Ostrowski
5 April 2021 • When Girls Sing

Covid restrictions here in California are still extremely severe—switching “two weeks to flatten the curve” into “two years to flatten the curve.” Since 2020, we’ve had police breaking into our church to check if everyone is wearing a mask…even when only 5-6 people are present! But we were allowed to have a small percentage of our singers back on Easter Sunday, and here is their live recording of the ancient Catholic hymn for Eastertide: Ad Cenam Agni Providi. The girls were so very excited to sing again—you can hear it in their voices!

—Jeff Ostrowski
29 March 2021 • FEEDBACK

“E.S.” in North Dakota writes: “I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put—and continue to put—into your wonderful website. In the past two years, my parish has moved from a little house basement into a brand new church and gone from a few families receiving Low Masses twice a month to several families (and many individuals) receiving Mass every Sunday, two Saturdays a month, and every Holy Day. Our priest has been incorporating more and more High Masses and various ceremonies into our lives, which has made my job as a huge newbie choir master very trying and complicated. CCWatershed has been an invaluable resource in helping me get on my feet and know what to do!!! Thank you more than I can express! May God bless you abundantly and assist you in your work and daily lives!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“From the responses received, it is thus clear that by far the greater number of bishops feel that the present discipline [Communion on the tongue and not in the hand] should not be changed at all—indeed, that if it were changed, this would be offensive to the sensibility and spiritual appreciation of these bishops and of most of the faithful.”

— Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (29 May 1969)

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