Craig Keener Book Gets Strong Reviews
December 14, 2009 -Based on early reviews, the most recent book written by Palmer Seminary New Testament Professor Craig Keener may be destined to be a landmark work. The 
831-page The Historical Jesus of the Gospels (Eerdmans, 2009) cites well over 6,000 references from extrabiblical ancient sources. The bibliography of secondary sources in the work is 109 pages long and cites more 2400 works. Says Dr. Keener, “The earliest substantive sources available for historical Jesus research are in the Gospels themselves; when interpreted in their early Jewish setting, their picture of Jesus is more coherent and plausible than are competing theories offered by many modern scholars.”
In his evaluation of the book, Princeton Theological Seminary’s James Charlesworth states that Dr. Keener “proves why the Evangelists’ view of Jesus is preferable to most modern constructs: the Gospels, as ancient biographies, reflect eyewitness accounts of Jesus and provide the only valid sources for reconstructing the historical Jesus.” He adds, “Replete with endnotes, this book is exceptional for its breadth and its captivating prose.”
In her review of the book, well-known historical novelist Anne Rice (author of Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana) writes, “If you’ve never read Craig Keener before, this is the best place to start.... Keener’s encyclopedic knowledge of first-century Mediterranean life and literature is profoundly impressive, and his writing is beautifully persuasive. In seeking to discover and explain what we can know of Jesus in his own time, Keener works with the integrity of a good investigative reporter. He is unfailingly generous to other scholars and painstakingly careful in his own well-reasoned arguments. His scholarly credentials are second to none, yet his book is a thoroughly enjoyable read.”
