De Novo

If we want to render a cultural critique, it is the relationship of the Christ of the gospel to the cultures that pattern our social constructions that needs to be addressed. Skirting the narrative gospels to get “back” to the historical Jesus will not work. No reconstruction of the historical Jesus can account for the narrative gospel in the first place, or challenge the narrative gospels and the portrayal of Jesus they present in the popular imagination. The current quest for the historical Jesus does not raise questions about the supposed reasons for the importance of the historical Jesus. It does not raise questions about the effective difference Christianity makes as a social presence and cultural influence in our world. It has not asked what it is about the Christian gospel and religion that is inappropriate, inadequate, troubling, or even dangerous as we face the social and cultural issues of our time. New Testament scholars have not found a way to broach, much less discuss questions such as these in the public forum. The quest for the historical Jesus actually avoids these questions. It seeks, on the model of the Protestant reformation, to leap-frog over the “wrongheaded” myths and rituals of the Christian churches to land at the beginning where the pure, clean impulse of an uncontaminated Jesus can rectify and rejuvenate Christian faith. That is mythic thinking with an apron-string attachment to Christian mentality. It will not produce a scholarly account of Christian origins. And it will not produce a rejuvenated (Christian) spirituality unbeholden to the gospel accounts.”

– Burton Mack in Christian Myth: Origins, Logic, and Legacy, pp. 39-40

Amen. The existence or non-existence of a historical Jesus does not address the shortcomings of the vast majority of people of Christian faith in falling short of the ideals of their leader, and neither does it speak to the acts of goodwill and generosity and sacrifice that have been made on his behalf. It most certainly does not speak to the relevance and holy insight of the red words in the New Testament; in fact, it utterly distracts from and profanes them. We’re all just human beings, and some do a better job than others.

• The Fundamentalist Mind by Dr. Stephen Larsen — From Christians to Muslims to atheists and new agers, fundamentalism transcends any single religious incarnation; it is an infection of the mind. Larsen uses recent research in neurology and psychology to show that we’re all susceptible to a fundamentalist mentality when we allow our thinking to become too static, and whenever we claim a monopoly on the truth. By making an exercise of seeing things from the perspective of those we disagree with, we can see that we have more in common than not.
• When God Is Gone, Everything Is Holy: The Making of a Religious Naturalist by Chet Raymo — A vigorous affirmation of agnosticism by a wise old retired physicist, Raymo embraces his Catholic heritage and turns his yearning for the holy toward the ineffable, unnameable source of being that permeates all creation. Completely in line with current science, but by quoting poetry and with an ear toward the capricious, Raymo teaches us that the most important lesson that science has taught humanity is to say “I don’t know” – that by humbly submitting to whatever we may find in the universe, rather than looking for meaning in the supernatural, we can more fully appreciate what is. Highly recommended.
• Christian Myth: Origins, Logic, and Legacy by Burton Mack — Christianity, like many religious traditions, conceals a core of mythos beneath a carefully guarded pretense of historicity, justified and propped up by apologists at major Bible colleges in (especially) America. Mack does the legwork of research to show the shoddy foundation of a historical interpretation of the Bible, revealing the powerful core mythological appeal to self-denial that too often gets ignored when Christians look outside themselves for God and the death-and-resurrection of Christ.
• Logic and Mr. Limbaugh by Ray Perkins, Jr. — Having family who listen un-ironically to Limbaugh, I’m interested in understanding his unique appeal. Perkins disguises a logic textbook in a very even-handed takedown of Limbaugh’s modus operandi: the sophistic conflation of emotion and rationality. The unfortunate cheap-shot illustrations throughout this book, however, disqualify it from being given as a gift to said relatives.