In an earlier volume, entitled Critical Quests of Jesus, Dr. Charles Anderson offered an objective survey of the various schools of thought that have addressed themselves to the question of the historical Jesus. By asking of each critical school six key questions, Anderson allowed them to speak for themselves.
The Historical Jesus: A Continuing Quest completes the analysis begun earlier: here Anderson asks of himself the same questions with which he challenged others.
1. Is it possible to write a biography of Jesus?
2. What is the place of miracle in the life of Jesus?
3. How should the resurrection of Jesus be interpreted?
4. What is the nature and place of mythology in the New Testament?
5. How does the historical value of John compare to that of the Synoptic Gospels?
6. What is the central significance of Jesus?
To each of these questions Anderson devotes an entire chapter, combining two approaches: First, he seeks to determine how the question should be answered from a thoroughly biblical perspective; secondarily, he offers his evaluation of how well modern critical movements have done in their efforts to answer these important questions.
Carefully avoiding technical jargon, Dr. Anderson has provided a readable and instructive study that will be welcomed by all those who are seriously interested in the origins of Christianity and in the meaning of the gospel today.