Geza Vermes is known worldwide as an expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls and for his pioneering work, "Jesus the Jew". But in addition to that he is the living embodiment of JewishChristian relations in the context of an honest quest for the truth. Few scholars have had such a colorful and eventful life, the course of which he describes here. Born into a Hungarian Jewish family which later converted to Christianity, he received a Catholic education and was later ordained priest after the turmoil of the War. The quest for membership in a religious order led him to the Sion Fathers, in Louvain and then in Paris, where among other things he was introduced to biblical studies and became fascinated with the newly discovered Dead Sea Scrolls. Subsequent emotional turmoil from conflicting pressures made him ill, but a series of "Providential Accidents" which gave this book its title brought him to England, marriage, and a new fulfilled life, first in NewcastleuponTyne and then in Oxford, and to a public reassertian of his Jewishness. As well as telling a fascinating personal story, this book provides a vivid insider's account of developments in Scrolls research and of the lengthy battle with procrastinating editors over the "academic scandal of the century." These memoirs shed much light on the deep personal friendships and antagonisms and the complex, nonscholarly factors which accompany even committed study of the Bible, Qumran, and the Gospels.
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It is a remarkable story. Times Literary Supplement Vermes provides a more intimate view of the twists and turns by which he entered the church, survived fascist Hungary and the Nazis, studied in Louvain and Paris, entered British academic life and a life outside the church, came to Oxford, fought for almost forty years for free access to the treasures of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and came to search for the historical Jesus. It is a truly gripping narrative...His memoir is also a love story...[and] and international thriller, especially with the high-level goings-on around the Scrolls. The New Republic Geza Vermes is one of the most prominent and most productive Dead Sea Scroll scholars in the world. His is the most widely used translation of the scrolls... a leading scholar in what is referred to as historical Jesus studies. -- Hershel Shanks Bible Review, June 1999
About the Author
Geza Vermes is a fellow of the British Academy and professor emeritus of Jewish Studies at the University of Oxford.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
For many years now I have been enthralled by the scholarship of Vermes. His insights into the 'Jewishness' of Jesus have inspired both my personal reflection and my preaching. In his book 'The Gospel of Jesus the Jew' he challenges us to separate the fact from the interpretation.
How refreshing to be able to understand the person behind the scholarship. As an autobiography is is not the best written of books, but the story which emerges is one which encapulates so much of the history of the 20th century. Vermes' humility and his humanity shine through. I found it inspiring.
How refreshing to be able to understand the person behind the scholarship. As an autobiography is is not the best written of books, but the story which emerges is one which encapulates so much of the history of the 20th century. Vermes' humility and his humanity shine through. I found it inspiring.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By R. C. James
Format:Hardcover
This is the second book by Geza Vermes that I have reviewed, and one that I have also been disappointed with. Given his roots in Judaism, his up-bringing in Catholicism, his time as a Catholic priest, and eventual return to Liberal Judaism, I expected this to be a detailed commentary on his spiritual development and journey.Alas, it isn't. In the main it is, at best, a mundane autobiography with very little interest to the average reader. I'm sure the many fans of Vermes'works will appreciate the book, giving them some insight into an author they like, but for readers such as me expecting a spiritual 'classic' this will be a disappointing read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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4.0 out of 5 stars
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Life Experience of a Great Scholar
8 Jan 2001
By Joseph Cook
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Providential Accidents - what a well-chosen title- gives a moving insight into the colorful life of a scholar who is world-famous for his pioneering work on the Dead Sea Scrolls and on the historical Jesus. It reveals also in a very impressive way Vermes's personal development starting from provincial Hungary between the wars to his appointment to the chair of Jewish Studies in the University of Oxford and to a Fellowship of the British Academy. A few extracts from the press reviews of the British edition will show the profound impact of this beautifully written book. "Geza Vermes changed accepted views of the life of Christ. Now he has written his own life: the story of a Jew who converted to Catholicism, became a priest, and has now reaffirmed his Jewishness" - The Independent, London. "Vermes believes that Jews and Christians have a lot to learn from looking at Jesus as he was 'thoroughly Jewish'" - The Jerusalem Report. "Providential Accidents is a remarkable story. Vermes' stunning autobiography provides constant evidence of the intuition, wholeness and humility that facilitated the 'providential accidents' which have shaped his life" -The Tablet, London (Roman Catholic) "It reads better than a novel" - Expository Times, Edinburgh.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Providence than Accident
10 May 2004
By Wayne-daniel Berard
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
An autobiography of the world's foremost expert on the Jewish Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls might seem like a snorer to anyone outside academe. But if you enjoy a good character novel, if Dickens or Trollope turn you on, you need to read Providential Accidents. Vermes' life is one of those stranger-than-fiction stories, with more Twists than Oliver, and more intriguing clerics and clerical intrigue than Barchester Towers. Born of non-observant Jews in pre-WW2 Hungary, the young Geza and his family convert to allow him access to better education. Soon he's in Catholic seminary (for much the same reason) and ordained. The War sends most of his family to the death camps, and Geza to Paris, where he joins an order dedicated to converting Jews. His career in Biblical scholarship leads the gifted priest to question his Church's views on Jesus, until he finally leaves both priesthood and Christianity, becoming, against all odds, the first professor of Jewish Studies at Oxford. A "novel-within-the novel" deals with Vermes' leadership of the movement to free the Dead Sea Scrolls from the grip of their restrictive and anti-Jewish guardians.
Vermes is neither novelist nor biographer, and the writing is a bit stuffy. And the book does leave one wishing for more insight into his inner process of "reconversion." Psychological novel this isn't; still, I expected a treatise and got a page-turner. Vermes is a hero.
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
New adjective must invented to honor such knowledge
18 July 2010
By Steven Fod
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It has happened in Hungary.
The 1848 anti-Hapsburg uprising was crushed, but fortunately, enlightened Ferenc Deak 1803-1876 has managed to develop a new national concept, the NonViolence.
It has restored Hungar's dignity, earned the respect of Vienna, and allowed an educational revolution.
Dedicated teachers raised generations of great scholars.
Geza Vermes is one such graduate.
The rest is history.
He wrote his ph.d. on the Dead Scrolls, and revised the history of Jesus Christ.
He went on to teach in Newcastle and Oxford.
Words can fail to honor his knowledge.
The 1848 anti-Hapsburg uprising was crushed, but fortunately, enlightened Ferenc Deak 1803-1876 has managed to develop a new national concept, the NonViolence.
It has restored Hungar's dignity, earned the respect of Vienna, and allowed an educational revolution.
Dedicated teachers raised generations of great scholars.
Geza Vermes is one such graduate.
The rest is history.
He wrote his ph.d. on the Dead Scrolls, and revised the history of Jesus Christ.
He went on to teach in Newcastle and Oxford.
Words can fail to honor his knowledge.
›
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