Who Wrote the New Testament?: The Making of the Christian Myth [Paperback]

The author makes no secret of his views on the accuracy and validity of the New Testament as we know it. This is not a casual commentary, as his views are well thought out and documented. Whether one chooses to agree with Mack's conclusions or not, it provides valuable information and insight on how the Bible may have become what it is. He puts social issues, motives, personalities, and human nature on the table -- something that Christians are not normally subjected to in religious training. While those of us who are Christians may bristle at his conclusions, many of them will be difficult to discount. This is a must-read for those Christians who can be enriched by opposing views, rather than shun and discount them out of hand.

Since the Higher Criticism enterprise in the late 19th Century, biblical researchers have probed deeply into the origins of Scriptural texts. Contributions from archaeology and other disciplines have added new information on the times and places dealt with in biblical texts. Burton Mack, in a sweeping study of the foundations of the Christian myth, offers an in-depth analysis of the progress of the movement. He also broadens the scope of view by placing its growth in a wider social context. Not a "serious" academic tome, Mack has produced a study for a wide readership. He gives us a better understanding of the roots and development of the book considered so fundamental in many people's lives. With astute insights presented in lively style, he has offered much for reflection.

Wisely side-stepping the historical validity of Jesus, Mack follows the foundation and likely development of the way one man's teachings became a global movement. Whether Jesus actually lived is insignificant beside how stories of his life and ideas were promulgated. Mack carefully depicts the socio-political scenario in which the Jesus story took root. Palestine's population had undergone severe disruptions in recent times. At the time of Jesus, the Jews, either exiled or conquered, had suffered various dislocations, although the worst was yet to come. During the period under Alexander's domination, many Greek ideas permeated Palestine, including various scholastic practices. These, Mack points out, would have strong impact on how the Jesus story was developed and spread. It also increased the toil of scholars struggling to understand who wrote what and when they did it. Students often composed essays in the name of some emminant scholar as a means of demonstrating their comprehension of the material.

From an analysis of text styles, Mack derives the existence of a series of "Jesus movements", several being located in northern Palestine. These "Q" documents are teachings attributed to Jesus, with no biographical description. They could be the ideas of one or more thinkers of the time and locality, but are generally accepted as being from one teacher. The "Q" texts were incorporated into the Mark account, then embellished - the earliest of the Christian "Gospels". Mack notes that unlike the "Q" writings which were closer in time to any actual events, the later "Gospel" authors implied they were witnesses to them. This, of course, along with the many "miracles" related by these writers, was pure fiction, as Mack stresses.

The progressive writings making up the "Gospels" transformed the "Jesus movements" into the "Christ cults". Instead of merely an inspired teacher, Jesus now becomes a divine being. The level of divinity - "from" the deity, "of" the deity, or actually the deity was different according to the author[s] location and proclivities. This disparity is the foundation for the multitude of "heresies" arising in later centuries. The various "Christ cults" were adapted to suit the locality Christians inhabited. In seeking converts, a different approach might be used for Jews than for gentiles, Romans than for Greeks. Making Christianity attractive to its foundations, the Jewish epic, was a particularly daunting task. Calling a man who had no discernible record of godly manifestations a "messiah" outraged Jews. Another tack had to be found. The scheme adopted was the projection of Jesus as the reason for creation. These strategies relied on different writings for authority. Mack traces the changes in outlook with patient skill - it's an immense task. Writers, teachers, historians and philosophers are thoroughly intermixed in creating and modifying the "Holy Book". Unravelling is a challenge to the finest intellect.

The admixture of so many contributions of such varying basis demanded unravelling. It is unlikely there would be a "bible" or even such singular Christianity as there is without the accident of Constantine. His "conversion", incomplete as it was, came with his elevation to Emperor. That immense power led him to quell the continuing internecine dissent among his Christian population by having one scholar, Eusebius, collect and merge the existent writings into one volume. The result was the bible available today. With the stamp of Imperial approval, Mack notes, Christianity was free to follow where Rome led.

One place it led to, of course, is Mack's North American audience. In his conclusion, he urges all who revere this book to look at it realistically. He is scathing in his description of those who "turn the crank 'round and 'round" to justify actions or policies with citations from the book. This "quoting scripture" for selfish purposes has a special role in America, he notes. Using Christian mythology to justify actions in a multicultural world is fallacious and dangerous, he feels [the irony of recent events fulfilling this stance is staggering]. This book is a true resource and will stimulate further research and discussion for years. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Burton Mack starts with the premise that the bible is one of the most powerful and influential books in all of human history but also one of the least understood. Using powerful scholarship, he takes the reader back to the first century Near East and paints a vivid picture of the suspected writers and audiences of the New Testament. The writer of the long winded review above presents a stunning example of the closed minded attitudes which have smothered the bible over the centuries. As a devout Christian, I saw the bible with a fresh perspective through the lens of Mack's scholarship. Any serious reader of Paul, for example, has had to deal with Paul's twisted syntax and inherent contradictions. Mack puts Paul's letters in their proper cultural and temporal context. Paul was an evangelist and was writing to specific audiences with specific biases. This book is not for someone who takes the bible literally but it is a must for those who take the bible seriously.