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

Mack's (The Lost Gospel; A Myth of Innocence) newest book is one of those rare volumes that, upon completion, makes one wonder how we could possibly have lived without it. The clarity of Mack's prose and the intelligent pursuit of his subject make compelling reading. Of course, the question Mack asks is not one Christians have been encouraged to ask, which only adds to the book's interest. Mack's investigation of the various groups and strands of the early Christian Community--out of which were generated the texts of Christianity's first anthology of religious literature--makes sense of a topic that has often been confusing. Regrettably, in an effort to appeal to a popular audience, Mack's treatment has been pruned of much of its scholarly apparatus; his notes would have been a welcome resource. Certainly, as the number of publications emerging from Jesus Seminar draw attack from conservative seminaries, such apparatus will become essential, popular audience or no. Nonetheless, this is an important book; a must-read for any student of the New Testament. (Nov.)