The Winds Of Fate by SM Stirling (that is one amazing cover, reproduced very indistinctly here);
Jesus Of Nazareth: an independent historian's account of his life and teaching by Maurice Casey.
I met Maurice once briefly through his student, James Crossley. Checking through this newly arrived book, I realize that I had misunderstood one detail of what Maurice had said in that single conversation but that is hardly surprising. Learning continues.
In Poul Anderson's works, two sets of time travellers skirt around the origins of Christianity but Anderson avoids answers which we must seek where we can find them elsewhere.
All this is relevant.
5 comments:
The Americans are all agnostics or atheists -- mind you, they're over a century past the death of Jesus, so there wouldn't be any first-hand testimony.
I defiintely described Arthur/Artorius as -leanly- muscular -- which most Rangers are. They depicted him as a musclebound weightlifter. Sigh.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
A better historical study of the Messiah is Fr. John P. Meier's A MARGINAL JEW series, of which I read the first three of the five completed volumes. And Pope Benedict XVI's three JESUS OF NAZARETH books. An older but good work is Henri Daniel-Rops' JESUS AND HIS TIMES.
Mr. Stirling: Of course, because Artorius and his grad students got shanghaied to the Roman Empire over 130 years after Christ's resurrection. But these early Christians were already producing a very varied extra-NR literature in the first/second centuries AD: The Didace, St. Clement of Rome's "Letter to the Corinthians," The Letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch, "The Shepherd of Hermas," the philosophical works of St. Justin Martyr, the "Apology" of Athenagoras of Athens (at the same time as Artorius!), etc.
But I'm sure you already knew that.
I noticed that hulkingly muscular Artorius! But at least the cover for THE WINDS OF FATE (showing the Roman siege of Ctesiphon) is better than what Anderson had to put up for too many of his books.
And that depiction of a mounted Marcus Aurelius in the left background strongly reminded me of the equestrian statue of the Emperor which I saw on the Capitoline Hill in Rome.
Ad astra! Sean
Correction: I meant to write "...very varied extra-NT literature..."
Drat! Sean
Sean,
You know which historical study is better?
Paul.
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