James the Brother of Jesus The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls by Robert Eisenman   Paperback 1112 pages (March 1998) Penguin USA ISBN: 014025773X Bookshelf Categories Christian Mysticism Essenes

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Synopsis:

James the Brother of Jesus is the first in a projected two-volume examination of early Christianity. The author, Robert Eisenman, has visited this subject many times in earlier books concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls. While most experts agree that the scrolls were written by various Jewish groups between 150 B.C. and A.D. 66, Eisenman contends that they are actually the work of first-century Christians. He goes so far as to link St. James, the brother of Jesus, with the "Teacher of Righteousness," and St. Paul with the "Man of the Lie" mentioned in the texts. In James the Brother of Jesus, he expands this theory to cover a complete history of early Christianity and the Temple Judaism in which the former resists the dominant Greco-Roman culture and the latter adapts to it.

Robert Eisenman, one of the most eminent researchers of early Christianity working today, has produced an exhaustive study of the historical milieu at the time of Jesus and come to the conclusion that James, rather than Peter, was heir to his teachings. Because the historical material regarding James is actually quite plentiful, a clear picture arises not only in regard to who James was, but by extension, who Jesus was also.

Reviews:

A mystery wrapped inside an enigma	4/8/2001
Reviewer: Perry from Arlington, VA
This book is a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. The mystery is who were Jesus, James, and Paul, really? The enigma is what the author's argument is. The book is dense; it rambles and repeats itself horribly, but for all that it is nevertheless enjoyable and rewarding. It's fun trying to figure out not only your own answers to the questions the author poses, but also what, exactly, the author's own answers are. Forgive him -- he is obviously a professional academic, and writes like one. Forgive him also because his subject matter is, as he parses it, hopelessly complex. He has to raise one point only to leave it dangling in the air while he goes to deal with another related issue. His subject matter forces him to be a whirling dervish, or the intellectual equivalent of a plate spinner with too many plates. But the problems he poses are vital. Who were the people behind all those names we see in the New Testament, the Saul's and Paul's, Cephas's and Clopas's, and James 1 and James 2, and Simon Magus and Simon Peter? And what was the deal with Jesus's family that he could do so many wondrous things but could not get the respect of his own relatives? Can we find the answers in ancient texts outside the Bible? Was Paul a born Jew or a gentile convert? Was he a Herodian? Who did he know in Caesar's household and how did he know them? How come Peter had to have a vision (depicted in Acts) that all foods were clean to eat, when Jesus would have supposedly told him this very thing while he was on the Earth? The author covers all of this and more besides. Read it if you've got the time and the tenacity for a good mystery story and an enigmatic exposition, or you could save yourself a lot of time by reading "The Jesus Puzzle" by Earl Doherty. If you do you'll find that the confusion is replaced with clarity, the problems solved, and the answers provided. You will even find overwhelming reasons to believe that James wasn't the brother of Jesus at all.

Worth the effort	9/15/1999
Reviewer: A reader from Newark, Delaware, USA
Theology and bibical study has a tradition of tough-mindedness and intellectual rigor that makes extreme demands on the modern reader who has grown up with Sesame Street and Chicken-Soup For The Lazy. Eisenman cuts the reader no slack. This volume should be read with the understanding that any commentary on the Dead-Sea Scrolls published more than perhaps 5 years ago was warped into meaninglessness by the pious orthodoxy of the guardians of those scrolls. Any reader of the King James version of the New Testement must acknowledge that James was the brother of Jesus and the designated leader of the church after Jesus departed the scene. Orthodoxy has never explained how the theology of Paul came to dominate the Christian tradition and the little letter of James is taken with such a large grain of salt. Eisenman is a giant step in that direction and deserves a respectful counter-argument from the orthodox tradition John P. Meier's 2 vol work "A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus" is a good supplement to Eisenman. Meier has more extensive footnotes with good expanding remarks on Josephus where Eisenman only cites his sources. Eisenman makes good use of "the normal canons of historical argument and literary analysis" particulary as they have developed in redaction criticism of the bible. The reader need not have a degree in bible studies to slog through this difficult intellectual swamp. But the reader will drown if they depend on a traditional Christian fundamentalist life jacket to keep their faith afloat while making this journey.

Interesting, even compelling thesis that lacks in execution	7/23/1998
Reviewer: A reader from Stayton, Oregon
Robert Eisenman looks at Christianity from a detailed historical perspective, and concludes that James of the early Church in Jerusalem was meant to be the spiritual heir to Jesus' ministry and life. For those Christians with sincere doctrinal disputes with St. Paul, this is compelling reading. Unfortunately in a book whose entire premise relies on the interpretation of ancient manuscripts, Mr. Eiseman does not seem to have a grasp of language. His early and continued misuse of the word "decimate" grates, and made me reconsider how much I could trust any of the more critical interpretations he offered. Although I am well read in this area, I found the constant going back and forth between my reference books, the text and the detailed footnotes exhausting. I believe this is a great coffee table book and conversation starter, but offers little in the way of solid historical authenticity.