Did you read The DaVinci Code, or watch the movie starring Tom Hanks? If so, you owe it to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to read this book! The sub-title says it all: Probing the Great Gospel Conspiracy, and that is exactly what the author does in what we will call a playful, rather than sarcastic, tone. He quotes Dan Brown's book at the top of his introduction: "The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great." In that vein, he sets out to introduce us to all the witnesses in this so-called conspiracy, even going so far as to call them conspirators and co-conspirators, and systematically tears down not only Dan Brown's statement, but several well-known modern scholars' conspiracy theories as well. By the time you get to the last chapter you are absolutely sure that this conspiracy theory is just like most others—a bunch of hooie.
Here is the best thing about this book: Professor Hill, evidently at the behest of his wife, has set out to write an "accessible" book, that is, one that the layman can read without too much difficulty. You do not have to be a scholar to understand it. If you can follow all the characters in one of those thousand page fictional sagas so many read, or pick up the clues in a complex murder mystery, you can follow this list of characters, moving from one to another in a logical way, each chapter building upon the previous ones. You do need a brain in your head, but it does not have to be a particularly astounding one.
And when you can finally answer the question in the title of this book, it will build your faith in that much more important Book.
Who Chose the Gospels? is published by Oxford University Press.
Dene Ward
Here is the best thing about this book: Professor Hill, evidently at the behest of his wife, has set out to write an "accessible" book, that is, one that the layman can read without too much difficulty. You do not have to be a scholar to understand it. If you can follow all the characters in one of those thousand page fictional sagas so many read, or pick up the clues in a complex murder mystery, you can follow this list of characters, moving from one to another in a logical way, each chapter building upon the previous ones. You do need a brain in your head, but it does not have to be a particularly astounding one.
And when you can finally answer the question in the title of this book, it will build your faith in that much more important Book.
Who Chose the Gospels? is published by Oxford University Press.
Dene Ward
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