The special purpose of this book—if not its only reasonable excuse for publication—is that it tries to do what has not yet been satisfactorily accomplished by any book on the Life of Christ. We have attempted to give an account of the life, work, and teaching of Jesus as a readable and interesting story, while yet basing the account on the reasonably assured results of historical criticism.
It is not easy to combine the “scholarly” and the “popular” in the writing of any book—still more difficult is such a task in telling the story of Jesus’ life. A “popular” Life of Christ may degenerate into some hundreds of pages of sentimentality, flowing easily along in a steady stream which becomes shallower as its way widens. On the other hand, a “scholarly” Life, if not entirely incomprehensible to the layman, is apt to be deadly dull in style and dry as dust in its technical method. It necessarily deals with textual Variants, literary criticism, historical credibility, forms, legends, myths, and so on.
We have tried to tell the story of Jesus simply, without over-sentimentalizing and without too free a use of the imaginative faculty; seeking, rather, to write with the reserve and restraint which characterize the Gospel narratives; endeavoring to tell a straight story [ p. vii ] in plain and direct fashion, avoiding fine phrasing, certainly not straining after effect.
We have tried, at the same time, to base the account upon the best critical study of the Gospels, with frank acceptance of critical methods and their reasonable conclusions. Of course, the scaffolding was taken down after the erection of the edifice. We do not leave in full view a piled-up accumulation of critical research.
We have tried, in other words, to tell a vitally interesting story, without making it read like a court record, with a verdict reached after examination, cross-examination, and the judge’s summation of the evidence. Our effort is to give in the language of the every-day man a Life of Christ which he can read easily, and, we hope, with interest, and which he may be sure does not evade problems, blink at difficulties, or rely on anything but reasonably certain records. We believe that the facts of history, critically recovered, can, in the case of Jesus Christ, assure the average man that the facts of experience rest on a firm historical basis.
It is our hope, also, that the account of the teachings of Jesus, as here summarized, will be found of special value. We have endeavored to make this summary clear, concise, full of common sense, and so stated as to set it forth in its adaptability to present-day problems.
The book is exactly what the title suggests: first, a careful study of what Jesus taught; second, a frank examination of the facts of his life—the story of what he did; third, though briefly, a record of what his [ p. viii ] earliest followers believed about him, and a fair statement of the grounds on which they believed, with insistence upon the vital values of such a faith.
The genesis of the book is to be found in The Christ We Know, [1] portions of which have been reproduced, with little change, in the present volume. Those desiring a fuller discussion of the religious problems may be referred to it. The critical presuppositions are those of The Gospel Before the Gospels. [2] Passages which appear to be critically dubious have been omitted from discussion, although it by no means follows that every omitted passage is really considered doubtful. The Fourth Gospel has been used chiefly for interpretative purposes.
The estimate of Pharisaism is made after consideration of the contentions of such scholars as Mr. R. T. Herford and Dr. G. F. Moore, together with the reconstructions of the Jewish experts. In presenting the motives in the ethical teachings of Jesus, similar consideration has been paid to the most recent German work, such as that of Dr. Rudolf Bultmann and Dr. Hans Windisch. The fact that we have been unable to accept their main conclusions does not lessen our indebtedness to any of these scholars.
Charles Fiske, Burton Scott Easton