Recent Readings:
For the past couple of weeks (since returning from my trip to Italy) I've been reading three books by Garry Wills called, What Jesus Meant, What the Gospels Meant, and What Paul Meant. I by no means adhere to Roman Catholic Doctrine-at least most of it having to do with the papacy, sacraments (outside of baptism and the Eucharist), etc.-but I can appreciate much of the history behind Rome, and the Catholic (as in universal) Church. To the best of my knowledge, Wills is a Roman Catholic although I doubt he would subscribe to much of the RCC teachings in regards to the papacy (see this post and quote). I started with his first book What Jesus Meant and found it to be a very refreshing read. Wills is quick to give you insight as to what he sees the overarching themes of what Jesus said, did, and didn't do. It's a quick read, but I think it is a solid attempt to succintly place Jesus (the Jesus of faith, as Wills notes-he doesn't subscribe to the Jesus of history, an important nuance that I wouldn't agree with) inside of the New Testament Gospels and help us learn more about what Jesus meant during his ministry. A lot of what Wills tries to do is explain Jesus in his context (which seems to actually be in contradiction with his non-historical Jesus) by talking about Jesus' early years, public ministry, private discipleship, Torah exegesis, trial, death, burial and resurrection. I would highly recommend this book. It's cheap and a quick read, and you'll read it again some day.
Next on the list was What Paul Meant. Having been intrigued by N.T. Wright's work on the Apostle Paul, I was eager to explore what Wills had to say regarding the Apostle. I was a touch uncomfortable with his seeming annoyance with Luke's Paul (from Acts) and put him up against Paul himself (Paul's authentic letters that is) in a false dichotomy. He did walk through Paul's views on: Rome, Jerusalem, Women, Corinth, and his mission to the Gentiles. He rightly pointed out that Luke seems to try and harmonize together Peter and Paul's relationship however Paul himself seems to have other words for Peter (Galatians 1-2). It was a great read, and again, short, cheap, but well worth it.
