Jesus in new contexts

Abstract

The aim of this review article is to participate in the current “Jesus studies” debate. “Jesus in New Contexts” is a collection of essays read at an international symposium held in June 1999 in Tutzing, Germany. The symposium endeavoured to provide an answer to the question: What can be known about the historical Jesus with the help of social-scientific models that is not known through other approaches? With this collection of essays a group of prominent international scholars provides wide range answers, depicting a world foreign to twenty first century readers, yet home to the historical Jesus. Characteristic of this edition is the inclusion of an essay that reflects critically on the methods and models employed by social scientists in reading a biblical text.