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ROBERT E. VAN VOORST, Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence (Studying the Historical Jesus; Grand Rapids/Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2000). Pp. xiv + 248. Paper $22.
Van Voorst's claimed purpose is to present in one place, in fresh translation, with commentaries and analysis, all the ancient references to Jesus outside the canonical Scriptures. He treats all the expected classical and Jewish texts, as well as the sources (Q, L, M, SQ, etc.) behind the canonical gospels, and the agrapha and apocrypha, where Van V. includes the whole of the Gospel of Thomas. The inclusion of the Christian material is not adequately explained by the author (but cf. p. 135 for a justification) but is actually central to the main dynamic of the book, which is to show the theology student that there is a compelling case that Jesus was a real historical person. Moreover, Van V has a secondary target, and that is to show that recent discoveries (e.g., at Qumran and Nag Hammadi) or debates do not cast the history of Jesus, as documented in the four gospels, into doubt. His argument is a simple one: scholars reject this problem, so...