THE GOSPEL FROM A DEIST'S PERSPECTIVE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 2, 1992                   TAG: 9202020245
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: F-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Reviewed by NELSON HARRIS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
THE GOSPEL FROM A DEIST'S PERSPECTIVE
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS. By Stephen Mitchell. HarperCollins. $23.
Stephen Mitchell has subtitled his work, "A New Translation and Guide to His Essential Teachings for Believers and Unbelievers."
Mitchell states up front that he is not a Christian, however this does not eliminate him from being touched by the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. "Whoever spoke these words was one of the great world teachers, perhaps the greatest poet among them, and a brother to all the awakened ones."
The author follows the exegetical steps of Thomas Jefferson, a deist, who some years after his presidency compiled what has become known as the Jefferson Bible. Mithcell, like Jefferson, seeks to recover only the authentic sayings of Jesus, eliminating what he terms any "later theological or polemical or legendary accretion."
Such a process is no small undertaking, and Mitchell discards scholarly criteria, claiming, "there are no scholarly criteria for spiritual value." Instead, the author relies on "internal evidence . . . provided by the words themselves." When examining such a pivotal figure in human history, one naturally questions the author's whimsical disregard for modern textual criticism.
What follows is a commentary on selected acts or teachings of Jesus. Mitchell's text reads like a study in comparative religion as he parallels Jesus' sayings with those of history's significant religious and philosophic personalities. The most interesting segment of "The Gospel" is the author's interpretation of Jesus' relationship with his mother, Mary, and the influence she had upon his ministry.
It is in this essay that the author reveals his conception of Jesus, a figure fully human whose divinity lay only in his desire to reveal God's presence.

Nelson Harris is pastor of Ridgewood Baptist Church.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB