Life of Christ books

Logos will publish these 6 books in a collection if there is enough interest. It’s been available for bidders for a year now, I’d guess, but right now it’s near its tipping point, and maybe we can push it over into production. These books are classics, and I just found more evidence of that when I went looking through my Life of Christ syllabus. Some years ago when I taught that class, I asked the world’s expert on the life of Christ for his brief thoughts on important books on the subject. He commented on all four of the below authors. Here’s a list of the books, and what Doug Bookman said about each.

F. W. Farrar, Life of Christ, published 1874, 744 pages.

F. W. Farrar, The Life of Lives (Further Studies in the Life of Christ), published 1900, 461 pages.

Of both volumes: Farrar was a devotee of liberal ideas (denied eternal punishment, suggested Darwin be buried in Westminster Abbey, etc.), and some of those ideas show up in the book. But it is nonetheless a helpful tome. Some good insights into the possible motives behind some of Jesus’s actions.

James Stalker, The Life of Christ, published 1882, 166 pages.

Mostly devotional, and follows the classic breakdown of chronology and emphasis (which I regard as somewhat flawed). But very readable, some helpful insights.

James Stalker, The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, published 1894, 185 pages.

Samuel Andrews, The Life of Our Lord Upon the Earth, published 1889, 624 pages.

Excellent study, very devotional, well said. I haven’t used Andrews as much as I have others, have always found him to be tremendously helpful.

G. Campbell Morgan, The Crises of the Christ, published 1903, pages 477.

Focuses on 7 specific incidents in Jesus’ life/ministry: birth, baptism, temptation, transfiguration, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension. Written in heavy prose, but worth slugging through. The sections can be read individually, which makes it good for research.

So, as I was saying, go here right now and place a bid at $15 (just click on $15). If enough people do, Logos will publish it and you will have a lot of reading to do. Yes, you could go and buy them online used, but the cost for shipping the 6 books would be more than the $15. Many of these are available used pretty inexpensively ($3-10), but the cheapest Andrews book available is $25.

In other words, you can’t lose. Unless, of course, you never read or reference them. In which case, send your $15 in to the IBEX scholarship fund!

UPDATE (9/3): A friend has found Farrar’s Life of Christ for free.   I still think it’s worth $15 to get all 6 books and in the easy-to-use Logos format.