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A Review of J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, and Daniel B. Wallace,
Reinventing Jesus: What The Da Vinci Code and Other Novel Speculations Don’t Tell You
(Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2006)

by
Sam Tsang, Ph.D.

[Note: The following review was written for the popular Chinese magazine Behold, as well as the scholarly China Graduate School of Theology Journal. The original review has been edited for a Chinese audience.]

The last two decades have witnessed America’s huge interest in Jesus, resulting in some very edifying and other not so edifying books and movies. The bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code is the current rage in the U.S., as a movie based on the book prepares to hit theaters. Hype surrounding The Da Vinci Code has caused wise biblical and theological scholars to jump on the bandwagon in a proper Christian response. Among the best recent works is Reinventing Jesus: What The Da Vinci Code and Other Novel Speculations Don’t Tell You, which is to be released in conjunction with the movie on May 19. Due to the kindness of the authors, I have been granted a glimpse at a pre-publication draft of the book, which promises to be a feast for the mind and the heart. Indeed, it is a book I wish I had the time and expertise to have written. It was a labor of love for the writers who have invested a lifetime of learning into a project that has been a long time in coming.
While there are other excellent works by other scholars, not many can match the breadth and depth of this work, contributed to by a pair of eminent scholars in their fields. Daniel B. Wallace is the renowned author of the cutting-edge Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament, which has been adopted by most English-speaking schools that teach biblical Greek. He is furthermore an internationally recognized expert on New Testament manuscripts. M. James Sawyer is the writer of the forthcoming Survivor’s Guide to Theology, which will be translated into Chinese about the same time the English version hits the stands in the U.S. Their combined expertise in their respective disciplines—Wallace in New Testament and Sawyer in historical theology—makes for a rigorously balanced approach to the book. Add to the mix J. Ed Komoszewski’s thorough knowledge of Christology and his clear, winsome writing style, and you have a fine work worthy of serious consideration. The final product is astonishingly good due to the balance of biblical studies, historical theology, and systematic theology. When I read this book, I could not help but think, What other books bring together experts in such different fields to address the same question? The book also reveals the ignorance of those who hold to the false notion that historic, orthodox theology is at odds with new insights from the progressive discipline of biblical studies. Nothing is further from the truth and the evidence is in this book, which merges various disciplines into a complete answer to The Da Vinci Code.
The reader should not think that this book merely responds to the movie; it does much more. The movie is only a starting point for this long overdue apologetic work. In logical fashion, the book begins with sources about Jesus. By considering the sources, this book shows the criteria for a valid source in contrast with other invalid sources. It then moves into identifying and portraying the historical Jesus. Finally, it moves beyond biblical sources in the discussion of Christianity to ancient myths that retain some semblance of the Jesus story.
The overall argument of the book shows that many of the points argued by the protagonists in The Da Vinci Code are no more than old mannequins with new clothing. Once the veneer is stripped away, the inner essence reveals itself to be what it is: an old and tired argument. This idea is captured by the authors’ opening line: “Attempts to reinvent Jesus are nothing new.”
Lest readers misconstrue the book to be a mere rehashing of old answers to old questions, the authors have taken research from both the past and present to address old questions in new ways. By exposing these issues for what they are (i.e., old arguments in new dress), they have taken away the mythical aura surrounding The Da Vinci Code. More specifically, the authors have demonstrated successfully the following points.
First, radical skepticism regarding the sources of the Bible is not new. The authors rightly use historical rather than theological methods to avoid being accused of taking an a priori approach to the Bible. They “treat the Bible like any other book to show that it is not like any other book.” What is interesting about their approach is the way it implicitly shows that skeptics have their own theological reasons for denying the historicity of the biblical documents.
Second, when looking at the tradition behind the Gospels, the authors rightly note the importance of oral communication in first-century culture. In so doing, they successfully debunk the modern misperception that ancient communication can’t be trusted because it relied more on memory than the written word. Many readers will be astounded to learn of the ancients’ ability to memorize and pass on large blocks of information. In light of my own research into theories emerging from anthropological studies of tribal orality, the authors’ claims ring true. The method they model is as valuable as their message.
Third, for those studying in the academy, the authors’ best contribution is their ability to deal with the Jesus Seminar and the general study of the historical Jesus point by point. While the Jesus Seminar has raised a lot of provocative and interesting questions regarding the biblical text, their methodology is far from flawless. The authors are quite able to interact with the Seminars’ approach directly and honestly—much needed attributes when dealing with methodological issues.
Fourth, Wallace’s expertise in manuscripts and Sawyer’s mastery of historical theology really come through in the discussion of the biblical text and canon. Frequently, this information is not accessible to the lay reader. However, the authors have successfully simplified the issues with lively illustrations and common language. In a few places the necessarily technical language may intimidate some laypersons, but such language is surely decipherable for diligent readers.
Fifth, the authors convincingly counter the skeptics’ claims against the divinity of Jesus by providing evidence of “God-language” applied to Jesus in the New Testament and writings of the ante-Nicene fathers. In so doing, they have shown that the skeptics have to take much more interpretive liberty with the text than those who understand Jesus to be divine.
Sixth, the authors discuss a fascinating topic that many evangelicals are afraid to touch, namely, the so-called parallels between pagan deities and Jesus. The authors provide a great service by going beyond the usual apologetic and pointing out the interpretive fallacies committed by radical skeptics. This approach cuts to the heart of the matter where most modernistic approaches fall flat. Instead of allowing the critics to claim that Christians have baptized pagan myths, the authors have shown that the critics are the ones who have Christianized pagan myths in the attempt to discredit Christianity. By deconstructing the methods of radical skeptics, the authors have beaten them at their own game. Reinventing Jesus provides a new and fresh paradigm for apologetics.
The value of this book goes beyond mere information (though that is important) to interpretive methods. The authors evenhandedly allow for evidence to fall wherever it may, lending intellectual honesty and credibility to their work.
Overall, the authors have provided some good insights at a fundamental level. They have pointed out that the root cause of radical skepticism about Christian origins is Western ignorance of the Bible and history. And whenever ignorance is coupled with skepticism, the mixture is deadly. This book provides a grave and wise warning to all believing students of early Christianity, and prods them to keep pace with research while practicing reverence. Neither hiding behind an ivory tower of books nor rehashing the class notes of yesteryear is an option. New research, as it is shown by these careful authors, confirms and solidifies rather than destroys the faith of our fathers. While classic works such as Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands a Verdict have their place on the shelves of readers who deal with a modernist audience, Reinventing Jesus deals with the hottest issues in a more relevant fashion. In some ways, Reinventing Jesus supplements the informational gaps in Evidence; in many ways, it surpasses Evidence in its method. The value of Reinventing Jesus will remain high for years to come.
One of the neat and rather bold features of this book is its usage of the recent New English Translation of the Holy Bible (NET Bible), contributed to by many of the scholars at Dallas Theological Seminary. This bold move showcases an important translation based on sound, up-to-date linguistic scholarship. For scholars who are wondering about the quality of the NET Bible, this book gives the added benefit of a taste of this new translation. Let the reader be the judge.
Having read Reinventing Jesus in its entirety, I would say that it does a great service to both the church and the academy. It will serve as a resource for years to come, because it applies various scholarly disciplines that seldom appear together in one book. In doing so, this book provides a one-stop shop for answers to many questions about Jesus. I hope that it will be translated into Chinese, so it can replace older apologetic works about Jesus that have failed to address postmodernist skepticism. The old, tired answers are impoverished and irrelevant. They no longer elicit a response from the secular humanist. If this book is not translated, the English is relatively simple and easy to understand. Every Christian who can read English should wrestle with the arguments in this book. As a fellow biblical and theological scholar, I must congratulate the authors for a job well done.