THE REAL JESUS: The Misguided Quest for the Historical Jesus and the Truth of the Traditional Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson, HarperSanFrancisco 1996, 182pp. (Call no. BT301.9.J64.1996).

"Balance" is a key word for the St. Philip's Library Committee in building its collection. Many at St. Philip's have read or heard the views of Bishop John Shelby Spong, Dr. John Dominic Crossan and Dr. Marcus Borg, whose books are in our library. These popular writers are committed to discovering the real Jesus by trying to get past the"subjective" stories told by devoted followers who may have been inclined to be a bit biased in favor of their Master. The "Jesus Seminar" scholars challenge the traditional understanding of Jesus that most of us learned in childhood. Is there any longer validity to the traditional story of Jesus? Luke Timothy Johnson, a Yale Ph.D. and Professor of New Testament at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, says "yes." He was a Roman Catholic priest and Benedictine monk before becoming a biblical scholar.

In THE REAL JESUS Johnson differs from Spong, Crossan and Borg, and just might be good to read for "balance."