A Long Way From Tipperary

John Dominic Crossan has made the historic Jesus the subject of his lifelong study. Some of his critics have accused him of examining the life of Jesus under the light of Crossan's own life experiences. In this book, Crossan does the reverse: he examines his life under the light of his findings about the historical Jesus. This book was a four-star pleasure for me for its first three-quarters. Unlike the books of his fellow Irishman Frank McCourt, this was no misery tale. Though Crossan left Ireland and left the priesthood as well, his looking back was not filled with bitterness. I liked the fact that he did not deny his own past and would have done it over again if given the same choices. But in the last quarter of the book his outlook seemed to dim a bit. He took umbrage at critics and belittled the words of journalists. The results of his study of the history of Jesus life are challenging for the average Christian, and he has little patience for their difficulties in assimilating them. His emphasis on God's justice rather than God's love made me uncomfortable. But then, wasn't that what Christ urged of us: lose your complacency, become uncomfortable, pick up your cross and follow. All in all, I'm glad I read this book.