2014 BOOK OF THE YEAR

Chris, James, and I are pleased to honor Seán Freyne's The Jesus Movement and Its Expansion as the 2014 Jesus Blog Book of the Year!

This book is an important contribution to our understanding of first-century life in Galilee, Jesus' upbringing, his early career, and the launch of his movement. Notable achievements of this book include: an explanation of how a strong Judean presence—faithful to the Jerusalem Temple and its associated symbols—emerged in Galilee; a deconstruction of any simple dichotomies between Galilean and Judean cultures; a nuanced overview of Galilee's economy (sensitive to its three different ecological demarcations); the opportunities for and/or erosions of Jewish civic identities within the matrices of Roman power systems. Freyne masterfully situates Jesus and his movement within this network of interests.

We only regret that Professor Freyne (1935-2013) is no longer with us. We would have liked to celebrate this excellent book with him.

-anthony