A Hitchhiker's Guide to Jesus: Reading the Gospels on the Ground

"After teaching introductory classes on the Gospels for sixteen years, I can think of no better approach than what Bruce Fisk has given to students.... I enthusiastically endorse Hitchhiker's Guide as a valuable read for any student wanting a grasp of the Gospel compositions and the interpretive history behind them."--Timothy D. Howell, Review of Biblical Literature
This book offers a fresh and imaginative approach to Jesus studies and biblical criticism, providing a gripping fictional account of one student's journey to the Middle East to investigate the New Testament and the life of Jesus for himself.
Norm, a fictional college graduate, undertakes this journey to discover if he can study Jesus and follow him at the same time, and if curiosity will make him a better disciple or no disciple at all. As Norm hitchhikes simultaneously across the Gospels and the land, readers follow his faith journey as well, wondering if he will be able to reconcile his Christian faith with current critical scholarship. A Hitchhiker's Guide to Jesus offers readers a creative and engaging way to explore many of the major questions in Jesus studies today and affirms the importance of asking probing questions about Jesus and the Gospels.
The book's lavish, journal-style, two-color interior design--featuring maps, photos, doodles, sketches, and email exchanges between Norm and his professor--makes it interesting to read. Its classroom-tested material will appeal to professors and students in Jesus, Gospels, New Testament, and religion courses. In addition, thoughtful lay readers will enjoy this book.
Contents
Author's Preface
A Brief Word from Norm-the-Elder
1. Between Heaven and Earth
2. Ghosts at the River
3. Room at the Inn
4. Mist and Mystery
5. Time Imagined
6. Wall of Tears
7. This Side of the Tomb