Brown, Raymond Edward

An excellent introduction to Christology from the "centrist" perspective. Brown hits on many of the standard topics in Christology such as the "titles" of Jesus, the resurrection, the messianic expectations of the Jews, and the like. (It is an introduction and therefore does not cover topics that are found in longer works.).

The book answers a variety of questions regarding scripture and gives the reader either enough information to better understand the question or a basic introduction so the question can be studied more in depth from other resources. The questions are answered by Raymond Brown, who during his lifetime was a revered Catholic priest honored by Pope Paul VI and a renowned biblical scholar.

Brown, one of the most eminent American Catholic interpreters of the New Testament, here takes up the important question of the relationship between historical-critical exegesis of scripture and the developed doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. Much of the book is devoted to criticism of those who see too great a tension between the two, both liberals who want to reject church doctrine because of this tension, and conservatives who reject critical exegesis because of it. Brown's own view is that the literal sense of scripture does not conflict with church doctrine, though part of scripture or even scripture as a whole may be silent about a given matter. In such instances Roman Catholics must rely on the guidance of the church, not merely on scripture. A significant contribution to the discussion of this question.