D.E Kern

Regular readers will remember that I've used this space to put philosophers in my crosshairs before.

It's just too tempting. I mean, really, is there any bigger racket than drawing a paycheck for pondering?

But don't get me wrong; I have the utmost respect for people who can pull it off. In fact, if there's a manual out there on how you do it, please send it my way.

Some of my fondest Easton memories have something to do with taking a break on a slow newsroom night and wondering aloud (sometimes too loud) about the existence of God with some other editors.

I'm sure what made it fun for me was my personal determination that, if you're going to philosophize about something, you darn well better make it something important such as God.

To me that's the saving grace (pun fully intended, by the way) of "Jesus: The Lost Message" (Xlibris) by DeSales University grad Mark F. Traupman.

Traupman, who writes clearly and concisely particularly for a first-timer, attempts to put Christ's ministry back into what he alleges is its lost Jewish context. To that end, he compares the Hebrew texts written before Jesus' birth (for our purposes, we'll call them the Old Testament) with the Greek texts that followed Jesus' ministry.

Among other things, the author alleges there is a thread of content, language and philosophy linking the Gospel of Mark with the writings of the prophet Isaiah. Using this as the basis of his argument, Traupman claims Jesus was more likely the embodiment of a philosophy than a flesh-and-blood man, a philosophy that sought to return the Jewish people to an era of human equality rather the system of spoils fostered by the Romans, who took direct control of Judah in the first century A.D.

Traupman, who argues that the Gospel of Mark is the only real evidence of a physical Jesus, suggests the book is more possibly the credo of a group of first-century Jews he calls "the Q people."

The Q people, according to Traupman and others, were a revolutionary group who advocated a society based on a level playing field for all citizens, one where all people had the capacity to meet their own needs and, ultimately, connect with God.

This contrasted with the prevailing theory that temple aristocracy -- through a system of religious regulation and financial collusion -- was a necessary part of life for Jews attempting to practice their religion through the practice of sacrifice.

Traupman asserts that Jesus, who Mark depicts as constantly challenging and embarrassing the aristocracy in his gospel, is a character created to drive home the Q group's point -- that human goodness is defined by the content of our character rather than by outward appearances.

There's a whole lot more to it, but you'll have to read it for yourself. Primarily because I hate to spoil a good read and, secondarily, because that's about all of Traupman's book that I can summarize without developing a killer headache.

As with a lot of philosophy, I found this to be one of those books that invites a variety of reading techniques.

The moderately inquisitive can read it cover-to-cover, take it as a primary source and think about it over a cup of coffee. Dummies such as me can skim it, struggle to find one or two main points they grasp and give it about a minute's thought during the morning commute. And eggheads can use it as a springboard for copious amounts of further reading followed by decades of revising their written responses -- often unpublished.

All three have their merits as far as I'm concerned, which means "Jesus: The Lost Message" should be found on your bookshelf.

D.E. Kern can be reached by e-mail at kerny44cuse@yahoo.com.