Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus (The Hinges of History)

Thomas Cahill has consolidated from the best of modern scholarship a climatic and refreshing view of Jesus that is simply exhilarating. His treatment of the teachings and miracles of Jesus, the horrible and shocking way in which he died, the trauma and then deep conviction his followers had in his resurrection, and the different tones with which so many authors recognizably portray the same man is literary and scholarly profound. Yet he is unpretentious. He presents us with a window through which the deepest meanings of biblical literature can be perceived. Cahill draws the reader to the place where these writings still do change the world we live in, one individual heart at a time. Jesus and the movement that came after him responded to the cry that Cahill calls the desire of the hills upon the Earth: that no longer they be the sponge that soaks up the blood of humanity's crimes against humanity; that no longer we call "great" the butchers of our race. Jesus, whom with all respect he reminds us was a devout Jew, gave humanity a new and good and redeeming vision. This vision turned the values of the Greco-Roman world upside down. Social justice; equality of class, race and gender; compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and caring for the poor and week and oppressed, thanks to Jesus these became the highest values and the very conscience of Western Civilization. There is much discussion about the historicity and divinity of Jesus. What Cahill points out is that even though there are many conflicting doctrines of faith regarding Jesus and many attempts to tame him, once all the arguing is done, the razor-sharp literature he inspired is still there. His works and teachings and his subsequent death-and-resurrection stand on their own. They simply will not go away. They have rung the bell of the human heart. As an undeserving gift for our benefit, Cahill helps us listen. "How beautiful upon the hills are the feet of those who bring good news".

I've read other books that Cahill has written, and this one is right up there with "The Gifts Of The Jews" which I had rated his best until reading this one. Now they are tied for first place in terms of both style and content, and in information delivered beautifully and sympathetically. Without being at all saccharine, sickeningly pious, all too predictable or doctrinaire (Cahill is a Roman Catholic), Cahill has written a serious study of the impact of the man Jesus of Nazareth on history. With his excellent literary style, reading the book is pure pleasure. Every student of history, anthropology, and of religion should read this book. Every seminarian should read it. Lovers of literature should also read it just for the sheer joy of confronting a master author at the height of his skill. As a practicing Anglican, I admire this book for more than its historical analysis and its treatment of the Savior; Cahill has presented the Man From Galilee with polite reverence, but as dispassionately as a historian should. So I recommend the book both to Christians, and to non-Christians who desire to learn more of Jesus of Nazareth from an historical perspective. It would be an excellent beginning book for anyone considering Christianity. You will not be disappointed in this book.

You will learn a lot of things you didn't know about the history of the Jewish religion and its origin in Cahill's book. What's important is what your reason for reading it is. This book is scholarly, written at a college level, and it would fit in either an undergrad or postgraduate (Master's degree) classes. We chose to it read for a church book group, and we found it very interesting, but not the kind of book we were looking for with this group. We're more likely to look at a book by Borg, et al. Still, if you persevere, you will learn an enormous amount about the origin and development of both the Jewish and Christian faiths.

3rd book in hinges of history. Good overview of context surrounding culture, philosophy and history during ministry of Jesus. Book delivered in pristine shape.

I try to read this book every Holy Week because Thomas Cahill does an excellent job of framing the centrality of Jesus in history and supporting his case for his decision to place Him there. I had to buy a new copy this year because my old copy had not been returned by someone I had loaned it to. This is one book that ought to be on every Christian's bookshelf and read frequently. It is a book of hope, awe and faith that demonstrates how radical the message of Christ was in the world and how radical it continues to be after nearly 2000 years. I find it always leaves me with a sense of confidence in the future and humility that God did indeed choose to "pitch His tent among us".

The book is a biography of Jesus before he was famous. It traces the origins of this simple, but revolutionary person who was destined to transform hearts, ideals, civilizations and the very fabric of time. Thomas Cahill sets out to capture Jesus, who he was and what he taught before he became an icon that would be used to justify oppression to those who have different beliefs. However, Cahill did not merely present a historical Jesus, he presents Jesus as the culmination of God's promise to the Jews and to all humanity by virtue of our heritage as Abraham's progeny. The first part of the book deals with events prior to Jesus, from the conquest of Alexander of Macedonia to Caeser Augustus. The second part of the book deals with the life and teachings of Jesus. The third part of the book deals with the early church, specifically the missionary works of Paul of Tarsus. The book is at heart a testimony to the continuing relevance of faith in this changing times, but it is a faith that is self-aware and not blind to the injustices perpetrated in the name of religion. It is a book for the ages; it a book for all of us because, despite all the advancement of science and technology, deep in our hearts we still echo the desires of the everlasting hills.

This is a well-written book that moved me to tears in several places. I have struggled a lot with Christianity, and the helped me let go of some hang-ups from my upbringing. There are still plenty of things I don't understand, but this helped me find a better sense of what really matters--at least to me.

Having read the first two books in this series (How the Irish Saved Civilization and The Gifts of the Jews), I was expecting a lot more than I got from this. I was expecting an analysis of Christianity's influence on western civilization. Instead, it amounts to an analysis of Jesus... It does not go much further in its analysis than the completion of the last books of the New Testament, sometime before 100 AD. He says that he is trying to answer the questions: "Who was Jesus? What was his effect and that of his followers on his own world? What was their impact on subsequent history?" The influence on their own world is well detailed. Cahill begins by exploring the world that Jesus was born into, from the rise of Alexander through the years of the Maccabees. He relates Jesus and his followers to their cultural environment. At times, he seems to be imparting his own views. He makes Paul and Jesus out as if they were openly preaching equality of women, for example, as one of their major themes. While I am sure the early Christian church felt that women (slaves, and other second class citizens) should be treated with compassion, the idea that they were truly equal (on Earth, at least) isn't nearly as clear as Cahill tries to make it. He virtually ignores the subsequent influences of Christianity, which is what most troubles me. He considers the "First Council of Jerusalem" to be a minor instance, when it seems as if most of the major figures of early Christianity - the ones with all the sway over how the message was preached - were present to decide how to proceed. Some of his confidence in the gospel is naive, from a historian point of view. He takes references in John's gospel to mean that the author had access to a witness who remembered great detail, rather than modification of details to fit the author's world-view. He makes no real justification for this view, other than his faith that the gospels are (relatively) accurate historical documents. What would fit more with the motif of Hinges of History would be to take these studies, and then do a focused study of how it impacted the remainder of history, which is confined to 20 pages that is more a re-iteration of previous ideas than applying the previous revelations to later events.

I enjoy every Thomas Cahill book. This is not quite as good as The Gift of the Jews or How the Irish Save Civilization but it is a must read if you enjoyed the other two books. The three books do not sugar-coat history and the impact of religion but the narrative style makes it an easy read. In these books Thomas Cahill does not have an axe to grind nor is he pumping tires. He just gives an interesting perspective in books that are easy to read. If you think organized religion or any religion other than yours is evil, you will not like these books.

Great book which I enjoyed and excellent service.

part of a fascinating series

This book does what it says and it is not a hard read. Cahill writes refers to many interesting facts with good insights.

I learned a lot and recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about that period in the Middle East