Thanks Dream.
I went to a lecture he gave last night at the community college in Ocala. It was interesting, for those like me trying to place Jesus into an historical perspective. Overhearing a few of the conversations around me before he started, I couldn't help but get the feeling the guy has his own version of groupies.
The audience struck me as intriguing...very few young people (I counted fewer than 5), 2 black people and no orientals other than my wife (I still don't know why she wanted to go, she barely understands English, I think she just wanted to get out of the house for a bit). Anyway, the audience was predominantly white middle aged middle class, and quite a few of them were wearing collars (indicating they were "men of the cloth").
There was to be a second lecture today that time constraints would not allow me to attend. The lecture last night was to "set up" the historal and "eschaton" (Crossan's word) context into which Jesus found himself. He brought out some things that reinforced what I explored in the Rome in transition thread. He did touch on something I overlooked however, in that the same titles attributed to Jesus now and since Nicea, are the exact same titles bestowed upon Roman emperors since Octavian / Augustus.
And while there were some interesting tid bits, it became apparent that the purpose was to sell his most recent book. Autographed copies were available after the lecture...a bit too pricey for my wallet. But I was intrigued enough I may have to keep an eye out for some of his other works.
