Heikki Räisänen, James Dunn and the quest for an objective interpretation of 'The Rise of Christian Beliefs'

      Two prominent emeritus New Testament professors often cause significant debates if/ when they analyse each others' work in debates, articles and reviews. They are James Dunn (Durham) and Heikki Räisänen (Finland). Dunn I encountered several times in Durham while doing my MA in Biblical studies there; Räisänen I encountered at Louvain-le-Neuve in Belgium in 2010.

Recently, Dunn did a review of Räisänen's 2010 book: The Rise of Christian Beliefs: The Thought World of Early Christians, Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010 pp. xxiv + 477. $39.00

I found the bit about William Wrede's quest to rid New Testament exegesis of theology (or dogma) very interesting. The review is certainly worth looking at, given Dunn's extensive knowledge of the Early Church in works like Unity and Diversity in the New Testament (http://www.scmpress.co.uk/bookdetails.asp?ISBN=9780334029984 )

Here's a link to the review: http://www.bookreviews.org/pdf/7356_8014.pdf