Hello, welcome to the Editor's Desk.

This is the podcast where we take a closer look at the essays and articles in the latest print issue of First Things magazine.

I'm Rusty Reno on the editor of First Things Magazine, and I'm here with you today at the editor's desk.

I'd like to welcome Michael Legaspi to the podcast, and today we're going to talk about his

review in the June-July issue, his review of Elaine Pagel's new book, Miracles and Wonder, The Historical Mystery of

Jesus. Welcome to the podcast, Michael.

Thank you, Rusty. It's an honor to be with you, and I'm excited for this chance to discuss.

What is I think, a highly interesting book?

Yeah. Well, I mean, the quest for the historical Jesus,

you say this book, it falls into that tradition,

or at least at the outside, it falls into that tradition.

What is the quest for the historical Jesus?

Well, I actually think that the quest for the historical Jesus,

though that is a modern term that evokes a certain kind of biblical scholarship,

a certain kind of intellectual project going back to the Enlightenment.

I mean, really, it participates in a kind of broader effort over the course of the history

of the Christian Church to understand who Jesus is.

So I don't want to say that it's a modern novum in the strict sense.

You have inquiries into the nature and identity of Jesus going back to the early church

by those outside the church.

But when we today say the quest for the historical Jesus,

we're talking about something specific, right?

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