Chris Keith's Latest: Jesus Against the Scribal Elite

Awhile back, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Keith about his book, Jesus' Literacy: Scribal Culture and the Teacher from Galilee. You can read that interview here.

Keith is following up Jesus' Literacy with Jesus Against the Scribal Elite (Baker Academic; publishing date: April, 2014). Here are the particulars:

How did the controversy between Jesus and the scribal elite begin? We know that it ended on the cross, but what put Jesus on the radar of established religious and political leaders in the first place? Chris Keith argues that, in addition to concerns over what Jesus taught and perhaps even how he taught, a crucial aspect of the rising conflict concerned his very status as a teacher. Addressing an overlooked aspect in Jesus studies, this fresh and provocative work is the first book-length treatment of the origins of the controversy between Jesus and the scribal authorities. It exposes the broader significance of Keith's highly regarded technical work on the literacy of Jesus.

For more on Chris Keith, check out his blog with Anthony LeDonne, The Jesus Blog.