Christians Should Be Posting More At Amazon

As of late last year, every review of Raymond Brown's The Birth Of The Messiah at Amazon was highly positive. For more than a decade, everybody gave it four or five stars, and little negative was said about it. Here are some examples of what people were saying about the book:

Fr. Brown taks an honest hard look at the infancy narrative of Matthew and Luke. It is a struggle to find the truth in these narrative amid all the mythic lore and revisionist speculations. He digs deep down into the mountain of rubble that has accumulated, bringing out the sparkling truth that is contained within. He brings them out into the light of the day, where all speculation and myth are shown for what they are.

The historical valure of the infancy narratives are shredded to pieces during the course of this examination. Yet my faith is strengthened not undermined by this work. Why is this? Well, Fr. Brown uncovers the real motivation behind the Evangelists who composed these narratives. The primary motivation is theological.

That review was considered helpful by 30 of the 31 people who voted on it.

Here's the entirety of another review, which 7 out of 7 people found helpful:

Raymond E. Brown has long been one of the finest New Testament scholars. His work in this brilliant commentary is up to his own impeccable standards. In particular his analysis of the visit of the magi, the sect of the Anawim, and the virgin conception make the book worth the purchase price alone. Brown's genius, compassion, and erudition in this work have rarely been surpassed, even by himself.

And 39 of 40 found the following review helpful (what's below is the entirety of the review):

At the time of its publication, Father Brown's work was regarded by conservative and liberal scholars alike as a masterpiece, and it still is. Perhaps the most helpful part of the book is its arrangement: By placing the commentary immediately after the text and separating it from the notes, people who want more detail (and Father Brown was never at a loss for detail) can read the notes. Father Brown also wrote a wonderful work called "The Death of the Messiah" concerning the Passion Narratives. This, too, is excellent. When asked if he would write a book on the Resurrection Narratives, Father Brown declined, saying, "I'll wait and experience it first." Rest in peace, Father.

And so on. There isn't much substance to the reviews, and little is said that's critical of Brown's work.

So, late last year I decided to post a review there. So far, only 1 out of 3 has found it helpful, and the following comment was recently posted in response to my review:

This "review" is nearly antiintellectual tripe; to deride Fr. Brown's work in this manner is irresponsible. My personal experience with the man as teacher and Catholic priest and with his work serves me as the reference for denying any validity to the reviewer's conclusions about Fr. Brown's conclusions. To discuss this reviewers specifics is a worthless waste of time.

For more than a decade, Brown's book received only highly positive reviews. Those reviews don't go into much depth and are often inaccurate, among other problems. Yet, the reviews were considered helpful by the large majority of people who voted. There weren't any negative comments like the ones posted in response to me above. Contrast the reception of those other reviews after more than a decade and the reception of my review after less than a month. And contrast their concern for Raymond Brown's reputation and their lack of concern for the reputation of Jesus, the Bible, the Biblical authors, and the Christians who have disagreed with Brown's view of the infancy narratives over the centuries.

I've commented before about how Christians, political conservatives, and others with similar views need to be more active online. Amazon is another illustration of that need. It's something I neglected for a long time. Late last year, I decided to become more active in posting reviews and comments at Amazon. I hope other Christians and others who hold similar views will do the same. I'm not just referring to posting positive comments about books we agree with. In some ways, it's even more important that we be active in reviewing and commenting on what we disagree with.