Theissen, Gerd. The Shadow of the Galilean. Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2007. Gerd Theissen is a German theologian and New Testament scholar that really wanted to bring something different to the table. This being a fictional, yet historical telling of the life of Jesus. Theissen believed that using a narrative more fictional side to the telling of Jesus’ life would give the story more context to it. This does not mean that Theissen let history slide, the historical side of this story is by far the most important aspect to the story because it is the life of Jesus. The goal of this book for the reader was for it to be an enjoyable read but also incredibly accurate. Theissen takes the narrative from a different aspect, instead of being in the head of Jesus, he writes as the Gospels were written, from someone else point of view on the life of Jesus. This enhances the narrative context of the story.…show more content… Theissen goes through the book and goes into deal about what is occurring in the Roman Empire. Throughout the book Andreas is forced to make serious decisions that will influence him and others around him. The book is clearly taken places in Palestine in the first century. The beginning of the book unwraps Andreas being interrogated by the “police” and ends of being taken to jail because he supposedly has connections to people who are against the Roman Empire. Ironically, he ends up being forcefully persuaded, by Pontius Pilate, into becoming an undercover person for the Romans. Because of this, Andreas is able to tell and in depth story of Jesus. Jesus never actually appears in the forefront of the story that Theissan is telling, however because Andreas “undercover” his is able to give the readers bits and pieces of what Jesus’ life was