Book Description
"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. . . . I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." In Donald Miller's early years, he was vaguely familiar with a distant God. But when he came to know Jesus Christ, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal. Within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God.
Customer Reviews:
Good, but hypocrytical . . ........2007-10-11
As a Christian who frequently finds sustaining spirutuality in more resources than just the bible, I enjoyed this book some of the time.
Miller is dead on in his assertion that "the Church" and from that really all Christians, need to re-connect with the example of Christ's love, especially with regards to those whom Christians don't mingle with on a daily basis (at least my "daily basis" anyway).
His hypocrisy ruins it for me, though. It seemed like every time things were warming up about "loving others", Miller would drop some hugely critical comment about Republicans, fundamentalists, evangelicals, etc. I get it that these people aren't necessarily his cup of tea. However, if we are to accept, and adopt, Christ's example of love, it's all inclusive.
Loving only the less fortunate doesn't count; Christ loves all of us. And if Miller is going to write with integrity about emulating and expanding that love in our own lives, he can't pick and choose whom to love and not to love. In short, he falls in to the very trap he accuses "the Church" of living in.
And the hypocrisy of that makes it difficult to take his message seriously, at least for me.
With all that said, I am sending a copy of the book to an atheistic friend. You never know!
Miller's faith perspective rings true.......2007-10-10
Get Real: a spiritual journey for men
Blue Like Jazz is a beautifully written book that requires the reader to think honestly about issues of faith. Miller has moved well beyond the posturing and pretense that characterize too much of Christian apologetics. It's impossible to read Miller without being struck by his disarming candor and honest self-examination. Rather than introduce doubt, Miller makes sense, and he makes a strong case for a Jesus who is real and interactive in the world today. Like journalist Derek Maul's "Get Real: a spiritual journey for men," (2007) Blue like Jazz presents the Gospel as engaging, incisive, and deeply authentic.
Inspired Me to Read His Other Books.......2007-10-08
Blue Like Jazz is a sort of meditation on Don Miller's spiritual life so far (he's in his early 30s), sprinkled with a little Christian apologetic told by narrative rather than by theories or "spiritual laws" (Miller's "Search for God Knows What" is more along the lines of an apologetic though). Miller's writing style is accessible and easy, though he's prone to meditative tangents on the nature of God or faith or creation that may annoy the less religiously-inclined reader. Miller has a lot of credibility in the so-called emerging church movement for his narrative approach (and probably for his decidedly left wing politics), but his religious beliefs themselves come across as pretty standard evangelical Christian, which I was a little surprised by. It's not heavy theology by any means, and there's a lot of raw meat in Miller's book for the internet's theology attack dogs to tear apart, but the books resonated with me. After reading "Blue Like Jazz," I was inspired to read Miller's "Searching for God Knows What" and "Through Painted Deserts." My favorite moment in the book was the "reverse confession booth," where the campus Christians confessed the sins of the church to astonished students. For a new spin on evangelical Christianity, check out "Blue Like Jazz."
Re-thinking my original opinion.......2007-10-06
I am actually re-reading this book because I got so much out of it during my first read. I may have made a mistake by reading all these negative reviews here, but I'm finding I agree with some of them to an extent. It's funny because I am seeing both sides here, both good and bad, about the book. Yes, some of the stuff he wrote about is a little self-obsessed, but some of the stuff he wrote sparked real passion in me and furthered my relationship with God. I think I just had a moment of realization (an epiphany, if you will) that you cannot take ANYONE'S word for anything, except God's. This is just more proof to me that people, no matter who they are or what their intentions or how close to Christ they are, can lead you astray. To conclude; read the book (it has some good stuff in it), take from it what you will, and trust God with all your heart.
Offensive to jazz fans!.......2007-09-30
Donald Miller, I'd like you to take out the sheet music of Mood Indigo, which I'm sure you've studied extensively, and show me where it doesn't resolve--I think that harmonically it's one of the perfect all time pieces of music, and it resolves better than a lot.
Maybe he's talking about free jazz or bop or post bop or modal jazz or something, but I'm not sure he actually knows what those terms mean. It sounds to me like he's heard a couple of jazz songs at some point and decided that this makes him an expert. Yeah, man, he was turned on to this stuff by Tony, his beat poet buddy, man. Oh, that is so hip!
But even if you're saying on a technical level that jazz music, in some of its more far-flung explorations, abandons established notions of harmony, melody, rhythm and tonality, it can always be explained. You can always notate it, analyze it, study it, and explain it. You can break it down to vibrations traveling through the air and you can know exactly what those vibrations are doing.
You can't do that with Christian spiritual notions, because they're based on assertions of faith that require you to abandon the desire for statements of fact to be proved. It's cute, Donald Miller, for you to say that you're just not interested anymore in the intellectual/theological aspects of Christianity, but it's stupid and ignorant for you to use jazz as a point of comparison. Jazz musicians know exactly what they're doing and they can explain it to you in minute detail, and yes, they could write it down if they wanted to. It's not just getting up in front of people and blowing some BS through your instrument. That's what YOU are doing in your spirituality. Jazz music requires training, education, rigorous practice and relentless creativity. What you do requires a huge capacity for BS and evasive, circular arguments. Guess which one I respect more.
Any jazz solo can be studied note for note, analyzed, and explained. And the person who performed that solo can you tell what choices they made at every point and why, and they can base that on established musical concepts. Once you get to that point, it isn't mysterious anymore, but it is beautiful and special in a way that your unfounded, frightened faith can never be.
Amazon.com
In Dinner With a Perfect Stranger, David Gregory relates the story of two men sharing a meal. The point of interest is knowing that one man believes he is Jesus. What will the other man think by the time the evening is through? The conversation begins, as one could imagine, scratching the dry hard surface of skepticism and doubt, but gently and persistently goes deeper and deeper, spiraling in from that starting point until they are eventually talking about the true stuff of life; the career drifting off-track, the marriage experiencing its own kind of strain, the life being lived where the philosophical questions of youth have given way to simply coping with modern day-to-day living.
Gregory's book is a refreshing reminder of what evangelical Christianity is at its very best -- a faith enlivened by the personal relationship between the Creator and the created. In the end, evangelical Christians are focused on who Jesus Christ is, and more specifically, who He is to them. Doctrinal stances, theological conundrums, questions about literal or non-literal Biblical interpretation, these are all beside the point for the certain type of Christian whose central focus is the life and person of Jesus.
In the Narnia series, C.S. Lewis touched on some of the core questions of religion, from the Christian viewpoint (is there a hell? What is heaven like, really? How can other religions be wrong, and just one be right?) Taking his cue from Lewis, Gregory does the same, realizing that questions like these come alive when they're in the context of a story, and we can be the third party, watching with interest while they are put on the table and considered. In the end, Gregory's book succeeds because of his willingness to approach interesting, hard questions like these. He is always, undoubtedly, aiming for the heart, but he realizes that to win the heart one must never forget that the mind has to come along for the ride. --Ed Dobeas
Book Description
You are Invited to a Dinner with Jesus of Nazareth
The mysterious envelope arrives on Nick Cominsky’s desk amid a stack of credit card applications and business-related junk mail. Although his seventy-hour workweek has already eaten into his limited family time, Nick can’t pass up the opportunity to see what kind of plot his colleagues have hatched.
The normally confident, cynical Nick soon finds himself thrown off-balance, drawn into an intriguing conversation with a baffling man who appears to be more than comfortable discussing everything from world religions to the existence of heaven and hell. And this man who calls himself Jesus also seems to know a disturbing amount about Nick’s personal life.
…………..
"You’re bored, Nick. You were made for more than this. You’re worried about God stealing your fun, but you’ve got it backwards.… There’s no adventure like being joined to the Creator of the universe." He leaned back off the table. "And your first mission would be to let him guide you out of the mess you’re in at work."
………….
As the evening progresses, their conversation touches on life, God, meaning, pain, faith, and doubt–and it seems that having Dinner with a Perfect Stranger may change Nick’s life forever.
Customer Reviews:
Dinner with a Perfect Stranger.......2007-10-12
A beautifully written narrative that has solid apologetics yet captures the imagination and the heart.
A Perfect Book.......2007-09-17
I received this book as a gift and enjoyed it so much that I bought it to give to my daughter-in-law. What would it be like to have dinner with Jesus? This book answers that question in a way that includes humor and an inside look at witnessing as Jesus might do it if he invited an unbeliever struggling with life's problems to dinner. A thought-provoking book beautifully written.
A wonderful book.........2007-09-07
An excellent book. Perfect for the whole family to listen to. It is funny at times and then brings the right amount of drama at the right time. It makes you think things through and to a higher level.
kateinkalifornia.......2007-08-29
A quick read, I actually read it twice. I will keep it and lend it out, but I want it back. It's one for my permanent collection.
Reads like a religious brochure.......2007-08-24
My mom gave me this book to read as, one would guess, a last minute ditch effort to get me back into religion. Flipping through the book and seeing that it was only around 100 pages, and was printed in nice big "kid's book" letters, I figured, hey, what's a couple hours? I'm certainly willing to hear other viewpoints, and weigh them accordingly.
My first complaint is that if this is how religious people think that non-religious people think, feel, and act, then they are sorely mistaken. It's as if everyone that isn't Christian is empty, sad, and just sort of generally depressed. I guess using logic and consistency in your life makes you depressed? I guess not accepting whim-based rules about how to live life because "this book said so" and instead working rigorously to come up with a consistent set of morals and values makes you feel empty?
Anyways, the author attempts to make logical proofs, and in doing so, shows that he has no clue what a logical proof is. His undeniable, irrefutable proof that god exists is that an earlier part of the bible predicts a later part of the bible. Seriously. Nevermind that the later part of the bible was written a couple centuries after the fact, and by monks who were fully aware of the prophecies in Daniel, etc.
He also makes the claim that either Buddhism, or Hinduism, (i forget which, and i don't have the book in front of me) can't be true because it says that the universe is eternal. "How does that stack up against what your scientists have recently discovered?" alluding to the idea that we now *think* that the universe had a starting point. Regardless of the fact that we don't KNOW that it had a starting point, using science to dethrone one religion after another but not applying it to your own is a methodology only useful to those completely wrapped up in their own beliefs. One wishes the guy having dinner with Jesus would have responded with "well... that's funny... what does our science say about the idea of consciousness without matter? Or simultaneously being all-knowing and all-powerful? Or energy without any means to measure it? I guess that means your dad doesn't exist... which in turn means you don't exist, because you're one with your dad or whatever... so I guess I'm talking to myself... which would explain why the waiter has been looking at me strangely all night."
There was also a fantastic bit at the end about how if Jesus was in this guy's heart, he (Jesus) could love the guy's wife when he (the guy) couldn't anymore. Or something to that effect. I'd talk more about that, but I don't want to misquote it and have someone negate the whole review based on it, so I'll let it go.
I could go on for pages about the rediculous assumptions this book makes about how life should be lived, and the causes of evil in the world, etc. But I won't. Suffice it to say that this book is patently ridiculous, and actually rather offensive to truly free-thinking, open and honest people.
Then again, the author believes in a god that said "Thou Shall Not Kill" and then went on to murder millions and millions of people, as well as an entire planet's worth of animals that are completely amoral. So I guess anything goes, and he's as capable as anyone else to cherry-pick the parts that he does and doesn't support out of the bible.
Amazon.com
The Case for Christ records Lee Strobel's attempt to "determine if there's credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God." The book consists primarily of interviews between Strobel (a former legal editor at the Chicago Tribune) and biblical scholars such as Bruce Metzger. Each interview is based on a simple question, concerning historical evidence (for example, "Can the Biographies of Jesus Be Trusted?"), scientific evidence, ("Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus' Biographies?"), and "psychiatric evidence" ("Was Jesus Crazy When He Claimed to Be the Son of God?"). Together, these interviews compose a case brief defending Jesus' divinity, and urging readers to reach a verdict of their own.
Book Description
Using the dramatic scenario of an investigative journalist pursuing his story and leads, Lee Strobel uses his experience as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune to interview experts about the evidence for Christ from the fields of science, philosophy, and history. Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award and twice nominated for the Christian Book of the Year Award.
Customer Reviews:
My boyfriend met Christ through this book.......2007-09-12
I think this book does a pretty good job at analyzing Jesus' existence and the validity of the bible from various angles, such as via archeology, psychology, anatomy, science, logic, etc. And amazingly, by God's grace, my boyfriend met Christ through this book! Praise God.
Compelling Arguments.......2007-09-01
I found The Case for Christ to be well written and the arguments put forward to be very compelling. Mr. Stobel uses a series of interviews with a variety of experts to build his case and each presented facts or points of view that were very hard to refute. Excellent book.A Startrek to Eternity
A good starting point for both skeptics and apologists.......2007-08-28
I've read this book numerous times and read the reviews of those who gave the books low scores. This book is a good starting point for people with lots of agnostic/atheist friends. Granted, if your friend was Hawkings or Dawkins, you might have a tough time relying on this book. Sometimes it doesn't cover topics you'd like to be covered and sometimes the reasoning takes a bit of thinking to understand, but generally, this book covers all the bases.
Of course, the writer had a Christian agenda. Everything has a systemic bias. I could write a review on The Selfish Gene saying that the book has an evolutionist bias. For others, just "the Bible says so" is a good argument. This is even more sillier, like driving a car without knowing how to brake. When your friends give you an obstacle, you can only swerve around it or crash and burn. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus said to love the Lord with all your mind and that sound doctrine should be taught. If you can't argue for sound doctrine, how can you teach and understand it?
Thought provoking.......2007-08-23
This book is very well written in an investigative style and counters some of the less challenged arguments of those who do not believe in Christ as the Son of God. Usually, agnostics and atheists present what appears to be an intellectually sound argument against Christ's position as the Savior of the world. These arguments are countered methodically and give the non-theologian a source for countering arguments against Christ. I have read Strobel's "A Case for Faith" and because of that read this book. It is nice to read intellectually sound arguments for Christ that can't be dismissed as the work of religious zealots or "kooks" as Christians are sometimes portrayed when defending their beliefs.
Just plain excellent.......2007-08-21
This is a most interesting book, excellently written, decisive and to the point. It touches on areas that any believer has pondered and many atheists base their faith on.
Any thinking person cannot argue the facts uncovered in it. It is also a good reference for the up and coming apologist.
It is so much easier to be an atheist than a believer. This book reveals the futility of the easy belief...
Book Description
A way of sacrifice. A way of failure. A way on the margins. A way of holiness. All of these ways prepared the "way of the Lord" that became incarnate and complete in Jesus. But somewhere along the line, have we lost the way?
In The Jesus Way Eugene Peterson continues the thought-provoking spiritual-theological conversation that he began in Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places and Eat This Book. This third volume, offering more of Peterson's singular blend of probing biblical exposition and keen cultural analysis, considers all the ways that Jesus is the Way compared to the distorted ways the modern American church has chosen to follow.
Arguing that the way Jesus leads and the way we follow are symbiotic, Peterson begins with a study of how the ways of those who came before Christ -- Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah of Jerusalem, and Isaiah of the Exile -- revealed and prepared the "way of the Lord" that became complete in Jesus. He then challenges the ways of the contemporary American church, showing in stark relief how what we have chosen to focus on -- consumerism, celebrity, charisma, and so forth -- obliterates what is unique in the Jesus way.
Customer Reviews:
Living Like Jesus.......2007-07-15
"The Jesus Way" is the third book in Peterson's opus concerning conversations in spiritual theology. The first two books are "Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places" and "Eat This Book." Spiritual theology is teaching on how to grow spiritually.
Peterson's latest work reminds one of Dallas Willard's excellent premise: to be like Jesus we must live the way Jesus lived. Peterson fleshes out how Jesus lived by looking at the life of Christ and by looking at Old Testament and New Testament examples of people who lived like Jesus.
For deep insight into spiritual formation into the image of Christ, "The Jesus Way" points the way with biblical precision and relational power.
Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Soul Physicians, Spiritual Friends, and Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction.
Perfect for any collection strong in Christian thinking........2007-06-09
THE JESUS WAY: A CONVERSATION ON THE WAYS THAT JESUS IS THE WAY draws a symbiotic connection between the ways Jesus leads and the ways people follow, studying those who came before Christ and how they led and comparing these with Jesus' methods of leadership. Chapters challenge the methods of the modern American church and argue against consumerism, charisma and other barriers to understanding the Jesus path, using a blend of scholarship and spiritual insights to push the boundaries of belief and wisdom. Perfect for any collection strong in Christian thinking.
The way we follow must be internalized and embodied.......2007-06-06
Especially in his senior years, Eugene H. Peterson has become a prophetic voice, gently but firmly challenging the American church to be concerned with the way it declares and lives out the Gospel. The title of the book refers to Jesus's statement recorded in John 14:6: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." Jumping off from that point, Peterson quickly delves into a discussion of ends and means. "We cannot skip the way of Jesus in our hurry to get to the truth of Jesus." Put another way: "Only when the Jesus way is organically joined with the Jesus truth do we get the Jesus life." Or: "The popularized acronym WWJD ('What would Jesus do?') is not quite accurate. The question must be 'How does Jesus do it?'"
After an initial chapter about Jesus Himself, which includes Peterson's interpretation of the meaning of Jesus's three wilderness temptations, Peterson presents six chapters based on Old Testament characters who illuminate Jesus's message and meaning for us. (1) Abraham --- a way of faith and sacrifice. (2) Moses --- "the way of language," as receiver of the Torah, in some ways analogous to the Gospels. (3) David, whose "way of imperfection," including prayers that express his need and repentance and gratitude, "provide us with an imagination that is capable of understanding the operations of God to do His perfect work in us." (4) Elijah, who lived on the margins of society: "The essence of the Elijah way is that it counters the...culture's way." (5) Isaiah of Jerusalem, who proclaimed and lived in the reality of the holiness of God. (6) Isaiah of the Exile, who preached "images of the living God of salvation" that were rooted "in a solid sense of creation and history." Here Peterson returns to a discussion of the means of our salvation: the suffering servant.
A much shorter Part 2 looks at three contemporaries of Jesus who show us what the "Jesus Way" is not. (1) King Herod, who plays a role in the Nativity story. (2) Caiaphas, the High Priest. (3) Josephus, a prominent Jew who colluded with Rome against his people. This section includes history lessons, such as background on the Maccabees, Zealots and Essenes.
Though this book stands on its own, it is the third in a series of five billed as "conversations in spiritual theology" (CHRIST PLAYS IN TEN THOUSAND PLACES and EAT THIS BOOK are the previous installments). THE JESUS WAY is not light inspirational reading; yet on nearly every page you'll find a memorable or pithy line that grabs your attention and draws you along, anticipating the next thoughtful insight into what it means to live as a Christian. There's a pastoral engagement in Peterson's writing, including well-placed personal anecdotes (even one about Winnie the Pooh) that transforms these books from academic theology or biblical exposition to spiritual nourishment. Toward the end of the book there's a revealing comment in this regard: "We can only pray our lives into the way of following Jesus.... The way we follow must be internalized and embodied."
For further help in digesting Peterson's spiritual theology, a study guide will be available June 15th from the publisher.
--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence
Leisurely and enriching.......2007-05-25
Peterson's series continues to inspire and enrich. It's a thoughtful tour of familiar biblical characters and incidents, giving us a new way of appreciating them.
Getter closer to what means to walk with Jesus today.......2007-05-15
I have read this book with great interest and a good feeling inside. The question of what Jesus really meant when he said "I am the way (and the truth and the life)" has bothered me for a long time. After reading Eugene Peterson's book I still have to think it over. Peterson does not give any simple answer. However he does - like what I believe Jesus did - tell anecdotes and supply us with jigsaw pieces that can be put together, approaching an answer.
I have tried to do that. From Abraham's faith and the narratives of Moses, through David's prayers and repentance, Elijah's trust in God, and the emerging gospel partly uncovered by "Isaiah" (of Jerusalem and of the Exile) - from all these we get contributions to what it means to follow Jesus. Even the lessons to be learnt from the encounter with Herod, Caiaphas and Josephus - political and ecclesiastic leaders of their day - contribute to understanding of what it meant to be a Christian in those days. That experience is easily translated into what you can expect being a Christian today.
Book Description
Borg returns to the ground where he made his dramatic debut with Jesus: A New Vision in 1987. Here Borg updates his work introducing us to a Jesus we have never met before. In many ways Borg's Jesus is more revolutionary and possesses a more exciting moral vision than the church's traditional view. Here we meet Jesus as sage and prophet courageously and surprisingly confronting the social crises of his day. After a lifetime of work and study, Borg also discovers a Jesus that can continue to inspire, inform and guide those who have moved beyond archaic doctrines. Borg argues that there is a movement in the church today that is catching up with where scholarship has brought us in understanding Christian origins. Here readers will find an historically accurate Jesus, but one who is still worth following.
Customer Reviews:
While the top tier biblical scholars labor in obscurity... .......2007-10-17
...The Crossans, Borgs, Funks and Macks of the world sell tons of books to spiritual seekers who desperately want to believe that "Christianity lite" is the true Christianity. The shoddy scholarship won't bother people who, just like fundamentalists, would rather believe something false than have to deal with a truth that might shake up their worldview. I consider myself a liberal politically, and I most definitely am not an inerrantist but the Jesus that Borg proposes is not the Jesus of history.
The best Jesus Book? James D.G. Dunn's Jesus Remembered. It's only for the brave, but once you've reached Dunn's summit you'll have seen the most critical, unbiased and scholarly view of Jesus ever put onto paper.
Challenging, thought-provoking, recommended - but is it right?.......2007-09-28
Let me hit what I consider to be the high points of this book first. It will challenge you to think deeply about your faith. When you're done reading it, you may feel as if you've scaled Everest and found enlightenment. Borg makes a terrific case that a Christian focus on salvation and heaven ignores the heart of Christ's ministry. And that the heart of that ministry was about The Father's will being done on earth. He challenges us (page 194) not to live the easy (broad) way, living by conventional wisdom even if that conventional wisdom comes from church. Just as Jesus challenged his followers to examine their conventional wisdom about faith in their times. He's got a really good message in chapter 9 (Resistance) that "The Bible is political." And that God's will for us is different from the "normalcy of civilization." And he challenges us to see that just as Jesus spoke in parables, there's often a metaphoric meaning that's even more valuable than a literal reading.
I'll admit I didn't know who Marcus Borg was at the time I started reading this. Part of the way in, I read his bio finally and saw the connection to the "historical Jesus" movement and The Jesus Seminar. That instantly turned me skeptical as I read, not having had a good impression of what little I knew of The Jesus Seminar. But as I read, I really opened to what he had to say. While I'm still skeptical of the "historical Jesus" movement, I no longer see this as a cover for tearing down Christianity I once foolishly thought it was. It's clear that Mr. Borg is a man of deep faith who loves Christ's teaching.
So with all of the positives, why only a 3 star review? I'm sorry, even having read this I just can't buy in to the approach of examining Christ's life or the Gospel as a matter or "history." Mr. Borg's "historical" approach to the New Testament begins in effect by counting only Mark as a definitive gospel because it was first. Anything in the other gospels that can't be corroborated elsewhere is essentially thrown out. While that might be a "historical" approach, it doesn't strike me as the right approach for a faith that is alive.
Practically, I'm also stumped by the "historical" insistence that if the "earliest" writing didn't mention fact A, later writings that mention it must be fabrications or metaphors. While he holds true to that methodology for any statement he wants to dismiss, he acknowledges at one point that yes Paul in his earliest writings left out descriptions of the crucifixion why? Because Paul could assume is contemporary readers knew those details. So, it seems just as likely to be that from a "historical" standpoint, the point of the earliest written documents probably wasn't to record the known details the writer could assume and that yes, as The Word spread further in time and throughout the region that details left out of early writings but known by all were captured from verbal traditions and written down.
He's also prone to making statements like "it is unlikely that these passages go back to Jesus" (p 180). It seems to me that the more correct statement in this case would be "it's impossible to say from a historical standpoint whether or not these passages go back to Jesus." There's no proof that they don't. Again, this is faith not history.
And in chapter 10, while he presents a case that there's a beautiful additional metaphor in Easter, in what it means for God to have raised Jesus, he makes statements about Easter being more metaphorical than a real raising of Jesus from the dead than I can buy. Yes, there's more meaning to what God did on Easter. But reducing Christ the Living Son of God's post-Easter existence to the followers of Jesus "continued to experience him after his death" and that "God had vindicated Jesus" (p 276) is to ignore that if you are going to believe in God, you are believing by definition in something all powerful, capable of this miracle.
He also makes what I feel to be an obvious error in his Jesus is not Superman line of reasoning around page 75. His argument if that if Jesus was fully human, then he did not have Superman powers. Therefore, he didn't feed thousands with a few fish and loaves. And if he had these powers, there would have been more stories of them. To me, this misses the obvious: Yes, Jesus was fully human but he was able to call on God to work through him. And again, God is God, he is all powerful. God working through Jesus can feed the multitudes, heal, and everything else. Why aren't there more stories of this? I'll turn the question around: if there were more stories, would the applicants of the Historical Jesus movement just dismiss them anyway? The stories there are are sufficient for faith.
My bottom line for this is that there's some brilliant theology in this book. Mr Borg does cleanly expose the heart of Christ's earthly teaching to his fellow Jewish peasants. He taught compassion, non-violent resistance, meaningful sharing of resources so that all would have enough, and much more. But it's a shame that this beautiful message has to come wrapped with so much skepticism about whether or not we can believe any of the Gospel as "fact."
Built on supposition.......2007-09-01
The opening is a masterful survey of text criticism and the discipline of seeking the historical Jesus. Then Borg describes a category - first century Jewish mystic - and contends that Jesus lives within that category. It is an educated guess.
Good, thoughful Stuff.......2007-07-25
Borg is insightful. He has some views of Christ that I certainly disagree with, but on the other hand, he has some insights that I certainly agree with. His historical-metaphorical reading is amazing. I will never read the book of Mark again through the same eyes, or the rest of the Gospel accounts. If you want a challenging read about your Savior, this is the book. I looking forward to preaching on some of the truths that Borg draws out of the text. Instead of being happy with a "it happened" reading, we should ask the question "why did it happen that way?"
Wishful thinking.......2007-05-11
'Conspiracy' is at the heart of this book, that somehow history has moved away from the real Jesus. But through his own eyewitnesses, we find that Jesus wasn't only a religious revolutionary, He was God.
-ISP
Book Description
Many people today, especially among emerging generations, don't resonate with the church and organized Christianity. Some are leaving the church and others were never part of the church in the first place. Sometimes it's because of misperceptions about the church. Yet often they are still spiritually open and fascinated with Jesus. This is a ministry resource book exploring six of the most common objects and misunderstandings emerging generations have about the church and Christianity. The objections come from conversations and interviews the church has had with unchurched twenty and thirty-somethings at coffee houses. Each chapter raises the objection using a conversational approach, provides the biblical answers to that objection, gives examples of how churches are addressing this objection, and concludes with follow-through projection suggestions, discussion questions, and resource listings.
Customer Reviews:
DVD Curriculum on it's way.......2007-10-10
For anyone that liked the book there is a DVD based curriculum for churches and small groups that will be available in early 2008.
Great insight!.......2007-09-29
This book opened my eyes to seeing how the emerging generation views the church. Being raised in the church seems to be a definite handicap when thinking of how to reach those outside its walls. Church people think differently than unchurched people. Add to that the fact that the emergent generation views Christians and you have a group that is fast becoming irrelevant to the culture. Worse yet, that is the group holding the secret to the kingdom of heaven.
At times, Kimball can get you discouraged because of the huge disconnect between the church and the world. But at other times, Kimball gets you excited because you just learned something that will help you connect better than ever. Doing that may be hard work for some. It requires laying aside almost all of the old, outdated methodology. That may be the hardest part for those inside the current church leadership. But after reading this book, it becomes obvious that it must be done in order to reach those outside the church.
Kimball's book is a "must read" book for anyone desiring to connect with people raised outside the church. In the immediate future, that is going to be almost everyone.
Not What I Expected.......2007-08-28
This turned out to be a conservative Christian approach to getting people to Jesus and the church. I had hoped it would be a broader look at how people might get connected with churches in a wide number of approaches to faith. But this was another narrow view of religion.
Becoming Missionaries .......2007-08-24
Anyone who is serious about sharing their faith with others in this generation and culture needs to read Dan Kimball's They Like Jesus But Not the Church. Not so that we can package a church that they will like, but so we will, like good missionaries, understand the culture and the spiritual climate in which we minister.
The book convicted me on the very second page when I realized that I had become so busy "doing ministry" that I had lost almost all contact with those outside the church. My prayer now is "get me back into the game."
Dan's tone is full of grace and understanding, but his words are straightforward and prophetic. Based on several years of interviews with folks outside the church, They Like Jesus But Not the Church highlights the reasons that emerging generations respect Jesus but are totally turned off by his bride. Many of the reasons are misperceptions; many are not. Some of the reasons that really jumped out to me included the following:
"The church is an organized religion with a political agenda."
"The church is judgmental and negative. It is known for what it is against more than for what it is for."
"The church is homophobic."
Dan is whole-heartedly committed to the truth of Scripture , and he shows us how we can uphold the authority of Scripture while stripping off some of the extraneous trappings we have picked up along the way. I love Dan's humility and transparency. He is fair and gracious to both sides of the conversation, and he offers hope to those in the church and those outside the church.
This is one of the best books I have read, and I believe all pastors need to read it. We need to understand the culture in which we minister. We need to understand the people we are trying to reach. We need to get outside the walls of our church office and get to know the people in our communities. And we need to think Biblically and critically about how we do church.
Know your Audience.......2007-07-20
I was very disappointed in this book, mostly because I realized too late that I was not Kimball's intended readership. Kimball is clearly writing for an audience older and more conservative than himself, and I am neither. As a member of the 'emerging generations' he claims to support, and as a pastor in a mainline denomination, I found this text insulting.
Kimball's main shortcoming is a failure to take seriously the concerns of the people he's interviewed, labeling their responses 'misperceptions' rather than just perceptions. Had he presented them as the latter, forced his readers to hear them as honest and relevant critique, he could have fostered dialogue about what the church must do to be *less* negatively political, male dominated, homophobic and so on. Instead, he only challenges that we should correct these 'misconceptions' and help people see the a better side of the church, when the true task ahead is to hear the hard truth that we have fallen short in our attempts to embody God's love and that we must examine our own beliefs and the voices of those outside the church as we continue to seek faithfulness as the Body of Christ on earth.
I think this is an important book for some folks to read, folks who will be challenged to hear what those outside the Christian subculture have to say. For those of us already there, however, it is a disappointing retrogression into old debates and a failure to accept that sometimes those on the outside see us better than we see ourselves. To use one of the book's chapter topics, if everyone around us thinks the church is homophobic, maybe the answer isn't that we try to convince them that we're 'a supportive community' and thus *appear* less homophobic; maybe the answer is that we take a good long look at ourselves and ask how we might *become* less homophobic.
Average customer rating:
- The Jesus I love more than ever.
- Wonderful! EXCELLENT!
- The Jesus I never knew
- A Must Read
- Review from a non-religious person
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Jesus I Never Knew, The
Philip Yancey
Manufacturer: Zondervan
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ASIN: 031021923X |
Amazon.com
An old adage says, "God created man in His own image and man has been returning the favor ever since." Philip Yancey realized that despite a lifetime attending Sunday school topped off by a Bible college education, he really had no idea who Jesus was. In fact, he found himself further and further removed from the person of Jesus, distracted instead by flannel-graph figures and intellectual inspection. He determined to use his journalistic talents to approach Jesus, in the context of time, within the framework of history.
In The Jesus I Never Knew, Yancey explores the life of Jesus, as he explains, "'from below,' to grasp as best I can what it must have been like to observe in person the extraordinary events unfolding in Galilee and Judea" as Jesus traveled and taught. Yancey examines three fundamental questions: who Jesus was, why he came, and what he left behind. Step by step, scene by scene, Yancey probes the culture into which Jesus was born and grew to adulthood; his character and mission; his teachings and miracles; his legacy--not just as history has told it, but as he himself intended it to be.
Yancey is not alone in his examination of the "real" Jesus. Publishing today is replete with writers committed to setting the story "straight,quot; joining countless others who, over the past 2,000 years, have determined to discover the truth about Jesus. But where others would deconstruct and discount, Yancey disarms and discloses. We become colleagues with him as he examines the accounts of the life of Jesus. And among the things that we discover is that Jesus himself leaves us few options: either he was who he said he was or he was nuts.
Philip Yancey was awarded the Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year award for this book in 1996 by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. It's not the first, nor the last, award Yancey has won for his writing. But the writing is not necessarily the great gift of this book. Yancey allows the reader to discover, along with him, The Jesus I Never Knew. --Patricia Klein
Book Description
Philip Yancey reveals the real Jesus beyond the stereotypes, revolutionizing the reader’s passion for Christ, and offers a new and different perspective on the life of Christ and his work—his teachings, his miracles, his death and resurrection—and ultimately, who he was and why he came. Relating the gospel events to the world we live in today, The Jesus I Never Knew gives a moving and refreshing portrait of the central figure of history. Yancey looks at the radical words of this itinerant Jewish carpenter and asks whether we are taking him seriously enough.
Customer Reviews:
The Jesus I love more than ever........2007-08-28
I love Jesus, I love events, people , books and any other thing Our Lord brings into my life to fall more deepy in love with Christ and his Word and His Church. Bless His Holy Name. This book is now in my life when I need it and I am humbled enough to accept it, if you read it I pray it touches and moves you as much as it has me! Grace and Peace in His Holy Name.
Wonderful! EXCELLENT!.......2007-07-22
One of the best books I've read in a long time! Puts Jesus in a whole new light...not a whimpy weak vulnerable man but our SAVIOR! our HERO! our SUPERMAN! I loved it and passed it on!
The Jesus I never knew.......2007-07-20
Classic Yancy. He starts building a foundation and by the end he has you wishing there was more book. Analogies are outstanding and the insight into possible reasons for Jesus' actions are intriguing. This is the third book I have read by Phillip Yancy, and I really enjoy his expanded view he gives on a subject. I read this book after his title "What so amazing about Grace". I think Yancy has a deep understanding about the things of God. I would recommend this book to anyone. I also think it would be a great group study source.
A Must Read.......2007-06-27
A very interesting and different perspective on the life of Jesus that you don't get everyday. Very refreshing.
Review from a non-religious person.......2007-06-05
After spending 8 years in Catholic School - my distain for religion and the Catholic Church has been a part of me my entire adult life. I found this book in a pile of books someone gave to me, and for reasons unknown to me, I picked it up and read it. This book made me cry. For the first time questions that where always with me were voiced and examined in an intelligent and non-judgmental way. I believe my heart is no longer hard to the possibility of Jesus. Today I plan on purchasing ten copies of this book to pass along to my friend and family - religious and non-religious alike. Also, at the age of 45, I'm going to read the bible for the first time with an open mind.
Book Description
The Founder of JetBlue. The CEO of Dell Computers. The CEO ofDeloitte Touche. The Dean of the Harvard Business School. They all haveone thing in common. They are devout Mormons who spend their Sundaysexclusively with their families, never work long hours, and always puttheir spouses and children first. How do they do it? Now, criticallyacclaimed author and investigative journalist Jeff Benedict (a Mormonhimself) examines these highly successful business execs and discovers howtheir beliefs have influenced them, and enabled them to achieve incrediblesuccess. With original interviews and unparalleled access, Benedict shareswhat truly drives these individuals, and the invaluable life lessons fromwhich anyone can benefit.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting but incomplete..........2007-10-14
Great stories and insight on how LDS values can benefit a career as a businessman, but there should have been some discussion on LDS businessmen who haven't been such a great example of the christian way, especially those who have taken advantage of their fellow church-members. There are many to chose from, but Wade Cook and Elliot Fitzgerald would be a good place to start. Or maybe these men should be sent complimentary copies of the book as they serve out their prison sentences.
This book is not propaganda for the Mormon faith.......2007-08-24
I like the book; it is not a book of propaganda for the Mormon church. It talks about how some sucessful Mormon businessmen and CEO operate in accordance with the values taught by their faith. It is a useful addition to management literature. The book does not go into management theories and successful business models. It does not give you much empirical data based on surveys or business ratios. The focus of the book is on the moral values that make a difference in the lives of these individuals who make contributions to the company they work for, care for the employees, and have their self identity rooted in things (such as family, a desire to serve) other than wealth, fame, and status.
Yes, it make a lot of refernces to the Mormon faith. The author says it as he sees it. This book is good addition to the study of business ethics.
Helps to Realign Priorities .......2007-08-10
This is one of the better business books I have every read. It is a light read, and goes quickly. As I read the book, I considered my relationship with my own family. My 3 year old son kept approaching me on Saturday afternoon wanting to "color" with him. Rather than blowing him off and saying "I'm too busy," I put my book down and shared 10 minutes with him doing something HE felt was important. The greatest message is that the only titles that matter in this life are "Husband" and "Father." Everything else is irrelevant.
Knowing one of the principle subjects of the book, I appreciate the power of the strong women in the lives of these successful businessmen. To be successful at home and in life, a strong marriage & united partnership is key. As the Book of Matthew states, "By their fruits ye shall know them." You can plainly see that with these great families profiled.
A perfect read and excellent book to go by.......2007-07-03
Mormon or not the things that you learn from this book are wonderful. It is an easy read and very applicable skills and traits that anyone can use in their every day life.
The Mormon Way of Doing Business.......2007-05-13
I am a communication instructor at two New Jersey intitutions and found the book inspiring and helpful in gearing lectures to driven students looking to get ahead and network successfully. Great read!
Book Description
Responding to the extraordinary number of questions raised by recent cultural phenomena such as The Gospel of Judas and The Da Vinci Code, New York Times bestselling author Sylvia Browne brings readers the full story of the life of Jesus
New discoveries in archaeology and recent bestsellers and movies such as The Da Vinci Code and The Passion of the Christ have sparked a renaissance of the many controversies that have remained unanswered in Christianity and other religions. At the heart of these controversies is Jesus. With a unique perspective only Sylvia Browne could bring, The Mystical Life of Jesus is filled with the details of JesusÂ' inspiring life.
Including his birth, childhood, travels, ministry, miracles, crucifixion, death, and resurrection, she addresses all of the major controversies:
• Was there a virgin birth?
• Was there a Star of Bethlehem?
• What did he do for the first thirty years of his life?
• Was he married?
• Was he divine?
• Was it a miracle at Cana (and who was getting married)?
• Is there a Jesus lineage?
Using her unique relationship with her spirit guide and her years studying the controversial Gnostic texts, Sylvia answers all of these questions with a confidence and authority only someone who has visited the afterlife can have.
Customer Reviews:
I STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH MS. BROWNE'S CLAIMS..........2007-10-09
With all due respect to Ms. Sylvia Brownes' believers, I strongly disagree with her claim that Jesus survived the crucifixion and was nursed backed to health. I have strong faith in Jesus Christ's resurrection. I believe Jesus ascended and resurrected into Heaven after His death. Please have faith in the resurrection. . "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS CHRIST, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE......." John 3:16... I believe that Jesus DIED to save us from our sins. I respect all the believers of Sylvia Brownes, but please let's have faith in Christianity's belief of Resurrection. I am not saying that she is not real because I have no right to judge someone, but I will always fight for my faith because I trust Jesus Christ with all my body, heart, mind and soul. The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is one of Christianity's foundation. I am not being narrow minded, I just have strong faith in Jesus. For the people who wants to know the truth , I recommend the following...
Armageddon, Oil and Terror: What the Bible Says About the Future
End Times
Apocalypse and the End Times
Mysteries of the Universe: A Revolutionary Commentary on UFOs, Aliens, Angels, Pyramids, Bible Codes, Reincarnation, the Antichrist...
God Bless!!
Eye opening.......2007-10-03
I was looking for something like this for some time now. Like Sylvia,I was raised a Catholic but things not always made sense. This book was refreshing to me and those most deep into religion will find it controversial at some point or another. I love it.
Just what I was seeking.......2007-08-17
I decided recently that since I wanted to become more involved with the ascended master Jesus, i.e., invoking Him and seeking His advice, it would be a good idea to learn more about Him. I wasn't satisfied with Biblical accounts. This book was exactly what I was seeking. Sylvia Browne, with extensive research and the help of her guide, Francine (who will only impart the truth because spirit guides can only tell the truth) uncovers inconsistencies among the Gospels. She questions the accounts and draws conclusions based on logic. If you have ever wondered about Jesus' life between the ages of 12 and 30; wondered what really happened then; or seek to know the truth about Him, then this book is for you. It was an incredibly easy and fast read for this reader and this book was hard to put down.
This reader applauds Sylvia Browne for her courage and candor in writing this book and especially her guide, Francine. She also explains the birth story, the different approaches to Christianity (Pauline, Gnostic), the "miracles", the Passion Story (which blew this writer away), life AFTER Easter and the Apocalypse.
This reader's reactions to this book are: Wow! and Thank You For Shining A Light On The Truth. I highly recommend this book. Even though this book challenges commonly-held Christian beliefs, this reader feels that this information also enhances them.
The Real Life of Jesus.......2007-07-05
I just wanted to say "Thank you, Sylvia Brown!" for confirming so many things I believed to be true about Jesus. I loved the book and was so glad I came across it. I strongly believed he did not die on the cross but found that I still had some religously based misconceptions about his life, (that he was born into a poor family, that he was born in a stable, etc.) that I feel your book helped put into the proper perspective. It was a very affirming read for me, confirming so many things regarding his life and death that I somehow knew and felt were true. Very interesting and thought provoking. For those with an open mind this is the book to read if you're interested in knowing more about the life of Christ from an uncommon perspective.
Another point of view.......2007-07-01
She tells you what she knows and leaves it up to you. Psychic Sylvia Browne is GOOD! Of course Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" got us started, this a the icing on the cake. Think for yourself. Read this book and see what you think.
Book Description
Out on the risky waters of faith, Jesus is waiting to meet you and offer you his Holy Spirit power that will change your life forever, deepening your faith and trust in God.
Download Description
Winner of the 2002 Christianity Today Book Award! You're One Step Away from the Adventure of Your Life Deep within you lies the same faith and longing that sent Peter walking across the wind-swept Sea of Galilee toward Jesus. In what ways is the Lord telling you, as he did Peter, "Come"? John Ortberg invites you to consider the incredible potential that awaits you outside your comfort zone. Out on the risky waters of faith, Jesus is waiting to meet you in ways that will change you forever, deepening your character and your trust in God. The experience is terrifying. It's thrilling beyond belief. It's everything you'd expect of someone worthy to be called Lord. The choice is yours to know him as only a water-walker can, aligning yourself with God's purpose for your life in the process. There's just one requirement: If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat.
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring words- minature book- extremly minature.......2007-10-09
I guess I overlooked the word minature (my fault) at a glance it just looked like the regular size book and was very excited to find it at such a good price, and hardcover at that! PLEASE know if you order this you are not going to get the full version of the book. I am going to pay closer attention and get the whole thing next time. Felt a bit silly when I opened my package and the book was about 2 inches x 4 inches. For me I'm going to BAM and shop in person for this one!
Total Disapointment.......2007-10-05
This is not a book but a sham, A full sized book was shown on the web-site, but when the order showed up it was a minature. After reviewing the web-site I was able to find the word minature in small print. Not sure if I will use Amazon again
Deceptive: Not the complete edition.......2007-09-06
[Added 9/07/2007] This review concerns the "Inspirio/Zondervan Miniature Edition" which is a hardback. Amazon has lumped this hardback edition with the full text hardback edition so the site does not indicate that this review does not concern the full hardback edition. Caveat Emptor
We ordered this book, thinking it was the complete edition of the book. Neither the Amazon page nor the book itself make it clear that it is merely an abridged version. The only way to tell is to note that this edition has 125 pages and a full sized edition has 200+ pages. Needless to say, we will be returning it to purchase the complete edition. I am looking forward to reading the content as I have heard good things about it.
Cute little item........2007-09-02
Be careful about your purchase. The one we acquired was a miniture version. The type was ok and you could read it, but the book was about 2" x 3". It was a miniture and not at all what we thought we were acquiring. We wanted the whole book. When ordering we did not notice that it was a miniture edition.
If you Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to get Out of the Boat (miniature edition).......2007-07-18
A nice, inspiring, easy-to-read but incomplete book, which contains a small portion of the original edition. The description should indicate, in addition to the dimensions of the book, that the full text is not included.
Books:
- Bound Hearts: Shameless Embraces (Books 6 and 7)
- By Night in Chile
- CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL
- Copper Sun
- CPT 2007 Professional Edition (Cpt / Current Procedural Terminology (Professional Edition))
- Cuentos Chinos
- Desire Street: A True Story of Death and Deliverance in New Orleans
- Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend
- Doctor Faustus and Other Plays (Oxford World's Classics)
- Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Books Index
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