My Favorite Books about Jesus

This is not, like the previous book, so much of a retelling of that famous week. It is more the author's interpretation of what was going on behind-the-scenes and in people's minds. Like did you ever wonder what in the world the man whose donkey Jesus rode on Palm Sunday thought when told the Master needed it? Or what exactly Jesus was doing on those days the Bible overlooked? Well, there are chapters on both those questions in this book! What I really liked about it was Lucado uses everyday metaphorical stories to get points across. It is really a very interesting read not only for the obvious Jesus-themed material but also the Chicken Soup type stories included. This is the first book by this author I've read and look forward to reading more!

I need to preface this by explaining that for the most part when it comes to the Bible, especially the Gospels, I am a literalist. This means if it says Jesus had twelve apostles following him around well then I believe he did! And the author doesn't, necessarily... But, actually, for a literalist reading a contextualist's book it was interesting and even educational. First, some examples of what I mean. Crossan believes rather than Jesus naming the 12, later Christian groups came up with the idea and added it to the story to represent the Twelve Tribes of Israel. My thought is if a few leaders can come up with such an appropriate idea then the Creator of the universe probably can, too. :-) There's also the talk of whether Jesus' healings were truly physical or more societal and whether the appearances on Easter Sunday actually happened in a day or perhaps years, instead. It was all very interesting and new but sometimes confusing. It does have a very good amount of research from other historical documents regarding the "supporting players" of the story, like Pilate and Barabbas. Crossan also makes some very good points about faith. I'd suggest reading this if for no other reason than to get people to think about what *they* believe.

I think this, along with Eli is my favorite among these books. This is much like Crossan's book in that it examines the historical Jesus but from a much more literalist point of view. I'm not saying that makes it better, I'm not a professional critic obviously, that just made it more understandable for me. Plus, Yancey talks a lot about how the movies depict Jesus, which is one of my favorite things to discuss. Anyway, he's got a lot of really good examples of incidents from his own life that gave him insights into Jesus' teachings. He really explains what possible other levels Jesus might have been trying to express in his parables and actions. I plan on rereading this because there is more I want to say but I want to check and make sure I get it right!

Note: In a truly remarkable turn of events, "Joshua" has been turned into a movie!! If all goes well it may become a franchise!! Visit Joshua to learn more about the movie!

THE SINGER

By: Calvin Miller

I have another book that's an anthology of poems, book excerpts, song lyrics, and the like about Jesus. It has some excerpts from this book so when I ran into this as part of a boxed set in an used book store, I got it. And I really loved this one. It's something akin to Narnia in that it's Jesus' story but in a fairy tale-ish atmosphere. However, The Singer is more of a translation of the gospel stories whereas Narnia is more original in its plot. The story goes, the Singer leaves his mother to bring his song of love to the world. He gains many followers but also the ire of the leaders and as a result is put to death. Of course, that's not the end of the story. I keep a database of my books and had to give this book two pages because of all I wanted to put in the quote section. I especially loved Miller's take on the Beatitudes, carrying his music metaphor into them. I especially liked "Blessed are all those who yet can sing when all the theater is empty and the orchestra is gone," (70). Another favorite quote is this: "You will find, my child, that love rarely ever reaches out to save except it does it with a broken hand," (143). (3-1-05)

LAMB: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BIFF, CHRIST'S CHILDHOOD PAL

By: Christopher Moore

Okay, if you can keep a sense of humor about Jesus this is a great book. If it were a movie it'd be R-rated for language and sexual content. And I would see it opening night. :-) This book begins with an angel named Raziel descending upon Earth to call forth and bring back to life Biff. Biff is to write a new gospel to clear up some things. This book is that "gospel". According to Lamb, Biff was the best friend of Joshua (Jesus) from their meeting at age 7 until that fateful Friday twentysome years later. When Joshua sets out to discover who he is, Biff goes along. They encounter creepy wisemen, a horrifying demon, cappuccinos, a yeti, and an assortment of friends both familiar and new to the reader. The anachronism of it is hilarious. That being said, this book isn't just a barrel of laughs. Moore sensitively describes Joshua's growing realization about what his identity as Son of God means. I also loved what he brought to Biff and Joshua's other childhood friend Maggie's (Mary Magdalene) character. I really felt sorry for her but she was never a pathetic character. She was incredibly strong, only stuck in a world that was not always kind to women. Moore writes of Maggie: "Exquisite torture. I wonder now if Joshua didn't make her whole life like that. Maggie, she was the strongest of us all," (25). As for Joshua... Look out for his interaction with the yeti. Beautiful. And there's an exchange he has with Thomas about Thomas Two (a sort of imaginary friend) that is incredibly sweet. If you can handle him being a bit rough around the edges, I think this Joshua is highly readable. (3-1-05)