An invigorating search for the human Jesus.
Malone, in her debut, provocatively maps Jesus Christ’s stages of human development, using the Gospels as a guide.
In this well-researched, thought-provoking exegetical work, Malone proposes that although traditional religious dogma holds that Jesus is eternally unchanging, both the canonical Gospels and the Synoptics “show him as a human being who—like other human beings do—changed, grew and matured throughout his life until his death.” In this account, readers follow Jesus through as many of the stages of childhood and young adulthood as the evidence allows, as he intellectually matures along the lines of famous peacemakers, such as Martin Luther King Jr. As such, it emphasizes Jesus’ pacifism, taking in stride, for example, his violent attack on the moneylenders in the Gospel of Matthew. In very clear prose, Malone deploys her considerable textual knowledge to examine Jesus’ claims of divinity—represented in terms such as “Son of God” or “Son of Man”—and makes the radical suggestion that such labels may obscure one’s appreciation of Jesus the man: “Might it have been better for humanity if Jesus had never been worshipped as the divine Son of God, but rather his teaching and example simply followed?...Does calling Jesus God’s Son make it far too easy to excuse our failure to emulate him?” Her extrapolation of Jesus’ psychological development is narratively supple, authoritative and ultimately convincing. Her line-readings of the Gospels yield a bounty of insights, even for readers well-versed in Scripture. This is a very skillful exegesis, and her focus on Jesus’ secular philosophy will open her inquiry to non-Christians as well.
An invigorating search for the human Jesus.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-1492964360
Page Count: 197
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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