|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Christianity has been twisted and warped to such an extent that not even Jesus would recognize it now. This is Wills's thesis in his stimulating, fresh look into the life and message of Jesus of Nazareth. The now-ubiquitous phrase, "What Would Jesus Do?" encouraged Wills, professor of history at Northwestern University and prolific writer on contemporary religion, to take a closer look at how the Christian message has been used and abused in recent times. Wills believes that most Christians don't understand Jesus' startlingly radical message, so they should not claim to have knowledge of how he would act today. People of all political persuasions have used Jesus' words to rationalize a domesticated, flaccid Christianity that upholds the status quo, or, worse yet, supports discrimination toward those who are on the margins. This attitude, according to Wills, completely misses the truth that Jesus "walks through social barriers and taboos as if they were cobwebs." Readers who are familiar with Wills's writing know that he is not shy about critiquing organized religion, and they will not be disappointed. Although his arguments lean toward hyperbole at times, at its core this book invites Christians toward more honest reflection on the life and message of the one they call "Savior." (Mar. 6)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
From the foreword's critique of the initials WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) and politicians who claim to be guided by the slogan, Wills' explication of the canonical expressions of Jesus may seem to merit the publicity pitch that the book is a pre-midterm-elections volley in the politico-religious theater of the culture wars. It is much better than such touting suggests. For instance, instead of co-opting the Christian Right-associated WWJD for liberals, Wills directs us to such things as 12-year-old Jesus sneaking off to palaver at the temple without telling his parents, and grown-up Jesus telling others to hate their parents and asserting "I am the truth." This is scandalous behavior in a person, comprehensible only of "a divine mystery walking among men," Wills says. Looking more closely at Jesus' words and deeds, Wills says we find God with us in them, and an inescapably egalitarian message of love. Jesus establishes no institutions and endorses no political structure or leader. Indeed, he rails against religious hierarchy in the harshest terms, and he utterly divorces religion from politics. Yes, he preaches justice, but beyond justice, he preaches the personal acceptance and security of love. Wills' dissent from certain pro-clerical and exclusivist statements Benedict XVI has made assure him the continued opprobrium of institutional church hardliners, but his portrayal of Jesus the radical is so profoundly familiar as to be irrefutable. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Right Track, Wrong Conclusions!,
By John Howard Reid (Wyong, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: What Jesus Meant (Paperback)
Professor Wills is on the right track, but makes, in my opinion, the wrong conclusions. He rightly points out that many of Jesus' admonitions and observations are "hard sayings" that do not accord with the conventional stained-glass image of a "gentle Jesus, meek and mild." What he does not seem to have noticed, however, is that all the hard sayings he quotes in support of his theory (with only two exceptions) are recorded only in one or more of the synoptic Gospels. They are not mentioned, referred to or recorded by John at all, except for the fact that Jesus was in constant danger of being arrested or being stoned, because He was regarded either as irreligious or as a schismatic. And John also spiritedly records the cleansing of the temple.Obviously the impression that Jesus made on John was vastly different (and even completely at odds) to the way the other evangelists saw Him. To John, Jesus is primarily a philosopher, and a philosopher in the Greek tradition at that. But although Jesus is cast by John in the Platonic tradition, he is more than simply a learned fount of wisdom. He is truly the Son of God, the Redeemer, the Messiah foretold by Scripture. On the Cross, "They gave Me gall for food and made Me drink vinegar for My thirst," John quotes from Psalm 68:21 (LXX). Of course this is yet one more proof that the Gospel of John was most definitely not written by one of the twelve apostles, namely John, the son of Zebedee, but by John, the priest (John, "the beloved disciple"), as I point out in my own translation of John's Gospel: Essential Bible Wisdom: Good News by John, the Beloved Disciple, and John, the Elder. Summing up, it does not seem to have occurred to Professor Wills that two opposing viewpoints can, in fact, both be truthful. There are many plays and films which offer a portrait of a central character as seen through different eyes. Poorly written though some of it may be (as Wills is often at pains to point out), the New Testament offers a rounded portrait of a Man who was strong but gentle, ill-tempered but kindly to a fault, impatient but long suffering, angry but sweet-natured, forceful but self-effacing, loving but vengeful, charismatic but just a fleeting face in the crowd. This is the real Jesus, not the meek and mild Jesus, not the Man with the whip and the lacerating words, but the composite image of a real Man, who lived and breathed, who bore all our sins on His shoulders, was scourged and crucified, and rose from the dead.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (88 customer reviews) 285 of 309 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Introduction To The Historical Jesus By a Believer,
By C. Hutton "book maven" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: What Jesus Meant (Hardcover)
Garry Wills is a historian specializing in the first 100 years of America (see "Lincoln At Gettysburg"-1992 and "Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence"-1994 among his other works). He is also a practicing Catholic who has written about "Saint Augustine" (1999) and "The Rosary" (2005) and other works about Christianity. His newest endeavor, "What Jesus Meant" explores what it means to be a follower of Jesus.This slender volume can be read at one sitting but will cause the reader to ponder the author's title. Many Christians forget that Jesus hung out with society's outcasts of his day, had few possessions, was apolitical, and yet his radical message of love and redemption, healing the sick/raising the dead and challenging the religious structure of his day contributed to his crucifixation. Image Jesus among us today: eating with prostitutes, AIDS victims and drug abusers: claiming no party affiliation; condeming the wealthy; and challenging the rigidity of the institutional Church while calling the reader to give up all your possessions to follow Him. Mr. Wills writes as a believer to explain the faith while accepting the historical Jesus. For the reader who desires to move beyond Mr. Wills' brief introduction to Jesus, please read any of the works by either John Meier (especially his three volumes entitled "A Marginal Jew"), Ray Brown ("The Death of the Messiah") or Gunther Bornkamm ("Jesus of Nazareth"). 52 of 54 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deeply moving, deeply spiritual book,
By Robert H. Stine Jr. "Bob" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: What Jesus Meant (Hardcover)
I very much enjoyed this book. It's a quick but thought-provoking read, and I plan to re-read it in the near future. In part because of his expertise in Koine, the original language of the New Testament, Wills is able to breathe life and provide insight into many well-known Biblical passages.The viewpoint is from that of a devout believer. As I was reading Wills's book, I was also reading "Mere Christianity", by C.S. Lewis, and I was struck by the similarity in outlook of the two authors. Although I recognize that some of the passages critical of church hierarchy in general and Pope Benedict XVI in particular will ruffle some feathers, Wills did not seem to stray from Scripture or interject modern political sensibilities into the Christian message. In fact, the hypocrisy of attempting to use Jesus' message for worldly purposes is one of the book's major themes. "What Jesus Meant" would be a good companion volume for anyone who is working through the New Testament. 138 of 156 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not For the Right or the Left--Well Worth Reading,
By Big D - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: What Jesus Meant (Hardcover)
Those who would align Jesus with today's poltical right or political left (and there are both) may not like this book. They may well brand it heresy...But those of us who think Jesus was not a political figure in the sense of today's thinking will find it well worth the read. Much of modern religion tries to compartmentalize Jesus to espouse their preconceived notions. Thus the title of the book: "What Jesus Meant" It could be subtitled "What Jesus REALLY Meant!" A reader who approaches this book with an open mind and a sincere search for knowledge and truth will find this to be a valuable read. Those who come with preconceived notions of their own infalibility will be threatened by it. Read it. Think. That is part "working out" one's faith.
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Jesus
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Commentaries
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Criticism & Interpretation
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Christology
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Inspirational
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
