13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. " -Matthew 16:13-16(NIV)
I had this book on my list for Page Turners for a while but I have forgotten why. When I announced it as a March selection, I got the feeling some folks were less than thrilled. Now I may know why...more later.
Limbaugh begins Part I with explanation of the intertestamental era, which I learned is the 400 or so years between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. That was a new word for me. Also in Part I he describes the Gospels as 4 perspectives but one message, Jesus Christ as the Son of the Living God, the promised Messiah. It was interesting to read his ideas on the backgrounds of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and how it affected their accounts.
In Part II the author uses a format I haven't seen before. He tells the story of Jesus life as chronologically as he can, for example starting with Jesus' genealogies and birth in Matthew and Luke and moving to His baptism in all 4 Gospels and turning water to wine and cleansing the temple in John. It is probably something like a parallel version of the New Testament but with much commentary on the events. I must give Limbaugh credit for a great deal of research since he includes 72 pages of notes and citations. (I didn't read them!)
In my reading of The True Jesus I learned some new things and was reminded of even more that hadn't crossed my mind in a while, especially the numerous OT prophecies of the coming of the Messiah.
This book was not a page-turner, far from it, but it was a very timely choice for me for a few reasons. First I was reading it during Lent and, of course, with its concentration on the Gospels, I was powerfully reminded of Jesus' last days and His supreme sacrifice. Second, since January 1, I have been reading The Bible in One Year with Nicky Gumbel on the Holy Bible application on my phone and so far, we have covered Matthew and Mark and are currently in Luke, so I could remember some of the scriptures vividly. Last, our pastors have been preaching on the Gospel of John during Lent so the stories of the temptation of Christ, the interaction with Nicodemus and the woman at the well were repeated with different perspectives.
I will rate The True Jesus a 3. It was very dense and not exactly entertaining but I am glad I read it. And it is good that I read it before knowing about the author who, it turns out, is Rush Limbaugh's younger brother and apparently just as rabid of a conservative political commentator and author, judging by the titles of other books he's written including two about Barack Obama, with very disparaging titles. ( I greatly admire the former president.) I should have suspected from his last name but when I saw a YouTube interview with Sean Hannity on FOX, the handwriting was on the wall! At least this book was not at all political. But I could guarantee you I won't look for another by this author!
Maybe a bit more to wrap up after our online meeting Thursday...
------------------------------------
Facebook Live Page Turners was broadcast as promised with varying levels of success. Several people viewed and most had not read the book and so had little to say. One of our members, a retired pastor, had this to say: I bought the book, Anne and read the intro. The author describes a blending of the four gospel narratives to discover the true Jesus. I was taught that that approach is more isogesis than exegesis, that is reading into the text rather than critically interpreting what is in the text. The four gospel writers wrote to different audiences to offer them the truth of faith in language they could understand. They weren't offering a biography but rather a declaration of faith, a witness by each to his own experience of Jesus. Many Christians approach Scripture as David Limbaugh does. For personal devotional use, I can understand looking for the common threads to catch a glimpse of the man, Jesus, but it does tend toward trying to make the Bible say what we want rather than looking for what's there.
Food for thought, I would say.
Only a few members felt they had read enough to rate the book. The average of 4 ratings is 2.5.
------------------------------------
Facebook Live Page Turners was broadcast as promised with varying levels of success. Several people viewed and most had not read the book and so had little to say. One of our members, a retired pastor, had this to say: I bought the book, Anne and read the intro. The author describes a blending of the four gospel narratives to discover the true Jesus. I was taught that that approach is more isogesis than exegesis, that is reading into the text rather than critically interpreting what is in the text. The four gospel writers wrote to different audiences to offer them the truth of faith in language they could understand. They weren't offering a biography but rather a declaration of faith, a witness by each to his own experience of Jesus. Many Christians approach Scripture as David Limbaugh does. For personal devotional use, I can understand looking for the common threads to catch a glimpse of the man, Jesus, but it does tend toward trying to make the Bible say what we want rather than looking for what's there.
Food for thought, I would say.
Only a few members felt they had read enough to rate the book. The average of 4 ratings is 2.5.
No comments:
Post a Comment