What Jesus Meant
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in What Jesus Meant for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In re-interpreting what Jesus meant, Professor Wills has obviously set out with the sole intention of debunking traditional "wisdom". While in some respects, this aim has its commendable side, there is always a tendency among "reformers" to throw the baby out with the bath-water. And this is exactly what Wills has done. Wills seems to resent the fact that Jesus chose to bring His message primarily to the common man. He chose the illiterate, rough talking, ill-mannered, slovenly, unrefined citizens of Galilee rather than the rich, powerful, upper classes of Rome. Why He did this, one can only guess. But in any event, it was to the common man that Jesus spoke. And it is a waste of time talking to the common name in the refined, poetic, philosophical language of Jesus Ben Sirach. Rough men demand rough speaking.
Professor Wills also makes much of the fact that the New Testament was largely written in rough, illiterate, market-place Greek. He feels it should be translated accordingly. I have a degree of sympathy for these thoughts. Certainly, as he says, the language of the King James New Testament is so far removed from what the various authors actually wrote, there is a definite danger of mis-interpretation. In my opinion, the modern translator has a duty to correct the excesses of the King James version, but at the same time he should avoid aping bad grammar and an impoverished vocabulary simply for the sake of reproducing the literary style (or rather absence of style) of the original. In my new translation of John's Gospel, for instance, I have tried to make it as easy to follow as possible. Essential Bible Wisdom: GOOD NEWS by John, the Beloved Disciple, and John, the Elder
Professor Wills also makes much of the fact that the New Testament was largely written in rough, illiterate, market-place Greek. He feels it should be translated accordingly. I have a degree of sympathy for these thoughts. Certainly, as he says, the language of the King James New Testament is so far removed from what the various authors actually wrote, there is a definite danger of mis-interpretation. In my opinion, the modern translator has a duty to correct the excesses of the King James version, but at the same time he should avoid aping bad grammar and an impoverished vocabulary simply for the sake of reproducing the literary style (or rather absence of style) of the original. In my new translation of John's Gospel, for instance, I have tried to make it as easy to follow as possible. Essential Bible Wisdom: GOOD NEWS by John, the Beloved Disciple, and John, the Elder
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
89 reviews
285 of 309 people found the following review helpful
An Introduction To The Historical Jesus By a Believer
10 Mar 2006
Format: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").
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
Deeply moving, deeply spiritual book
17 April 2006
Format: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.
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
Not For the Right or the Left--Well Worth Reading
27 Mar 2006
Format: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.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible > Bible Studies > New Testament > Commentaries
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible > Bible Studies > New Testament > Criticism & Interpretation
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Jesus
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Inspirational
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
