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Title: This Hebrew Lord : A Bishop's Search for the Authentic Jesus by John Shelby Spong ISBN: 0-06-067520-9 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 09 April, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.57 (14 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: An eye-opening book with a practical application
Comment: Bishop Spong was one of the first authors to bring the "search for the historic Jesus" to mainstream, everyday Christians, and he does it in a way that opens many eyes to a fundamental, yet often overlooked, truth: Jesus, on whom Christianity bases its entire faith, was an observant Jew! This seems to be a very minor revelation, but centuries of oppression and discrimination against our Jewish brothers and sisters make this a fact worth repeating, and worth exploring in depth -- as Spong does here.
While I don't necessarily agree with all his conclusions, I find Spong's inquiry honest, sincere, and refreshing. The book is an interesting read, and will certainly expose almost everyone to some new questions and ideas about the ministry and divinity of Jesus (as related to his Jewish identity and the culture in which he ministered).
The practical application of which I speak [in the title of this review] is a more loving and understanding relationship between Christians and Jews, a recognition of our common religious roots, and a celebration of our common God (even if we do disagree about whether Jesus was the Messiah). Bishop Spong, in fact, presented a series of lectures with a rabbi friend, which was later transcribed into a separate book, and the realization by both groups (Christians and Jews) was that fear, stereotypes, and prejudice had replaced the love and seeking of truth for which both our faiths call.
I highly recommend this book to all.
Rating: 5
Summary: A book that is not to be missed!
Comment: Like Bishop Spong, I have recently been on a personal search for the "authentic" Jesus. I have read a number of books grounded in theology that go into great detail to tell us who Jesus wasn't, but rarely have I found a book that provides a satiable explanation of who Jesus really was, and furthermore, what that means to us today. As a Christian, Jesus was supposed to be the focal point of my religion, yet until I read "This Hebrew Lord", I can now admit that I knew so very little about the man whose message was central to my faith.
Spong believes that the authentic Jesus can be found by examining the motives of the Gospel writers. The primary motive of the writers was to show that Jesus wanted to fulfill the Hebrew prophecy of the suffering servant (Isaiah 40-60), and in that case, we would need to view Jesus from a Hebrew perspective before we could understand his message. Spong spends a large portion of the book examining Jesus's Jewishness, and in doing so, provides me with a whole new perspective that the Church has never taught me.
The Hebrew Jesus relied not on working physical miracles to spread his message, but by working miracles with the powers of both love and grace. Spong said that in order for Jesus to be the Messiah, it meant that he must bring love to the unloved, freedom to the bound, wholeness to the distorted, and peace to the insecure. Only in this way could Jesus overcome the sin of the world. For the only power that can ultimately save is love, and love was the deepest meaning of Jesus' life.
After I read "This Hebrew Lord," I felt like my thirst for knowledge about this Jesus had been satisfied tenfold. I now feel like I can understand the true message of Jesus . . . this book has indeed been life-changing! I encourage everyone with even the slightest wish to learn more about Jesus to read "This Hebrew Lord" - it is definitely one theology book that you will NOT regret reading!
Rating: 4
Summary: A Message Full Of Hope
Comment: In THIS HEBREW LORD Spong gives us a glimpse of Jesus of Nazareth and the example he revealed of a life being fully lived and shared. In order to appreciate Jesus, Spong believes it is necassary to look at him through first century Hebrew eyes. From this vantage point the meaning of spiritual is to be alive to both God and the world. To have faith is to have the courage to enter life where one is also able to find God. To the Hebrew in the time of Jesus there is no separation between God and the world as there is in Greek philosophy.
The author shows us a few Hebrew images from the Bible to help us observe Jesus in this new light. They are Jesus as a new Moses and new Elijah as well as the suffering servant from Second Isaiah.
Spong also discusses certain words attributed to Jesus in the fourth gospel which allow us to see Jesus more completely. These words refer to Jesus as Light, Life, Resurrection and the Bread of Life. In this gospel Jesus is given what the author refers to as "Christpower."
Spong provides a hopeful message for anyone who is having trouble relating to traditional Christianity but is still searching for meaning in religion. He writes with clarity and the text is filled with examples from his own personal quest for the truth.
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Title: Liberating the Gospels : Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes by John Shelby Spong ISBN: 0060675578 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 17 December, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: A New Christianity for a New World : Why Traditional Faith is Dying & How a New Faith is Being Born by John Shelby Spong ISBN: 0060670630 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 17 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism : A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture by John Shelby Spong ISBN: 0060675187 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 10 April, 1992 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Resurrection : Myth or Reality? by John Shelby Spong ISBN: 0060674296 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 18 February, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile by John Shelby Spong ISBN: 0060675365 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 01 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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