When all the gurus throughout history have failed learn Why Jesus won't
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I read this book because I am very familiar with the author's writings and wanted to read the why which sets Jesus apart from
 other god's of this world.
Being an apologist, Ravi Zacharias presents a well-reasoned defence of who Jesus is and what was his purpose in coming to earth.
I learned much and I am glad I took the time to hear this book.
4190792
Any evidence for the existence of an historical Jesus is slim and certainly not compelling. He seems to have been a Johnny Come Lately in the Christian movement. I don't understand why any Christian would insist on an historical Jesus anyway. Aren't the ideals of the religion more important than any historical events?  Is a resurrection really more important than how a Christian leads a life?  The fictional or historic Jesus had a few really good and fairly novel teachings that I think are far more important than he ever was or ever will be.
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Without the Old Testament, we cannot know Jesus properly. (21) Though Jesus is most clearly revealed in the New Testament (especially the Gospels), it is without a doubt that readers will miss much of what is being revealed about Him if they first do not have a good understanding of the Old Testament which points to Him. A basic understanding of the Old Testament, and is Christward focus, is essential to understanding Jesus and the New Testament. The Old Testament is, as Motyer later says, in many ways, a book standing on tiptoe, straining forward into the future. (42) What we need are Christians who love the Old Testament for the same reason they love the New Testament  its all about Jesus!

To this end, Old Testament scholar and long time teacher, Alec Motyer has written A Christians Pocket Guide to Loving the Old Testament: One Book, One God, One Story with Christian Focus Publications (2015). Through fourteen short and highly readable chapters Motyer has provided readers with a basic and essential sketch of the Old Testament that will put them on the right track to understanding the basic thrust of the Old Testament.

Beginning with an explanation of the threefold nature of the Old Testament (Law, Prophets and the Writings) and covering areas like the Passover as a means of one way of salvation, the Christward focus of the OT, the role of the Prophets and Psalms, Motyer writes to his readers as if they were going to be first time readers of the Old Testament. For someone who has had a successful career in the academic world, Motyer has written a book that is aimed at the bottom shelf.

One thing that really stands out throughout the book is the unified nature of the Old Testament as it presents one God and points to Christ. God is constantly calling His people out of idolatry to worship Him alone as the only one to who they owe their worship. Additionally, the OT points to a single person as the accomplisher of their salvation  the Messiah, Jesus Christ! To miss the Christward focus of the book is to miss the essence of the OT completely.

As with all of the Christian Pocket Guide books from Christian Focus, I highly recommend Loving the Old Testament. It can be easily read in one sitting, used as a devotional guide, and would work great in a small group setting to help Christians become better oriented when they read the Old Testament. There is a lifetime of study and insight packed into this little book that even seasoned Christians can benefit from.

I received this book for free from Christian Focus for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 : Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
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The narrator, Christian author and video producer, Caryl Matrisciana, is well-versed in the philosophy and mysticism of India, and in its essential spiritual practice: yoga. Through interviews, historical background, and quotations from various sources, the video conclusively shows that yoga is a Hindu practice through and through. There is no yoga without Hinduism and no Hinduism without yoga. Moreover, Hinduism and Christianity are entirely different worldviews. Therefore, it is impossible to Christianize yoga and Christians should not participate in it.

The video gives ample opportunity for a proponent of Christianized yoga to make her point (too much time, in fact), but her words ring hollow. The combined testimonies of experts and former parishioners of yoga is overwhelmingly against the claim that yoga is a merely physical exercise which can be practiced without spiritual involvement, which can include demonic oppression or worse.

On the down side, the video is somewhat repetitious and a bit too long (80 minutes). It also makes some claims about premillennial eschatology that are not necessary to its central thesis. Near the end the films shows book covers by Rick Warren and Richard Foster to the effect that they promote yoga. However, no citations from their writings are given to make that point. I am a fan of neither author, but some evidence for their endorsement of yoga seems needed in the film.

There are a few other difficulties One gets the impression that all of Hinduism if pantheistic, when, in fact, there are various schools of Hindu philosophy besides pantheism. True, pantheism is the school that has influenced the West most powerfully, but it is not the only approach Hinduism takes. The religion is vary diverse in its worldview, although all Hindus affirm: reincarnation/karma, maya, nirvana, the author of the Vedas, and yoga. One expert says that Hinduism (taken as pantheism) is relativistic and subjective. This is false: it makes absolute truth claims about Brahman as the supreme reality and self (Atman) as one with Brahman.

Overall, this film can help people become more informed on the history and philosophy of yoga, it incompatibility with Christianity, and the basic Christian message of salvation through the grace of God shown in Jesus Christ alone. But given some of its inaccuracies (and simply the medium of video) it is not the best scholarly source on Hinduism/yoga.
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<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Lamb-and-the-Seven-Sealed-Scroll-Understanding-The-Book-of-Revelation-Book-2/dp/0768440750/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Lamb and the Seven-Sealed Scroll: Understanding The Book of Revelation Book 2</a>

The author of the "Understanding The Book of Revelation" series uses the phrase "end time" several times to refer to events far into the future from the view point of the author of Revelation.  The author arrives at this conclusion by using Matthew 24 as a tool to interpret the book of Revelation.  Moreover, he states that Matthew 24 not only interprets Revelation but the Old Testament prophets and the book of Daniel as well. However, John states in the very first verse that Jesus by an angel shows him "things which must shortly come to pass."  The word shortly surely cannot refer to events 2000 years after about the year 90 AD.  Matthew 24 clearly refers to the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem with the words of Jesus, "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  This happened in AD 70 by the Romans.  The phrases latter days, end time and last days do not appear in the book of Revelation.

Peter, on the day of Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus described the events that happened as "This is That which has been spoken by the prophet Joel, 'and  it shall be in the last days said God...'" Acts 2:17.  The phrase last days appears 5 times in the New Testament referring to things happening then.  Paul, Peter and others thought they were living in the last days not something that was to happen 2000 years later.  Peter in Acts 2 also stated that Jesus was not dead but on David's throne and at the right hand of God as King.  The Kingdom Jesus spoke about was not to happen 2000 years and more later.  Jesus is king and ruling now.

The author is trying tp prop up his version of Premillennial Despensationalism started by Darby (d 1882), a recent man-made theology.
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Almost everyone with a basic or advanced interest in the New Testament or in Christianity in general has read, has been read or preached or has been subject to John's Gospel one way or the other.

"In the Beginning..." Those words are a classic reference for all. John's Jesus portrait is almost a staple of all theologians, exegetes, pastors and believers. So a staple that in fact, it seems everything has been said and a definitive view is frozen through the ages.

Then comes this author, Dr, Eli Lizorkin, and starts with a simple question, don't you see that John, contrary to the overwhelming view, is a thoroughly Jewish account? Follow me...

I recommend to anyone that you better follow this path through supposedly known terrain which become uncharted waters as you go through. You will end in a very different area of a very familiar place, or better, in front of someone who we supposedly knew but realize that now we know much better, Jesus of Nazareth.
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If people are so concerned about having a chapter on Jesus Christ, they should read the Bible instead. Let not your heart be so filled with the thoughts of God that you become prejudiced and lose your spirit and common sense in the search for truths. One cannot change the course of history by being religious. That's what happened when the Japanese "peppered" their history books to educate their young that Japan was the victim of WWII, instead of being an Aggressor.
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I never thought that the Holy Spirit can inspired someone to live a life of total faith and believed in Jesus, and his Word. I wish I had known about these teachings when I was a new born believer. Had I no listen to so many teachers, most of them with good intentions but just like Paul sincerely wrong, I would had never lost my faith. Now thanks to God and the teachings of this godly man, I am hoping to gained or recuperate what the devil had stolen from me through those so call good men of God, but so out of sync with God's will.
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Though the Masters are not Christian, they possess a thourough understanding of the metaphysics of Christianity--reminds me of Paramahansa Yogananda's teachings at times.  This is no surprise though.  Most Eastern  spiritual teachers understand Jesus' message much better than us  Westerners.  A short, but wonderful read.
2113187
After reading this book with an emerger take on the afterlife, I consulted my Bible to double-check against Jesus' personal teachings on the subject.

What I found was that Bell gives us both new things and true things to consider. Unfortunately, what is new isn't true and what is true isn't new.

As much as the book was appealing, provocative, relevant and struck deep chords, I couldn't find any mention of worshiping Jesus Christ as Revelation 5 describes.

I also couldn't find this absolutely essential section of Scripture addressed at all: Luke 13-14.

"Lord, are only a few people going to be saved? Jesus said, Make every effort to enter by the narrow door, because many will try to enter and will be unable to. Once the homeowner gets up and secures the latch, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, Sir open up please, it's us! But he will reply, I don't know you or where you come from. Then you will say, We ate and drank with you and you taught us in our neighborhood. But he will say, I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me you who behave unrighteously! There will be weeping, shrieking with grief and grinding of teeth in agony when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in God's Kingdom but you yourselves thrown out."

"O Jerusalem Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to warn you, how often I longed to gather your children as a hen gathers chicks under her wing, but you were not willing! Look your house is left to you desolate!"

"Jesus taught a parable: A man held a great banquet and invited many guests. He sent out servants to deliver personal invitations. But they all alike made excuses for not coming. The banquet host became angry and said, Go out and invite the crippled, poor, blind, lame from streets, alleys, back roads and rural routes to come so my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet. For many are invited but few chosen."

It is a mixed blessing this book came out. The issue of the ages for all mankind is given front and center stage in the popular consciousness. Bell joins Brian McLaren, N.T.Wright, Scot McKnight, Greg Boyd, Richard Mouw, Roger Olson and others sympathetic to the emergent counter-reformation in questioning Bible truths.
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A must read for any one who has raised their children to be disciples of Christ and in spite of this is seeing their children fall away from the teachings of the Bible. Ken Ham points out the reasons for this "leaving", it details how we have failed our children because we do not know how to defend our faith in Jesus Christ. We have failed to see the inconsistencies in what we believe and what we do. We have failed to instill the foundations of God's word and understand that if our faith is in Jesus Christ and His teachings, we must study and see that these foundations are given to us "in the beginning" and without understanding why the beginning ( GENESIS ) is vital, what is the purpose of Jesus and His life? To understand what we believe we need to understand why we believe, and we need to understand that the truth is the truth, no matter what we believe. We were once a nation under God and we thrived....what has happened to us? It is not too late to become informed. Without information we cannot make the right decision, and in this matter our very life depends on making the right decision before it is too late
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Michael Grant (1914-2004) was an English historian and classicist, who was the author of numerous famous works (e.g.,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Twelve-Caesars/dp/0684144026/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Twelve Caesars</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/History-of-Rome/dp/B0019YCU9U/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">History of Rome</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Roman-Emperors/dp/0760700915/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Roman Emperors</a>).  In this 1977 book (written right after his book&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Saint-Paul/dp/1842120085/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Saint Paul</a>), Grant applies his extensive historical knowledge and technique to the gospel accounts of Jesus.

He begins with the statement, "The most potent figure, not only in the history of religion, but in world history as a whole, is Jesus Christ: the maker of one of the few revolutions which have lasted.  Millions of men and women for century after century have found his life and teaching overwhelmingly significant and moving.  And there is ample reason, as this book will endeavor to show, in this later twentieth century why this should still be so."

The book contains observations such as the following: "Many Jews, certainly, disbelieved in Jesus' healings....  This widespread disbelief is probably the cause of Mark's continual insistence that Jesus required his healings to be kept secret.  There is obviously something wrong about these accounts, since it is incredible that Jesus, after performing his cures (as we are told) in public, should then have ordained and expected that they should be kept secret--which, as the evangelist himself admits, was obviously impossible."

He rejects the suggestion (so popular these days) that Mary Magdalene had been Jesus' mistress.  "Indeed, on the subject of Jesus' sex life we have no information whatever.  It is possible that he voluntarily embraced celibacy, at least during the last phase of his life, in accordance with a certain, somewhat peripheral, Jewish tradition which considered holiness incompatible with marriage.  But there is no good reason to suppose that he foreshadowed the sour attitude of Paul to sexual intercourse, which may have been based on personal sexual difficulties."

He concludes the work on the note, "After his career, then, had ended in total failure, Jesus, when his life was over, converted that failure into immeasurable victory.  This tremendous change was ascribed, in the last chapter, to certain unforeseeable curcumstances which had arisen during the years and generations following his death.  Yet that was by no means the whole reason for Jesus' gigantically widespread posthumous acclamation.  This enormous reversal was due also to altogether exceptional features of his own character."

This book will be of considerable interest to anyone interested in the historical Jesus of Nazareth.
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Come on, people... you don't have the discernment to see clear anti-biblical teaching like this from a mile away? This man is a well-known false teacher who said such clearly heretical things as "I went to hell" and "Jesus has appeared to me physically a number of times." The parable of the rich man and lazarus proves this entire book to be false teaching, and this man's reputation as a heretic is well-known. God's promises never fail, and Revelation 22 applies here: "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."
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Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) was the chief disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, as well as the founder of the Ramakrishna Mission. After his famous 1893 speech at the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago, he established the Vedanta societies in America and England. (See also his book "Hinduism.")

This book consists of four lectures given in London in November 1896.

Here are some quotations from the book:

"What is the proof of the Christs and the Buddhas of the world? That you and I feel like them. That is how you and I understand that they were true. Our prophet-soul is the proof of their prophet-soul. Your godhead is the proof of God Himself." (Pg. 25)
"Everything (religion) claims must be judged from the standpoint of reason. Why religions should claim that they are not bound to abide by the standpoint of reason, no one knows... if reason should be so weak, a body of priests would be weaker, and I am not going to accept their verdict, but I will abide by my reason, because with all its weaknesses there is some chance of my getting at truth through it; while, by the other means, there is no such hope at all." (Pg. 64-65)
"For it is better that mankind should become atheist by following reason than blindly believing in two hundred millions of gods on the authority of anybody. What we want is progress, development, realisation." (Pg. 66)
"Another foolish notion is that if we lose our little individuality, there will be no morality, no hope for humanity. As if everybody had been dying for humanity all the time! God bless you! If in every country there were two hundred men and women really wanting to do good to humanity, the millennium would come in five days." (Pg. 88)
"In the religion of Christ there was little of crudeness; there is very little difference between the pure religion of Christ and that of the Vedanta. You find there the idea of oneness, but Christ also preached dualistic ideas to the people, in order to give them something tangible to take hold of, to lead them up to the highest ideal." (Pg. 90)
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The fulcrum of the argument rests upon comparing the Gospels with Josephus 'Wars of the Jews'. Atwill argues that one (which one?) is a satire and a parody of the other (which other?).

Granted that such possibility might be the case, that book A might be a parody of book B. Nevertheless, if book A is a parody of book B, forcibly book B ought to be the model upon which book A mimics, elaborates and ridicules. Therefore book B must have been written before book A. The parody comes second and the model comes first in time.

Now, the problem with Atwill's thesis is that sometimes he argues that Wars is a parody of the Evangelion and at times he argues that the Evangelion parodies Wars and this is a logical impossibility.

Which of the two comes first? Is it Wars or the Evangelion? Which one was written first?.

Atwill arguments that the Gospels depict a Jesus foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus Flavius and that the authors of the Gospels must have written their narrative, after the events related by Josephus in wars, had taken place. This way the evangelists were merely describing events, that by the time they were writing about them, they had already happened.

The majority of the scholars agree that the Gospels were written after Wars; some even claim that the 4 Canonical Gospels date after the Nicaea Council took place in the 4th century.

According with Atwill, the main purpose behind Titus concocting the Gospels was to defuse the virulency of the Sicarii movement (backing Jesus) and to convince the Judaics that the God-Messiah they were expecting was non other than Titus himself and "to give Caesar what belongs to Caesar"; in short, to defuse the rebellion in Judea and turn the revolting Judaics into pacifist subjects of Rome and the God-Caesar.

The problem with the above arguments is that if Wars was written before the Gospels, the Judeans revolt and the concomitant destruction of Jerusalem had already taken place, before the Evangelion had been written. This way, the main reason alleged by Atwill, for having Titus commissioned the fabrication of the Gospels becomes irrelevant and purposeless. What is the point to have written so 'convoluted and cryptic narrative' as that of the Gospels if the Sicarii had already been massacred? Do dead men read the 'Good News'? Moreover, are we to believe that the illiterate people of Judea were able to read books and could be influenced by means of written propaganda to tame them? Gimme a break!!!

For lack of space I will not elaborate on the similarities that Atwill sees and pinpoints between Wars and the Evangelion; suffice it to say that all his examples are farfetched.

If in a narrative 'a man leaves' and in the other narrative 'a man departs'. Are we to conclude that there is a similarity? On what ground? Frankly this amounts to pulling from a string. Flimsy and weak generalizations, but if you want to make Atwill rich, buy the book, read it, do your homework and judge by yourself.

Now, if you derive comfort from believing that Jesus did not exist or that he was an extra-terrestrial, so be it. What nobody can negate is that the Christian love message changed the World; yet, if you do not know what love (Agape) is, then you are a walking corpse. Faith is not the blind belief in a Credo or an intellectual proposition, but a life certainty of which you cannot possibly doubt, unless you want to negate yourself.
2227787
Aslan seems to have started his book bound to prove that the historical Jesus had no higher calling than that of many other Messiah want-to-bes. Than he interpreted the data to show that Jesus came from a rebellious region and, therefore, must be a anti-roman rebel. That he met John the Baptist and, therefore,  must be simply one of John's disciples, just another failed zealot. Every time he ran into data that suggested Jesus had a higher calling, he dismissed it as made up by Biblical writers determined to start a new religion. A historian shouldn't pick and choose his facts. The book is, however, well written and well documented. It's a good read for someone who can discern.
3167391
Professor Evans systematically destructs the modern theories about who Jesus is.  After the Da Vinci Code, there have been other books published concerning the gnostic gospels that certain people give credence. Craig Evans contribution is to add some additional depth to de-bunking these theories. I also learned more about what the Jewish historian Josephus wrote relating to Jesus, Pilate and the early church and how the writings of Josephus have been misused. One great side-effect of all these silly theories about Jesus is to revive interest in the REAL history of Jesus and the 1st century church.

What comes across to me in this book is the length to which pseudo-scholars go to avoid the real Jesus.  While this book does not speculate on the motives of such "scholars", it can only come from heart the is very hostile to Christ and hostile to the gospel. It's amazing that the question "Who is Jesus" is as relevant and even as divisive today as it was in the 1st century