With the same passionate scholarship and analytical audacity he brought to the character of God, Jack Miles now approaches the literary and theolog...
read full description
reviews
Jul 17, 2007
Kelly
rated it: 
This is the "sequel," if you will, to the book "God: A Biography." I actually read this one first, and it really doesn't matter. He briefly lays out his hypotheses from the first book at the beginning of this one. This is again a literary reading of the Bible. It just deals with the New Testament. Or more accurately, the changeover from the Old Testament and the New Testament, and all the contradictions that Jack Miles finds there. In short, his conclusion is that God changed
More...
19 comments
like
(5 people liked it)
Jul 27, 2009
David
rated it: 
Once again, the author has created a text which examines a portion of the Bible -- in this instance the New Testament -- as a work of literature rather than a sacred text. And so this time he continues his scrutiny of the "life of God", and the crisis that he -- God -- has created. Whereas the Old Testament is the story of God's covenant with his chosen people -- the Hebrews -- so the New Testament is the story of how God resolved the problem of his (apparent) inability to win a fina
More...
Apr 25, 2011
Joseph
rated it:
A fantastic sequel (if it can be called that) to Miles' God: A Biography. His basic premise is that Christ, or God Incarnate, has been born in crisis, which crisis is the broken covenant Miles discusses so well in his first book. In order to resolve this crisis, Christ must humiliate himself (which is, as those of us who've read the New Testament, exactly what he does). For the believer, I feel like this book can do much to build faith; for the non-believer, this book can go far to explain (?) t
More...
Nov 03, 2008
Lauren
rated it:
I have read about four kabillion books about Jesus, so it was nice to read one with a little bit of a twist -- it wasn't about the historical Jesus, but it approached Christ from a literary, philosophical perspective. I think it's super important to consider Christianity in this way, because ... that's what Christianity is. The Bible is not a literal account of our history, it is a reflection of our history. This book tries to answer the question: why did this part of the story, this Jesus stuff
More...
May 19, 2011
John
rated it:
This follow-on the his Old Testament study of God was rather hard to read. It was hard in the academic sense because it was very stictly laid out and very detailed. Not a history, but a literary criticism study of the story of Jesus; not a study of the New Testament since it was only following the "life" of the main character of the New Testament. It helped to have read his earlier book on God.
Oct 19, 2011
Matt
rated it:
This book was slow going for me -- it's very cerebral and often challenging. I took a long break and then read the last 100 pages in a week, and I enjoyed the end more than I had the rest of the book.
The overall thesis is very interesting (if I'm remembering it right: Christ's life and death and resurrection is God's attempt to work out the problem of why He doesn't lead Israel to conquer as He did in the days of Exodus, and He works it out by changing the role of the Messiah and redef More...
The overall thesis is very interesting (if I'm remembering it right: Christ's life and death and resurrection is God's attempt to work out the problem of why He doesn't lead Israel to conquer as He did in the days of Exodus, and He works it out by changing the role of the Messiah and redef More...
May 28, 2009
Stacy
rated it: 
Conceptually very interesting, but it was a very heavy read and I don't enjoy having to continually put books down to let them "breathe". I'm glad I made notes so I can look back and know I didn't imagine how bogged down I felt when I first read this.
Mar 29, 2010
Angelia
rated it:
Unlike God: A Biography, this attempt is sorely lacking in focus. It jumps around the New Testament with no clear sense of direction. I'd hoped for illumination like I received with the first book, but alas, no.
Apr 03, 2008
Stephanie
rated it:
This book picks up where God: A Biography left off.
It's difficult to paraphrase Miles, but God, having messed up relations with his chosen people, uses Jesus to give human experience to a spiritual being. Implicit here is the idea that God hasn't done that well with his creation. At the first transgression he has saddled humanity with death. Through Jesus he offers a wrenching sort of empathy that results in the overcoming of that very state which he imposed on humanity.
More...
It's difficult to paraphrase Miles, but God, having messed up relations with his chosen people, uses Jesus to give human experience to a spiritual being. Implicit here is the idea that God hasn't done that well with his creation. At the first transgression he has saddled humanity with death. Through Jesus he offers a wrenching sort of empathy that results in the overcoming of that very state which he imposed on humanity.
More...
Jan 09, 2011
Loved Jack Miles' first book. You know, I really have no idea what's in the New Testament. Is it just Jesus? I don't even know how long it is.
Apr 13, 2011
Katy Budget Books
rated it:
Richard says: This was a completely original interpretation of the life of Christ, and gave a fresh insight into the Gospels.
Jul 12, 2008
John
rated it:
I liked this book because it gave me a better understanding of the New Testament and of Christianity. The author has a beautiful, clear writing style. He spends a lot of the book making his case that Christ was a crisis for God, and this becomes a bit tiresome. However, don’t give up; continue reading past the end of the book. In Appendix 2 he has a good overview of the evolution of thought about the Bible. Where we are now, appreciating its literature, seems to leave open the way for future int
More...
Mar 18, 2008
Kathy
rated it: 
using history and scripture, miles shows the evolution of God and our perceptions of Him from the beginning through Jesus' time, and how His different personalities formed and resolved the contradictions of his attitude towards his people. this was a tough read, there wasn't much of a flow, but miles makes some really interesting and exciting points.
Jun 09, 2008
Marguerite
rated it:
A nice follow to Miles' literary analysis of the Old Testament. I like the exploration of Jesus' varied NT roles. I still believe the image of God/Jesus as bridegroom/husband invites abuse and rationalization, though. Can't we just be friends? Both of Miles' books will merit re-reading.
Jul 01, 2010
matt
rated it:
Excellent on first blush. J Miles can really write and his analytical skills (not simply textual, mind) are filed to a fine, sharp needle
Feb 03, 2011
I'm incredibly impressed by Mr. Miles' ability to thread the old and new testament together. A true talent for picking up the loose ends of story and weaving them into what the original authors may have trying to convey. This is a very scholarly piece.
Aug 07, 2007
very interesting explanation of the history of Judeo-Christian Religous thought....but not a page turner as one can see by the looooong ago start date...something i come back to now and again...
Jan 21, 2008
Totally not what I expected.
"a literary reading of the new testament" is quite a misleading description of the book. It reads more analytically but from the literary perspective.
"a literary reading of the new testament" is quite a misleading description of the book. It reads more analytically but from the literary perspective.
Aug 12, 2008
Sequel to God: A Biography. Assuming that Jesus in the New Testament is the same character at God in the Old Testament, what has happened to this character.
Sep 22, 2007
Justin
rated it:
A wonderful book that really changed the way I look at things. A deep read, but easy to take important lessons from.
Jan 28, 2012
Jan 28, 2012
