What sort of "person" is God? Is it possible to approach him not as an object of religious reverence, but as the protagonist of the world...
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Dec 17, 2009
Kelly
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This book is amazing. (I mean, duh. It won the Pulitzer Prize. :)) It really opened my eyes. It's written by a former Jesuit named Jack Miles. Who is brilliant. This was given to me by a friend late in high school, while we were both struggling with our Catholic backgrounds. It deals with God as a literary character, and what his choices would mean if the Old Testament were analyzed simply from the perspective of literary criticism. I think it's fascinating and erudite. It is guaranteed to give
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Mar 12, 2011
Chris
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Miles won the Pulitzer for this absorbing study of the life of the Biblical God, beginning with the opening chapter of Genesis and taking us through the entirety of the Old Testament in the Jewish ordering of the books from the Torah. Jehovah makes for a stirring and multifaceted subject - an omniscient and omnipotent deity that was assembled from the personalities and powers of a variety of ancient pagan pantheons, running the gamut from demiurge to demon; a terrifying and vengeful master, brea
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Sep 10, 2011
Erik
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I was loaned this by a nominally Catholic friend who is attracted to offbeat books. Though an autobiography of the first person of the trinity, the creater of heaven and earth, is certainly unusual, this one made the mainstream, winning a Pulitzer for biography. Normally, I wouldn't have touched the thing, but this friend's recommendations have weight.
As it was, I found the deity's life story less interesting than any number of biographies I've read of human beings. What interest More...
As it was, I found the deity's life story less interesting than any number of biographies I've read of human beings. What interest More...
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Apr 15, 2011
Saraelizabeth
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I get what this author is trying to do. He's writing about God as if he is the main character in a great work of literature: the Bible. He's analyzing his actions and discussing his role in the story as if we might study Hamlet. I get that.
The problem is that God is not a character in a story that begins and ends with the story. If all you're doing is analyzing God based on his interactions with humans in the Bible, you're missing most of what God is.
Because that's all Miles d More...
The problem is that God is not a character in a story that begins and ends with the story. If all you're doing is analyzing God based on his interactions with humans in the Bible, you're missing most of what God is.
Because that's all Miles d More...
Dec 26, 2010
Matt
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This book was a very learned, thoughtful book about the Jewish scriptures. There was something to think about on just about every page, and Miles has a knack for creating compelling analysis of challenging text (and, in God, a challenging character!).
It's hard to sum up what Miles was trying to say, which is one of the things that makes the book so interesting -- the God of the Old Testament (or Tanakh, as I learned that the Jewish scriptures are called) is quite confusing. Miles makes More...
It's hard to sum up what Miles was trying to say, which is one of the things that makes the book so interesting -- the God of the Old Testament (or Tanakh, as I learned that the Jewish scriptures are called) is quite confusing. Miles makes More...
Sep 19, 2008
Sean
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This is a very heavy read...I actually haven't finished it. Not to say that it is disturbing or emotionally heavy, but it is intellectually heavy. This is definitely a scholarly book. It is written by Jack Miles, a professor of theology at Claremont University (one of the most prominent schools in the nation when it comes to theology). It is a look at God within the bible as a literary character. There is no comparison with history or the effects of the Bible on society. It is strictly a lo
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Apr 04, 2008
Matthew
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I was excited about the idea that this was going to be a book analyzing the God of the Old Testament/Hebrew Tanakh as a literary character, which is exactly what the author, Jack Miles, promised he was going to give me. It didn't turn out that way, however, and even though I enjoyed learning a lot about the Old Testament, its historical context, its major figures, and the many deities who were amalgamated over time to become God, I can't help being very disappointed that Miles never really achi
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Jun 09, 2008
Marguerite
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Only a former Jesuit could have written this. Treating God as the protagonist in an epic that's "more" chronological than Christian Scripture is thought-provoking, if not earthshaking. Jack Miles looks as the different roles Scripture gives to God. It has the effect of remaking the divine in very mortal form. This God grows in understanding. This God can be bested. This God is conflicted: "A monotheism in which the divine is not just conceived but also imagined as one must have a
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Aug 21, 2009
I have to admit that I'm struggling with this book a bit. As a former English teacher, I loved the idea of studying God as a character in a literary work -- analyzing him as we would any character by what he says and does and by what others say about him. The book is getting off to a pretty slow start, in my opinion, though, and every time I try to read I end up falling asleep! Maybe if I can carve out a nice, long chunk of time without interruption when I'm not tired :)
May 11, 2009
Diane
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God: A Biography never ceased to fascinate and engage. Miles had me hook, line, and sinker -- albeit intellectually rather than spiritually -- following his elaborate train of thought through a number of (his) perceptions and conclusions. The payoff from the chapter on Job was alone worth the challenge of this read, but there were actually several sections that made me re-think my understanding of the Bible and Christianity. (Thank goodness he didn't end the book after the Job chapter, which oth
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Dec 17, 2009
Branden
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We will see how this "God" fellow has made out so far.
There's not much I can add to what's already been said. Of course, the treatment of God as a developing protagonist in the story of the Tanahk is brilliant. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay to a book, I pay to this one in spades: It made me think of familiar concepts in new ways.
The only small issue I had with the book was that it sort of hits a climax with the Job story, and the remaining chapters seem More...
There's not much I can add to what's already been said. Of course, the treatment of God as a developing protagonist in the story of the Tanahk is brilliant. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay to a book, I pay to this one in spades: It made me think of familiar concepts in new ways.
The only small issue I had with the book was that it sort of hits a climax with the Job story, and the remaining chapters seem More...
Oct 16, 2010
Michael
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This book is excellent. I highly recommend this book. It is a tour-de-force interpretation of the the old testament. In my opinion, Miles interpretation of Job is one of the few that does justice to Job's response to God's wager; nonetheless, I also think Miles' conclusion sets up a dialectic that is too easily resolved in the Christian incarnation and the mystery of the cross.
Dec 14, 2010
Mallory
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Overall I found this book very interesting. The premise is to read the Hebrew testament, focusing on God as the character in a piece of literature. It was an interesting point of view, and also provided some insights into how the Jewish community arranges these books of the Bible. There were also some historical insights to put the Hebrew testament into context, and also provided, for me, an additional fresh perspective for reading the Old Testament in the Bible. There definitely some moment
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Jul 22, 2009
David
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This scholarly text examines the Hebrew Old Testament as a work of literature with God as its protagonist. His story is one of self-discovery as well as internal conflict. Presented more as Shakespearean play -- i.e. Hamlet -- rather than Greek tragedy -- we see here the many sides to God's personality. I especially appreciated the summation, wherein the author uses the Tanakh as the basis of a myth, giving each aspect of God a unique name, thereby fleshing out the story in a more comprehensi
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Mar 29, 2010
Angelia
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This is a brilliant analysis of the Old Testament. Miles' treatment of the subject is both insightful and refreshing, particularly with regard to God's changing role as the books of the Old Testament unfold. That the book won a Pulitzer is no surprise; nothing comparable had been done before, nor has it been done since.
Feb 26, 2009
Andy
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The book is written by an ex Jesuit priest. Jack Miles steps back from his faith, and looks at the evolution of God as a literary character. He talks about how the 'character' of God changes through the old and new testaments. A very thought provoking look at the most popular book in history.
Jan 09, 2009
Nicolasshump
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One of the most original and compelling readings of The Tanakh (The Hebrew Scriptures), I've come across. Miles is a former Biblical scholar and Jesuit priest, but this is a very scrupulous and balanced take on Yahweh that I have ever come across. His reading of Job is illuminating.
Sep 30, 2008
David
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It seems like a gimmick, trying to treat the Hebrew Bible -- the work of many hands, over many centuries, existing in many forms and orders -- as a single work of literature with a unitary protagonist, subject to analysis by the same methods of traditional literary theory that would be applied to Peer Gynt. And in fact, Miles does wander away from this conceit often enough to spin some yarns of his own. But the idea (presumably borrowed without reference from Northrop Frye) does pull some surpri
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Dec 13, 2009
Judith
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God: a Biography by Jack Miles offers a thorough literary approach to the Bible, through the life of its protagonist, God. Setting aside puzzles of historical veracity, and ignoring issues of religious interpretation, Miles examines the character as written, from Creator to the Ancient of Days. Character development requires an authoritative ordering of the books , and Miles shows how the sequence of the Hebrew scriptures, the Tanakh, as opposed to the Christian Old Testament, provides contin
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Sep 26, 2007
Amy
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It's been quite a while since I read this book, but I remember it being challenging more than anything. I do remember being amazed at this book's premise, looking at God as a literary character in the Bible, because God, and the way he interacts with people, changes and evolves throughout the Old Testament. Some of the Hebrew terms were unfamiliar to me, so I think I would have enjoyed this book more with a religions class, so I'd get a bit of guidance. I wouldn't mind re-reading it now that I'
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Oct 16, 2009
Dolly
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Author as "Former Jesuit" made me think it might be an antidote to Dawkins' rants, but the word "former" was the clue. Humanistic retelling of the OT, just as naturalistic as Dawkins, even if kinder.
Aug 03, 2009
Kathryn
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This was a very different and thought-provoking book. The author was tracing the life of God throughout the Old Testament considering Him a creator, destroyer, friend, liberator, fiend, bystander, etc.
Oct 03, 2010
Jean
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I found this biography of God very thought provoking. Mr. Miles, a former Jesuit, uses the Hebrew bible and looking at it as a piece of literature, follows the character development of God.
Mar 16, 2011
Kay
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Asking "Can G-d's life be written," Miles tackles the subject matter with scholarship that alters conceptions of the Bible as art. Definitely not for the easily distracted...
Aug 10, 2011
Not really a biography--it examines God's character arc throughout the Bible. Quite interesting, and quite revealing of God's many transitional phases.
Mar 24, 2010
Have only read about 100 pages of this book but really like it so far. Caution, this book is not for the easily offended. It MUST be read with an open mind. WAY OPEN.
Oct 03, 2007
Eric
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I've owned this book for years, but only just gathered the courage to dive in. I guess the Pulitzer should have tipped me off to the quality of the author, but it's been a very pleasant surprise.
What I like most is that Miles introduces God as history's most compelling novel character, whose personality shifts and changes in each new chapter. For example, we see both wrathful God and whiny God.
Miles argues that insight from reading about God from this perspective cast More...
What I like most is that Miles introduces God as history's most compelling novel character, whose personality shifts and changes in each new chapter. For example, we see both wrathful God and whiny God.
Miles argues that insight from reading about God from this perspective cast More...
Aug 20, 2011
Kellee
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Fascinating look of God as the protagonist of the piece of literature known as the Hebrew Bible. The author's strong prowess as a literary critic allows him to look at this character without all the clutter of history or religion fogging up this character analysis. Requires a who new look at the bible.
Mar 01, 2009
Silvio
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An awesome documentary-like read. After you read this book it will change the way you think about Christianity
