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58th out of 1,897 books
—
1,832 voters
The Jesus I Never Knew
by
Philip Yancey (Goodreads Author)
'There is no writer in the evangelical world that I admire and appreciate more.'Billy GrahamPhilip Yancey helps reveal what two thousand years of history covered upWhat happens when a respected Christian journalist decides to put his preconceptions aside and take a long look at the Jesus described in the Gospels? How does the Jesus of the New Testament compare to the 'new,...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
February 12th 2002
by Zondervan
(first published January 1st 1995)
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A very fresh look at Jesus - that is, no sign of all the preconceptions we usually have. Informative historical context, insightful commentary on our culture's interaction with the Jesus of the gospels and quite a humble writing style - Yancey seems willing to let Jesus speak to himself, and thus to his readers. So many efforts are made to reinvent Jesus, but Jesus cannot & need not be reinvented - we just need to make the effort to come to grips with him.
Jan 02, 2011
RE de Leon
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone.
Recommended to RE by:
Danny and Angie Narciso
Every now and then, a book comes along that rightfully lays claim to the feat of changing your life. And this one most certainly did. More specifically, it changed my devotional life, such that my bible reading experience has been richer ever since.
You see, I've been reading the Bible since before I even learned to read properly. So while I was very familiar with the facts of the gospel story by the time I'd read this book in 1997, I'd also grown into some very hardened preconceptions.
An example...more
You see, I've been reading the Bible since before I even learned to read properly. So while I was very familiar with the facts of the gospel story by the time I'd read this book in 1997, I'd also grown into some very hardened preconceptions.
An example...more
I really enjoy Philip Yancey's writing. There was nothing here that was particularly revealing or new information about Jesus, but the author seems to have a way of writing that gets your mind engaged and thinking about the topic in different ways. I'd definitely recommend this one.
Mar 10, 2008
Marie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in Jesus
Once again I enjoyed Yancey's thorough journalistic style combined with his ability to clearly communicate his opinion. However, I felt Yancey was talking above my knowledge on this one. My understanding and awareness of Jesus-including familiarity with Biblical history-remains at an elementary level, so many of the events and passages Yancey refers to are not crystal clear to me. In response to this I know that I need to read and study the Gospels soon. Even though I found myself tripping over...more
Book that seeks to discover Jesus in time and history--to observe him as he traveled and taught and ask: who Jesus was, why he came, and what he left behind complete with dusty details and descriptions that bite into what it was like to experience pursuit of God and pain, friendship and a fan-following in Galilee.
Following are my lessons learned
Why God does not force belief or display His power--
Goodness cannot be imposed externally, but most grow internally, bottom up. God’s power is internal,...more
Following are my lessons learned
Why God does not force belief or display His power--
Goodness cannot be imposed externally, but most grow internally, bottom up. God’s power is internal,...more
Jul 25, 2011
Nathan
added it
Here's a look at "Jesus' life 'from below,' as a spectator, one of the many who followed him around," says Yancey.
It's a journey well taken.
I notice all the preconceived notions and unwarranted assumptions we have about Jesus--especially now, this Christmas morning. Sitting in front of me is a manager, a "little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes." (Yet surely he had his share of swaddling cloth rash!)
What if we didn't have the benefit of knowing Jesus through history's lens? How would we see him th...more
It's a journey well taken.
I notice all the preconceived notions and unwarranted assumptions we have about Jesus--especially now, this Christmas morning. Sitting in front of me is a manager, a "little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes." (Yet surely he had his share of swaddling cloth rash!)
What if we didn't have the benefit of knowing Jesus through history's lens? How would we see him th...more
I think it may be a testimony to the power of this book that, about fifteen years after its publication, it's hard to see what's controversial about it. In this book, Yancey carefully examines the Gospels to try to explore who Jesus is with minimal influence from cultural lenses. He definitely focuses more on the humanity of Jesus than his divinity, but part of that comes from his decision not to get into commentaries on Jesus, including the rest of the New Testament (I think it's fair to questi...more
I read this book for a second time with new eyes, because before I read it casually and quickly. This time I was vitally concerned to see Yancey's portrayal of Jesus. Philip Yancey is very good at addressing the hard questions, he seems to be very honest about his own struggles, and he makes Jesus come alive on the page. He succeeds at removing some of the historical distance between us and Jesus, making him seem graspable, like someone who actually lived, without violating the mystery that is a...more
Once again, Philip Yancey has broadened my religious horizons. In this book he utilizes his journalistic skills to brush aside all the preconceived notions of who Jesus is in an attempt to perceive him as an observer in First Century Judea would. The results are, in my opinion, are well worthwhile, as is suggested by my five star rating. Reading this book expanded my concept of what Christ's expects of his disciples in many ways but most strongly in two specific areas: sacrificing my personal pr...more
Nov 26, 2008
Yopie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
all the people who want to know HIM better
buku ini keren...
sudut pandangnya thdp Yesus beda banget dgn bayanganku selama ini (Yesus yang biasanya di gambar-gambar lg meluk anak domba dengan wajah kalem). Buku ini merupakan cerita yang objektif tentang Yesus. Penceritaannya sangat menarik (sampai mengganggu belajar endokrinku he3...).
Philip Yancey selalu mengajak kita turut merasakan gimana perasaan Yesus waktu d dunia. Gimana perasaan TUHAN SEMESTA ALAM ketika dia "mengecilkan" dirinya manjadi embrio terkurung d dalam rahim seorang wani...more
sudut pandangnya thdp Yesus beda banget dgn bayanganku selama ini (Yesus yang biasanya di gambar-gambar lg meluk anak domba dengan wajah kalem). Buku ini merupakan cerita yang objektif tentang Yesus. Penceritaannya sangat menarik (sampai mengganggu belajar endokrinku he3...).
Philip Yancey selalu mengajak kita turut merasakan gimana perasaan Yesus waktu d dunia. Gimana perasaan TUHAN SEMESTA ALAM ketika dia "mengecilkan" dirinya manjadi embrio terkurung d dalam rahim seorang wani...more
This book was phenomenal. Here's what my brother had to say when he recommended it.
"The author is a quote-unquote believer but refreshingly candid about his own fears, doubts about, and frustrations with God. It is a guileless book, without pretense, and I believe most anyone--"believer", "non-believer," Christian, Jew, Buddhist, or Muslim--(though they might not agree with everything said) would be pleasantly surprised by what they find in it. As it turns out, many of us raised-Christians have...more
"The author is a quote-unquote believer but refreshingly candid about his own fears, doubts about, and frustrations with God. It is a guileless book, without pretense, and I believe most anyone--"believer", "non-believer," Christian, Jew, Buddhist, or Muslim--(though they might not agree with everything said) would be pleasantly surprised by what they find in it. As it turns out, many of us raised-Christians have...more
It can be difficult studying people like Homer, Plato, the Caesars, Cleopatra, and anyone else who existed in the ancient world without understanding the times in which they lived. This author takes such an approach to Jesus. His style is journalistic, which is, in fact, his background, and with that he puts Jesus into the context of his time and history. As he goes through his life, he notes the histirocultural significance of Jesus' actions and teachings, as well as those around him. For me, t...more
Oct 08, 2008
Heather
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone wanting to examine the life of Jesus more closely
This book took me a while to get through - I kept putting it down and then picking it back up.
Overall, I enjoyed the book - it allowed me to examine the religion I grew up with and view the life of Jesus from another (more in-depth) perspective.
This book is a summary of the life of Jesus. My favorite chapter is "The Ascension" since it answers the question "Where is God when it hurts?" The answer is another question, "Where is the church when it hurts?" Yancey contends, like Mother Teresa, that God has not departed from us, he has taken on the disguise of the stranger, the poor, the hungry, the prisoner, the sick and the homeless. Jesus went to heaven so that his followers could take his place. Those who fault God for allowing human tr...more
One of my favorite books. Sharman and I read it out-loud to each other, a few pages each night. Perfect for devotional reading.
Yancey is a great theologian - fairly loose on a conceptual framework, but strong on narrative and interpretive detail. More a journalist than a systematic thinker.
His story reminds me somewhat of my own spiritual journey - got past the conservative upbringing but stuck with the faith to make it work for him. The result is much more humane and compassionate, much like th...more
Yancey is a great theologian - fairly loose on a conceptual framework, but strong on narrative and interpretive detail. More a journalist than a systematic thinker.
His story reminds me somewhat of my own spiritual journey - got past the conservative upbringing but stuck with the faith to make it work for him. The result is much more humane and compassionate, much like th...more
Apr 18, 2013
Val
is currently reading it
(Reading this book for a group study at church)
First impressions? Yancy is great for a study, as he tends to write on a level where most people are comfortable and where it is easy to have a discussion on the material. He's good. But once again I am struck by the notion that Yancy isn't an author I would gravitate toward on my own simply because his work doesn't hold my interest. That's not to say it isn't interesting...it's just that I've read so widely above and beyond the level of this book,...more
First impressions? Yancy is great for a study, as he tends to write on a level where most people are comfortable and where it is easy to have a discussion on the material. He's good. But once again I am struck by the notion that Yancy isn't an author I would gravitate toward on my own simply because his work doesn't hold my interest. That's not to say it isn't interesting...it's just that I've read so widely above and beyond the level of this book,...more
Yancey does an excellent job of creating a broader template for measuring the life of Christ. I found that he was laboring under many impressions of Christ that he simply could not let go -- and honestly might not have been able to acknowledge.
Placing Jesus within the contexts of his own history is the only fair way to accomplish the task of actually coming nearer to the real Jesus of Nazereth. Yancey accomplishes this without dumbing down the details, yet avoiding the trap of overanalysis.
This...more
Placing Jesus within the contexts of his own history is the only fair way to accomplish the task of actually coming nearer to the real Jesus of Nazereth. Yancey accomplishes this without dumbing down the details, yet avoiding the trap of overanalysis.
This...more
This book changed how I viewed my Christian faith on a personal level and on a historial level. As a Christian, naturally I knew "about" Christ, however, like Yancey I eventually sought an angle of the Lord that wasn't distorted by the culturally-biased image of a blue-eyed creamy-skinned Anglo-Saxon male with good teeth that brandishes itself so frequently on the "Children's Illustrated Bible" and the like. In this book, I believe Yancey has created a snapshot of Jesus Christ that is not only r...more
Part One disappointed me and I thought about putting it down but I'm glad I didn't. While Part One was not very insightful (Jesus was Jewish?!), Part Two is much more insightful and challenging. I especially enjoyed reading about the Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount. Reading about how Jesus was rejected by religious leaders and welcomed by sinners, but seeing the reverse is true in most American churches today, makes me question how I think/feel/believe about both.
I expected this book to be m...more
I expected this book to be m...more
The Jesus I Never Knew is a good read, easy to read, and yet difficult as in doing so a picture of Jesus far from the icon of stained glass windows or the meek and mild child of Christmas carols is revealed. There was little in here that I hadn't come across before, but it was good to see it all written in one place. Anyone interested in discovering more about this radical, driven, loving, gracious, inclusive, challenging figure would do well to give Philip Yancey's book a read. In my view he su...more
Okay, okay, I get it. Yancy writes columns, then gathers them into books, slaps on a likely title, and peddles them to us as original thinking.
It works, but sometimes only barely.
It works, but sometimes only barely.
Saya bersyukur sudah membeli dan langsung membaca buku ini. Penulis betul-betul memaparkan secara mendetail siapa dan bagaimana Yesus itu. Dimulai dari kelahiran, kehidupan, pengajaran, kematian, kebangkitan dan kenaikan-Nya dipaparkan dengan blak-blakan. Blak-blakan dalam arti hal-hal yang membuat penulis bingung dan ragu tentang kisah Yesus di dalam Alkitab, disampaikannya di buku ini, dan kemudian memberikan solusi pemahaman yang benar berdasarkan pengalaman penulis dalam perjalanan mencari j...more
Favorite quotes from the book:
"Although power can force obedience, only love can summon a response of love,..."
"Dependence, humility, simplicity, cooperation, and a sense of abandon are qualities greatly prized in the spiritual life, but exremely elusive for people who live in comfort. In the Great Reversal of God's kingdom, prosperous saints are very rare."
"The real goal, King (Martin Luther King Jr.) used to say, was not to defeat the white man, but "to awaken a sense of shame within the oppre...more
"Although power can force obedience, only love can summon a response of love,..."
"Dependence, humility, simplicity, cooperation, and a sense of abandon are qualities greatly prized in the spiritual life, but exremely elusive for people who live in comfort. In the Great Reversal of God's kingdom, prosperous saints are very rare."
"The real goal, King (Martin Luther King Jr.) used to say, was not to defeat the white man, but "to awaken a sense of shame within the oppre...more
Have always enjoyed Philip Yancey's work, and this book was no exception... perhaps reading it for school and being required to write a critical review caused me to look at this one more critically as well. Found his conclusions true to the scriptures, but his methods - understanding Jesus by watching movies and consulting as many (surprising and often unorthodox) sources as he could find - a little odd. Certainly engaging though. Realized after reading it that he did cite sources and retell man...more
If you've never done a study or read a book about getting down to the real person of Jesus, this is a great resource to help. Sunday School has its place, but some people never move past the meek-looking, white robe- and blue sash-wearing, hands folded, upward-gazing, halo-highlighted Jesus of picture books and paintings. Thus they maintain a dumbed down, inaccurate perspective on the man who changed and holds history. Reading this, along with Mike Erre's "The Jesus of Suburbia" helped me begin...more
Mr Yancy crafts a well-written book that combines an in-depth historical look at the life of Jesus with a viewpoint not often discovered by writers or Christians. He strives to make this book accessible and reaches out to those who have been hurt by the church for one reason or another. Discovering the Jesus I never knew has allowed me to view Christ differently, and I like to think more accurately. Jesus is a Savior for the disenfranchised, and Mr Yancy's book also reaches out to the disenfranc...more
I needed a fresh perspective of Jesus. Philip Yancey gave me exactly what I needed/wanted to hear. He was able to convey how Jesus is often never viewed. Jesus can be confused as this happy-go-lucky Savior; however Philip shows us that Jesus is more than what meets the eye. Jesus was strange in what he said, had awkward relationships with the disciples, and also showed His true concern for redeeming people. I would recommend this read to anyone. It's an easy read. Possibly a C.S. Lewis in simple...more
We read this book as a family every morning before starting our day. Yancey begins the novel by describing his early, false perceptions of Jesus. Viewing Christ as the face of perfection, Yancey envisioned Him having "long, flowing hair and milky white skin." Jesus was "a Mr. Rogers before the age of children's television". Throughout the novel, he examines the character and emotions of the man that changed the course of history. The final chapter contains one of my favorite quotes:
"If God can...more
"If God can...more
a few weeks ago, i had a dream that profoundly impacted my book reading. without going into details, i was left with a desire to read about Jesus, a desire to know Jesus better. i had this book on my bookshelf already; i picked it up at a thrift store for a dollar, since i'll buy pretty much any book that looks half decent at a thrift store. i hadnt read anything about Phillip Yancey. i knew very little about him, other than his name is huge in the Christian book market. so i picked up the book....more
Philip Yancey might be my new favorite author. We'll see after I read a few more of his books, but between reading this book and some of his articles online, I like his approach. What I really liked about this book was how he strips away any pre-existing impressions we have about Christ based on things we learned in Sunday school, movies, etc. He takes the approach of looking at scripture pretending you don't know what's going to happen in the next chapter. Pretend you don't know Christ is going...more
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| Good book | 1 | 25 | Jan 05, 2008 06:37am |
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Philip Yancey earned graduate degrees in Communications and English from Wheaton College Graduate School and the University of Chicago. He joined the staff of Campus Life Magazine in 1971, and worked there as Editor and then Publisher. He looks on those years with gratitude, because teenagers are demanding readers, and writing for them taught him a lasting principle:...more
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“Power, no matter how well-intentioned, tends to cause suffering. Love, being vulnerable, absorbs it. In a point of convergence on a hill called Calvary, God renounced the one for the sake of the other.”
—
56 people liked it
“Thunderously, inarguably, the Sermon on the Mount proves that before God we all stand on level ground: murderers and temper-throwers, adulterers and lusters, thieves and coveters. We are all desperate, and that is in fact the only state appropriate to a human being who wants to know God. Having fallen from the absolute Ideal, we have nowhere to land but in the safety net of absolute grace.”
—
21 people liked it
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Nov 06, 2011 04:58pm