View Full Version : Book: What Jesus Meant by Garry Wills
Ultralight
3-30-17, 8:14pm
I have done this thing in the past where I do a "book exchange." By this I mean I say to someone: "If you read a book I suggest, I will read a book you suggest."
I made this exchange with my mom, thinking there was no way she'd do it. I said: "You read Sam Harris's Letter To A Christian Nation and I will read a book you want me to read."
By heck, she read the dang book and liked it. Wacky.
So I am reading a book called What Jesus Meant, as per her suggestion. I am about a third into it. Very interesting book. The way the author presents Jesus is intriguing. Anyone else read this book?
I haven't read What Jesus Meant, but I have read Garry Wills. I read Why I Am A Catholic (since I am forever teetering on the edge of going back to my Catholic roots), and I also have The Rosary (because I really like praying the rosary).
I'm really interested in hearing what you like about this book. I do find it wacky that you would enjoy it, frankly!
Along these lines, I read books of the mystic Bernadette Roberts and she just published a book called "The Real Christ." It's intriguing because she actually attaches a warning to it:
Those who believe the man Jesus who walked this earth 2000 years ago was God, should read no further. Since I hold no human being is God, those who disagree will only find this book upsetting and disagreeable. This writing is not for those convinced they have the last word on Christ, but those searching for the real Christ. While I believe all Christians have the right Faith, I do not think all Christians have the right beliefs, right understanding or right view of Christ. Given all the Jesus-talk these days, Christianity comes across as a personality cult, the worship of a human being, which has nothing to do with Christ, it even turns people away. The reason for this writing is my perception that the real Christ has been all but lost to Christianity.
rosarugosa
3-31-17, 5:09am
I cannot imagine finding the time to read a book called "What Jesus Meant." The Sam Harris sounds interesting, though.
Ultralight
3-31-17, 7:11am
I haven't read What Jesus Meant, but I have read Garry Wills. I read Why I Am A Catholic (since I am forever teetering on the edge of going back to my Catholic roots), and I also have The Rosary (because I really like praying the rosary).
I'm really interested in hearing what you like about this book. I do find it wacky that you would enjoy it, frankly!
Along these lines, I read books of the mystic Bernadette Roberts and she just published a book called "The Real Christ." It's intriguing because she actually attaches a warning to it:In the chapter of this book "The Hidden Years" about Jesus during ages 13-30 he made Jesus seem like a real rebel. Wills makes Jesus seem like this guy who rejected the institutions of family, community, government, propriety, social class, etc. I realize that Wills is just playing jazz with a mythological character, but it is a character I largely identify with. The book has all sorts of wacky apologetics too, which rub me the wrong way.
Ultralight
3-31-17, 7:12am
I cannot imagine finding the time to read a book called "What Jesus Meant." The Sam Harris sounds interesting, though.When I do a book exchange I keep my word and read the other person's silly book. By reading the book I suggest the other person grows. But by reading the book they suggest I don't shrink.
When I do a book exchange I keep my work and read the other person's silly book. By reading the book I suggest the other person grows. But by reading the book they suggest I don't shrink.With a bit of introspection, you might get to the heart of your loneliness problem.
When I do a book exchange I keep my work and read the other person's silly book. By reading the book I suggest the other person grows. But by reading the book they suggest I don't shrink.
Very well said. I had a liberal friend who was appalled that I read Ayn Rand. You don't grow unless you explore all viewpoints.
catherine
3-31-17, 10:00am
In the chapter of this book "The Hidden Years" about Jesus during ages 13-30 he made Jesus seem like a real rebel. Wills makes Jesus seem like this guy who rejected the institutions of family, community, government, propriety, social class, etc.
Yes, I wish more people saw that.
In the chapter of this book "The Hidden Years" about Jesus during ages 13-30 he made Jesus seem like a real rebel. Wills makes Jesus seem like this guy who rejected the institutions of family, community, government, propriety, social class, etc.
He's sort of like Sherlock Holmes. Everybody has their own cherished version of him.
Ultralight
3-31-17, 4:23pm
He's sort of like Sherlock Holmes. Everybody has their own cherished version of him. And this is a big part of why I am an atheist.
rosarugosa
3-31-17, 6:44pm
With a bit of introspection, you might get to the heart of your loneliness problem.
Now I would be one to flat-out say, "I have no interest whatsoever in reading a book about Jesus," and I'm not the least bit lonely. You just have to find people who love you for who you really are. If you're really lucky, you might even find some like-minded people who love you for who you really are. :)
Now I would be one to flat-out say, "I have no interest whatsoever in reading a book about Jesus," and I'm not the least bit lonely. You just have to find people who love you for who you really are. If you're really lucky, you might even find some like-minded people who love you for who you really are. :)
But that's an honest response to a perceived equal. Not quite the same.
I finished this book.
What I liked:
-The book was loaned to me indefinitely, so I did not have to pay for it or deal with library due dates
-The character sketch of Jesus as a real rebel who was an extremist attacking all norms and institutions
-The nudges toward the importance of divesting from physical possessions
What I disliked:
-The wacky and nonsensical apologetics
-The vanity of the author
-The contradictions so common in religious texts
I, too, dislike library due dates. That one factor changes the joy of reading into the drudgery of completing an assignment by it's due date.
iris lilies
4-3-17, 9:12am
I, too, dislike library due dates. That one factor changes the joy of reading into the drudgery of completing an assignment by it's due date.
I used to wait until the book was not popular, then I could have it indefinitely. Three loan periods equal nine weeks here, so that is a good long time. Even one loan period, for a popular book, is three weeks. If I am really into a book .I can finish it within three weeks.
But agreed, these newfangled Kindle versions have all kinds of advantages.
I actually kind of like the date dates because they pull me away from the internet!
ETA: Oops - I meant due dates, not date dates!
I would do an exchange like that, there was a time in my life when I would have read that book in a trade. Right now I have enough to read without trading and I am not feeling so open to the majority religion.
I did listen to EVERY song that was put on my '50 songs for 50 years' birthday play list. There were a lot I liked and a few that were out there. I did however listen to the entire 'who let the dogs out' song!
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