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Summary: Wonderful Entry to the Biblical Story
Review: My wife and I love this book. It is well written and helps portray biblical events in a wonderfully modern novel style. His descriptions are beautiful and vivid, and the book is accessible to everyone with a fifth grade reading level.Great for people who are intimidated by the Bible but want to know its key stories.
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Summary: brings vivid life to the people and events of The Book
Review: Not being an expert of the Bible, I was skeptical about reading this book and getting the fact mixed up with the fiction. I have therefore made its reading companion an actual Bible. I'm only about halfway through the "novel", but I do not feel I am reading a blasphemus work. The Bible helps to se what is The Word and what is "enhanced". Basically much of what is fictionalized may have been true, but God didn't go into so much detail when he wrote the Bible. At first, I felt cheated that parts of the Bible were left out, but now I see that the author is telling a story of a family, following the line of succession to Jesus Christ. If you like this book, I recommend reading The Robe, by John Radziewicz, another could-have-happend-this-way novel about the cricifixion and resurection.
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Summary: The Bible in a chronological novel format
Review: One of the more common problems for Christians is that they learn the Bible stories but don't really learn how each of the stories are related to one another in terms of time and sequence. For example the book of Second Samuel covers roughly the same time period as First Chronicles, Second Chronicles covers pretty much the same period as First and Second Kings. How were all of these people and events related on a consistent time scale across the various books? "The Book of God" is very effective in resolving this problem by taking all the Bible stories and putting them in chronological order. The author then rewrites them in the style of a contemporary novel. While this may not be appropriate for exegetical Biblical study it is extremely valuable if you want to truly understand the Bible as a whole. The author takes many liberties in writing but they are well-researched and based on historical knowledge. For example, he starts with Abraham with the words "An old man entered his tent, dropping the door flap behind him. In the darkness he knelt slowly before a clay firepot, very tired...... The man's face was lean and wounded and streaked with the dust of recent travel. He began to unroll a straw mat for sleeping but paused halfway, lost in thought." Obviously we don't know that Abraham ever did this or looked like this, but it is all consistent with the normal lifestyle of nomadic travelers of the time. Again, it is not for determining doctrinal positions but an enjoyable novel that is not only a pleasurable read but also brings the various stories of the Bible together into a complete picture. It is a very highly recommended read.
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Summary: The Bible in a chronological novel format
Review: One of the more common problems for Christians is that they learn the Bible stories but don't really learn how each of the stories are related to one another in terms of time and sequence. For example the book of Second Samuel covers roughly the same time period as First Chronicles, Second Chronicles covers pretty much the same period as First and Second Kings. How were all of these people and events related on a consistent time scale across the various books? "The Book of God" is very effective in resolving this problem by taking all the Bible stories and putting them in chronological order. The author then rewrites them in the style of a contemporary novel. While this may not be appropriate for exegetical Biblical study it is extremely valuable if you want to truly understand the Bible as a whole. The author takes many liberties in writing but they are well-researched and based on historical knowledge. For example, he starts with Abraham with the words "An old man entered his tent, dropping the door flap behind him. In the darkness he knelt slowly before a clay firepot, very tired...... The man's face was lean and wounded and streaked with the dust of recent travel. He began to unroll a straw mat for sleeping but paused halfway, lost in thought." Obviously we don't know that Abraham ever did this or looked like this, but it is all consistent with the normal lifestyle of nomadic travelers of the time. Again, it is not for determining doctrinal positions but an enjoyable novel that is not only a pleasurable read but also brings the various stories of the Bible together into a complete picture. It is a very highly recommended read.
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Summary: GREAT!
Review: Some stories are left out (they'd have to be or the "novel" would be huge) but it is overall a great book. Easily understood and in the novel format it is easily understandable. Great work!
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Summary: The Most Important Book of Our Generation
Review: The Book of God is a book that everyone who has an interest in Scripture should read. Wangerin brings the Bible narrative to life with astonishing clarity and intensity. The characters of the Bible become people we know and love. Without comprimising the integrity of the Bible, Wangerin has produced a version of the Scripture that everyone from the layman to the theologian can relate to. In an age when people have begun to wonder about the relevance of Scripture and Christianity, Wangerin reminds us that Christianity's Holy Book is not merely an account of things past but a living part of our lives. A must read.
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Summary: Interesting, but NOT the Bible as a novel.
Review: The Book of God is, as many others have stated, an interesting read and good for the sake of bringing some to read biblical acocunts in a nonthreatening manner. However, I was disappointed in the book due to its claim of being "The Bible as a Novel." This, it is not. Many important biblical stories are left out. Others are embellished upon to an odd degree. (Case in point: Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.) Still others are briefly mentioned and are told almost right from the bible, with no embellishments or modern language to ease the reading. Why the author felt free to add to some stories and not others is puzzling to me, as well as his leaving out some of the more well known biblical references. I'd recommend this book as one to read if you would like more understanding of biblical stories and references. Just be aware going in to it that it is not all biblical fact - read the bible along with it!!
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Summary: This was one of the best bible stories that I have read.
Review: The Book of God was wonderful. I read it in one week. It was very easy and enjoyable to understand. He made the characters come alive like never before. When you can read and visualize a book that book is good. Is there a second book to this?
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Summary: Novelization adds to, does not detract from, the story
Review: There is absolutely no way to ever tell the story of the Bible in a concise, perfectly edited, all encompassing manner. What I love about Walter Wangerin's work with The Book of God is that he doesn't try to get everything into the story. This is a marvelously edited, fictionalized version of the major points of the Bible, presented in a manner which engages the reader and educates at the same time. I have read this book three times, and each time it has been a blessing to me. THIS IS NOT A NEW BIBLE! Those who are looking for a readable version of the Bible itself should try the Living Bible or another similar translation. Wangerin's work here tells the story; it is not a translation, nor is it canonical in any sense of the word. It is, however, inspired by the story of God acting in and through Creation, and in this understanding, I highly recommend The Book of God to Christians and non-believers alike who wish to get into the story of the Bible.
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Summary: A vew of the Biblical characters that adds life.
Review: This book has offered me a new prespective on the Bible and the Characters within the Bible. It also enables me to understand them as humans making decisions and what effects it might have on their lives. Helps to tie Biblical historical events together for me in a novel type approach. EXCELLENT!
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