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Rating: 
Summary: Through a glass darkly
Review: As one who has spent [1] the last 35 years as a professor in a Roman Catholic university and [2] the 68 years since his conversion wondering why he had never been able to experience the blinding, "born again" feeling of the Apostle Paul or Jimmy Carter or many other sincere Southern Baptists, I am delighted to report that the several hours I have just spent in absorbing much of Donald Spoto's wisdom have been very instructive. At this point, let me make one constructive criticism. Many of his sentences, like my first one in this review, are so long and complex that I had to re-read them before becoming comfortable with the content. On balance, however, this is a book that I will read again and again and will recommend it to my family and friends.
Rating: 
Summary: not a full follow through
Review: As one who has spent [1] the last 35 years as a professor in a Roman Catholic university and [2] the 68 years since his conversion wondering why he had never been able to experience the blinding, "born again" feeling of the Apostle Paul or Jimmy Carter or many other sincere Southern Baptists, I am delighted to report that the several hours I have just spent in absorbing much of Donald Spoto's wisdom have been very instructive. At this point, let me make one constructive criticism. Many of his sentences, like my first one in this review, are so long and complex that I had to re-read them before becoming comfortable with the content. On balance, however, this is a book that I will read again and again and will recommend it to my family and friends.
Rating:
Summary: Please!
Review: Dear Donald Spoto: you made it to the Marilyn DVD 'Diamonds Collection' with your MM biography statement....a bio which I would have bought until seeing your research on Jesus. You failed in your duty to do your research properly or you would have found mentions of the ongoing bestseller in Europe since 1991: 'Maria Valtorta, Der Gottmensch: Leben und Leiden unseres Herrn Jesus Christus, Parvis Verlag, CH-1648 Hauteville/FR', 4500 pages, 12 volumes by now translated in any major language. A work of grace dictated by Jesus during World War II to Maria Valtorta. Where THE story is told of anything unseen about Jesus you ever dreamed of. Besides, HE is alive, he IS GOD, and what do you say to him tomorrow? Check out 'Valtorta' sites, I myself wrote an 450 webpage index of those jewels. Seek and you will find. No offense and never mind, but do not offense the owner of it all! Thank you
Rating: 
Summary: Agree to disagree.......
Review: Having read two of Donald Spoto's earlier biographies (of Alfred Hitchcock and Tennessee Williams), I felt that I would be in for a treat to read a more-or-less historical biography of Jesus Christ. What I got instead was a meandering account of bits and pieces of Jesus' life with varying attitudes and no clear direction.The book begins by seeming to attack assumptions of Christian faith; for example, he claims that there was no immaculate conception, that Mary did not know that her son was the Son of God, and that by all accounts Jesus was like any other person up until the beginning of his ministry. But later, he has no problems accepting the miracles of Jesus, saying only that because we can't disprove them, then it's good enough to believe them. This treatment seemed inconsistent, in that he's apparently willing to question certain aspects of Jesus' life but not others. Throughout the book, the focus shifted slightly every few paragraphs, making it seem more like a peculiar devotional book than a biography. To be fair here, Spoto says up front that this book isn't intended to be a biography. If that's the case, then what exactly is it supposed to be? He doesn't say, and I can't tell either. Some interesting questions are raised within which readers may agree or disagree with, but the writing (and therefore reading) style of the book left a poor taste in my mouth. Read Spoto's biography of Alfred Hitchcock instead.
Rating: 
Summary: No direction leads to a disappointing read
Review: Having read two of Donald Spoto's earlier biographies (of Alfred Hitchcock and Tennessee Williams), I felt that I would be in for a treat to read a more-or-less historical biography of Jesus Christ. What I got instead was a meandering account of bits and pieces of Jesus' life with varying attitudes and no clear direction. The book begins by seeming to attack assumptions of Christian faith; for example, he claims that there was no immaculate conception, that Mary did not know that her son was the Son of God, and that by all accounts Jesus was like any other person up until the beginning of his ministry. But later, he has no problems accepting the miracles of Jesus, saying only that because we can't disprove them, then it's good enough to believe them. This treatment seemed inconsistent, in that he's apparently willing to question certain aspects of Jesus' life but not others. Throughout the book, the focus shifted slightly every few paragraphs, making it seem more like a peculiar devotional book than a biography. To be fair here, Spoto says up front that this book isn't intended to be a biography. If that's the case, then what exactly is it supposed to be? He doesn't say, and I can't tell either. Some interesting questions are raised within which readers may agree or disagree with, but the writing (and therefore reading) style of the book left a poor taste in my mouth. Read Spoto's biography of Alfred Hitchcock instead.
Rating:
Summary: A beautifully woven, scholarly biography of Christ.
Review: I'm not surprised at the negative reactions of the Catholic readers. Replete with integrity & compassion Soto makes no attempt to arbitrarily support conventional stereotypes. Yet in the process he affirms the essential truths of Christ's life and death. I was pleased that, rather than pander to church politics, Soto instead has composed a wonderful prayer. I really question whether the cynics actually read the entire book. I think Jesus would have been delighted by it.
Rating:
Summary: Vague and not very substantial
Review: The author's thesis is that the meaning of Jesus is "hidden," so that each of us has to find it out for ourselves. This makes sense; as the living Word, Jesus is the embodiment of God's truth, which every generation of Christ-followers has to unpack in the context of its own experience. So I was hoping this book would offer some suggestions to help with this. Well, it was a let-down. To be honest, I'm not really sure what the author *did* say throughout most of the book, since I kept zoning out on his vague and seemingly arbitrary statements. Reading it was like eating stale popcorn. It left me with spiritual indigestion, but still hungry for something more substantial. By the way, those who consider anyone who doesn't like this book to be small-minded might be pleasantly surprised to read some Christian classics from the last 2000 years or so. Those old dead guys and gals came up with a variety and depth of Christology far beyond Spoto's, and they did so in the context of a deep love and personal experience of Jesus. (Anyone with a "St." in their name is a good bet.) You might also like Catholic theologian Luke Timothy Johnson, or, if you're willing to bite the bullet and read a Christian bestseller, Philip Yancey and Max Lucado. Yes, some of these are simpler than Spoto's book. But intellectual complexity for its own sake isn't a Christian virtue. Jesus doesn't say that the kingdom belongs to investigative journalists; he says it belongs to the little children -- trusting and simple. That's the message that tends to get "hidden" in our times.
Rating:
Summary: Spoto Believes
Review: The foolishness of today's scholars is that they study the heartfelt testimonies of changed men with such scrutiny that they have grown cold to the wonder of faith. Jesus was the Son of God. He taught for only 3 years, but his message impacted the civilized world and continues to penetrate further. Donald Spoto sees the Gospels with his intellect but allows his lambent and powerful child-like faith to blast away intellectual snobery. Though I do not agree with all of Spoto's views, I commend him for narrating thoughtfully and carefully the culture Jesus challenged for the sake of the world.
Rating:
Summary: eh
Review: This is a lousy book, but I'm glad that it is. Let me explain
myself--on both counts. Spoto is a biographer who has written numerous biographies (see the list on p. iii). At the beginning of Chapter 4 he discusses the perspective of the biographer, but the question that arises is: Why didn't he develop his ideas on this more, put them at the beginning of the book, and then use a biographer's unique perspective in his writing about Jesus? He then could have written a unique and valuable book, one using a perspective different from that of the scholar who is simply a Jesus specialist. But instead it is evident from his writing that he hurriedly put some thoughts down on paper without thinking them through carefully, and without spending much (any?) time editing his writing so that it would have coherence. On the other hand, I'm glad that he slapped the book together. The adult discussion group at the church I attend is currently discussing his book...and the book provides an excellent basis for discussion precisely because it is so lousy!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book about Christ and His meaning for modern man
Review: What a fascinating and exciting book! It's fascinating because at least in my some 16 years of Catholic education throughout grade school to high school and college an in-depth analysis of Jesus' life really wasn't part of the religious education; this book details enormously interesting details of the life of Christ. It's exciting because of the emphasis given and arguments for the presence of the risen Christ in our midst today, not just 2000 years ago. Do I disagree or have doubts about some of Spoto's assertions (was Christ really born in Bethlehem, did He have brothers and sisters, did He know He was God, did his parents know He was God, can one beleive in capital punishment and still be a Christian)? Clearly, yes, I disagree with some of his points. But there are no critical or essential points of the Christian faith(or Catholic faith for that matter) that are disputed by him. I do not for a second doubt the author's love and belief in the risen Christ "that the gospels proclaim". The greatest asset of this book is in it's elucidation of God's ever present love and compassion for us and how we find the "hidden Jesus" in our lives. This truly is a wonderful book that strengthens one's faith and love in Jesus Christ, our risen lord. Highly recommended!
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