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Summary: Phillip Yancey's Masterpiece
Review: I began this book with some hope of finding some new writing on the life of Jesus. I was not disappointed. While I thought the book was going to be a bit slow, as Yancey gets to the sermon on the mount, and in particular, the beatitudes, his writing and analysis become positively brilliant. His passion for Christ is elevated and his writing becomes inspired. From that point to the end of the book and the Ascension, his writing is a page turner. I could not put it down and left with a new understanding of things that I had not received from any other writer since William Barclay (Daily Study Bible). Yancey has a masterpiece here. It belongs on every Christian's shelf.
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Summary: The Jesus I Never Knew
Review: **** In the last eighteen months or so, the question of ''who is Jesus" has been on the minds of many. Although this is not actually a new book, it does answer the question to a great extent, stripping away the Hollywood images to reveal the man who could be termed "a good Jew", and still is the Son of God. Through the lens of the culture into which He came and the affect His life has had since then, Mr Yancy paints a moving portrait. This is not one of his more contraversial books, but it is one of his best. ****
Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.
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Summary: "Human History Hung in the Balance"-Philip Yancey
Review: That statement is found in the fourth chapter entitled Temptation: Showdown in the Desert.
I read this book many years ago, and this chapter has stuck in my mind all those years. I loved how Yancey treats those few verses found in the gospels about Christ's temptation in the Judean desert which is just south of Jerusalem. He mentions that John Milton, in a sequel to Paradise Lost, saw the temptation rather than the crucifixion as Christ's most pivotal moment. As a christian myself, I think it is extremely critical to understand G_d's nature as opposed to satan's because it is written in 2 Corinthians 11:14 no wonder, for even satan disguises himself as an angel of light. The differences between satan and G_d are seen most clearly in the brief exchanges that occur between them found in Matthew 4:3-11, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:1-13. It's something to think about; Christ, the Creator of all created, would turn down fame (although He is pretty famous today), would turn down power, would turn down showmanship. Yancey phrases Christ's actions this way, borrowing Dostoyevsky's words from the Grand Inquisitor in Brothers Karamazov, He turned down "miracle, mystery, and authority."
And anyway, I've often reflected, why should G_d work miracles in front of people who won't believe, even if they are razzled and dazzled???
I personally prefer this book over What's So Amazing About Grace, maybe because I've heard so much on the subject of grace, that not much is new to me. Also, it's always a good exercise to reflect on who Jesus really is, to reflect on His teachings, His life.
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Summary: The Best Book That I Have Ever Read
Review: This is the best book that I have ever read in my life. Period. A truly, phenomenal effort. The book is so well-written that it almost reads itself. One critic called it the best book written about Jesus in the 20th Century. Probably true. An agnostic that I know called it an impartial examination into the person Jesus.
I'll be honest, I haven't liked all of Yancey's books. A few of his books have seemed forced, whereas a few others are well written. As for this book, it is so far above anything Yancey (or anybody else, for that matter) has written. Read it and pass it on. I have lended my copy to so many people that I have had to buy extra copies.
This book makes you feel good about being a Christian. Plain and simple.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Reading
Review: I grew up Roman Catholic and loved Jesus very much. I grew apart from my religion in my early 20s because of the intense dogma associated with all main stream religions. I was hoping to find a in-depth look at Jesus from reading this book, but I came across the usual blind faith from people who believe in the Bible literally. It put me off main stream religions for good. I'd rather find my own spiritually through my self via meditation and being a good person, then believing words from patriarchal religious leaders with their own agenda. Wouldn't it be great if there was an old, unaltered text about the true Jesus Christ?
Rating: 
Summary: Passionate, yet off-base
Review: Why does Christianity, alone among the world's great religions, feel compelled to prove itself by non-theological means? Why is there such an emphatic search for such items as Noah's Ark or the Walls of Jericho or the tomb of Jesus? Islam, Buddhism, Judaism nor Hinduism does this and one must at some time ask why. And why the obsession with "discovering Jesus"?This book is an attempt by the author to find the "real" Jesus. One would think that after 2,000 years of worshiping the man, he would be well known but the interest is greater today than ever. The Jesus Seminar with its scholars, archeologists, sociologists, linguists and historians have been trying to do the same thing for years. The problem here is that the author uses the New Testament as the basis for his studies. In one way that is entirely logical - they are the only writings that exist about Jesus. But one must assume that they are not only theologically but historically accurate in order to reach Yancey's conclusions. That means assuming that they were written for the purpose of history rather than theology and that has pretty well been discounted. It's like debating a skeptic by quoting Scripture. We have a review of Christianity's past along with all the requisite apologies. Then for some reason we veer into the subject of AIDS and world hunger, etc... But the heart of the matter is what Yancey perceives as the "real" Jesus as found in the New Testament words attributed to him. It should be noted that "Jesus Christ" is not a proper name and many of our ideas about him evolved slowly, emerging only after pitched battles between different groups. Christianity almost remained a small, Orthodox, Jewish sect that believed that Jeshua was a very human Messiah who had come to set up an Earthly Kingdom and would return soon.
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