JOSHUA

Rating:
Summary: This Book Changed My Life
Review: I purchased JOSHUA only because I knew Father Girzone many many years ago and I was curious about what he may have written.

JOSHUA is a simple story about Jesus (Joshua) living in modern times. The message Joshua delivers gives comfort to those of us who have been raised with the strict rules of the Catholic church accompanied by the feeling that you can never quite "measure up." THE BOOK CHANGED MY LIFE ! JOSHUA strengthened my faith by giving me a simplistic version of Jesus' message without all of the "excess baggage" that accompanies organized religion.

Many thanks to Father Girzone for the gift he has bestowed on his readers -- a clearer understanding of God's love for us. I read reviews that pointed out "flaws" in the writing. If the message shines through (which it obviously did by reading the reviews) - then the writing was perfect ! ! A must read for EVERYONE ....

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: I've often been curious about what would REALLY happen if Jesus came back and walked among us today as a regular person.

As a parable, I think this book has much to offer. Joshua is a kind, Godly individual, who models Christian humility, inclusiveness, dignity and values. It succeeds in getting it's message across about dealing with people and inclusiveness.

However, I think the portrayals of some clergy seem to be a little stereotyped and the book makes me wonder whether the author had some unresolved issues with Catholic Church hierarchy. Also, the ending seemed a bit contrived. Still, parables can have happy endings, I suppose.

I did enjoy reading this and watching the Joshua character develop. As religious fiction, it certainly succeeds as a gentle, thought-provoking read.

Rating:
Summary: Simple to read, yet profound in message.
Review: I was at first taken aback by the authors very simple, straightforward style of writing. But the story immediately caught my attention and I couldn't wait to finish it. It is part curiosity and part hope that keeps you turning pages through the amazingly *possible* situation that reveals itself so quietly but with the boom of thunder in your ears. Great reading, great writing, great story, great hope.

Rating:
Summary: The message may be worthy, but the method falls way short.
Review: I built up alot of great expectations after reading all the glowing reviews for this book in Amazon, etc. But when my wife and I started to read it together, we just kept hoping it would improve. It didn't. The message is worthy, and fairly simple, but I truly feel the author has a terrible way of conveying it. First, I'm disappointed that the publishers didn't proofread it better. There are many more grammatical and useage errors than should occur in a big-name book. Second, though Fr. Girzone clearly is committed to the philosophical line he preaches, he doesn't have much of a handle on either the way real people act and talk, or on contemporary issues - the kinds of things which would confront a modern-day incarnation of Jesus. His prose jumps from cursory descriptions of people and events - into unneccessarily long and detailed stuff about things of little value to the "parable". And I hate to admit it, but after about the fifth repetition of Joshua's main message, delivered each time in a sincere but preachy style, I got tired of it. Yes, I agree with the message, but this book is sloooooow going, and will probably be frustrating to anyone who had a good English and Creative Writing teacher in school.

Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY moving
Review: My mother-in-law is the one responsible for getting me to read this book. We were having a discussion nearly a month ago about faith-inspiring books. She handed me a copy of Joshua and insisted that I read it. I did and, although I would not say that it ranks with my favorite books, I did find it a rather enjoyable and moving story.

Joshua is very simply written; the fact that Girzone was a novice author at the time he wrote it definitely shows in the writing style. However, the simplicity of the writing lends itself to a very easy read.

In addition to the writing style being very simplistic, so too is its message. Girzone is very direct and repetitive (almost to the point of being annoying) with the message he is trying to convey. In doing so, he avoids the possibility of misinterpretation but, at the same time, prevents the message from having much depth; very little is left to the imagination.

I found the book enjoyable and worth the time I spent reading it, but I didn't find it as profoundly inspiring as my mother-in-law had (for me, Clowns of God by Morris West had a much deeper impact). However, Joshua does have a good message, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get in touch with their spiritual side.

Rating:
Summary: A Portrayal of Christ Among Us
Review: Father Girzone has authored an interesting portrayal of what might happen if Christ came to live amongst us today. I very much enjoyed Father Girzone's perception of the humanity of Christ and how he might think and act. To that end, I enjoyed Joshua the person and liked him very much.

One impediment to any effort along the lines of portraying the thoughts of God the Son is that it would always be colored by our own biases of what should be and what should not be. So, not surprisingly, Joshua is really projected through the eyes of the author's views of authority, the Law and human bondage to sin.

I will qualify my critique of Father Girzone's message by beginning with the statement that I did not view this book as an attack on the orthodoxy of the Catholic faith. Joshua is much more concerned with human practices within the Church which may color people's relationship with Christ. Father Girzone does not attach Catholic doctrine. And so, his approach is far more nuanced that has been suggested by some critics.

However, Father Girzone's bias against institutions speaks loud and clear through Joshua. I believe he presents a false dichotomy in pitting a loving relationship with Christ against Church. The Church is a living institution complete with the faults and merits of those who are chosen by God to administer that institution. To that end, I agree with Father Girzone's critique that such administrators (i.e., bishops) exist to serve and not rule over the faithful. But once again, I believe Father Girzone runs slightly afoul by arguing through this book that the exercise of the power to bind and loose inevitably leads to exploitation of the faithful and a lessening of their walk with God. This need not be.

Nonetheless, this was a pleasant read. I see no "danger" in this book except to those who will easily fall prey to the false dichotomy presented. In Father Girzone's ideal Church, bishops would shepherd the flock but would be forbidden to preach as to which is good and which is bad. In the end, the conscience of each individual rule supplants the authority of the very Bride of Christ.

To that end, I have a mixed review. However, I think we should give Father Girzone the benefit of the doubt and look to the positive portrayal of Christ and his ministry of forgiveness and love set forth in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Simple yet profound
Review: This book hooked me. It's simplistic writing wasn't my favorite- it seemed as if it was written for young adults. But by the time I finished the book, I realized that simplicity was the main theme of the book. The writing style was consistent with the entire message. I think it's very hard for modern day Christians to understand Jesus, the man, and how a man today with His values might live/act every day. Even though it is fiction, this book was very helpful in allowing me to understand the intention Jesus has for us in this day and how he expects us to live our lives. The book only failed in that it wasn't realistic at the end where Joshua is called to stand before the Pope. I realize that the author was attempting to make a point and allow Joshua to really test his faith principles with the Earthly pontiff, but it seemed too far fetched. I was right with the story until that last section. I still think it's a worthwhile read. I have personally reflected on it many times since I finished it.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring and thought provoking
Review: I picked up this book not knowing anything about it. I was simply in the library and saw this book on the shelf. I thought it was going to be about the biblical Joshua. Wow, was I surprised and quite delighted! I agree 100% with the author's message in this book. I'll leave it at that.

I did not give it 5 stars as the message could have been delivered in less pages. The story got repetitive after a while.

Overall, I recommend this book to all open minded Jews and Christians. If you are a conservative Christian, don't read this book unless you are very open minded. Else, you'll just get yourself upset.

Rating:
Summary: Joshua Junk
Review: Many Catholics may be lead astray by the Joshua series. Joshua is the champion of the uncatechized "pick and choose", cafeteria Catholic. Basically the recurring theme is this: there's the Joshua Jesus figure who walks the earth preaching love and inclusion vs. the institutional Church with its dogmatic, stifling, and lifeless doctrines. According to Joshua, it doesn't matter, in the end, what Church you belong to or what dogmas you hold as long as you're a nice person. (That's fine if that's what you believe, but it's hardly the Catholic position.) The writing is vapid and boring and reads like a preachy, repetitious, high school essay. Do yourself a favor and save your money. I regret Amazon's rating system doesn't allow me to give it 0 stars.

Rating:
Summary: An overrated, low-impact wash--but readable enough
Review: This book addresses some basic conflicts some people experience regarding denominational Christianity, and Christianity's ambivalent relationship with Judaism. Unfortunately, it doesn't do it very thoroughly, or very gracefully. (From the text: "Joshua, what do you think of religion?").

That the work is so situationally contrived and generally lacking in literary adroitness are two of its key failings. The loose story development depends heavily on unrealistic overreactions to Joshua's innocuous "boat-rocking"; meanwhile, the author's opinions find voice in the protagonist's complaisant responses to unprompted, unmotivated questions from supporting characters.

Occasionally, Girzone embellishes in saccharine interludes to reinforce Joshua's superficial similarity to Christ--at least as far as Sunday School imagery is concerned. On this point, some readers seem to turn a blind eye to the multiple allusions in the text to Joshua's apparent status and former life as Jesus of Nazareth, choosing instead to accept the character merely as a simulation of a 20th Century Jesus. Perhaps such a muddled interpretation is preferable to swallowing this rehashed portrayal of such an uneventful "Second Coming."

JOSHUA is a short and easy read, and it is somewhat enjoyable in parts. While not as inane and poorly-written as Lahaye & Jenkins' /Left Behind/, it is still conciliatory, anticlimactic, and unworthy of interpretive reading. If you're looking for a serious treatment of this subject, please look elsewhere.