Rating: 
Summary: One to read and think about.
Review: I liked this book from the standpoint that it caused me to think about things. Not being a biblical scholar or theologian, I tried to relate as a human with some reasonable religious training (albeit one dimensional). The book was readable and thought provoking. It prompted me to analyze things and satisfy myself as to the significance of God in my life. Can you ask much more of a book?
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful massage for the brain
Review: I loved this book. It was like a breath of fresh air into the dusty world of theology. If this is the kind of material you like, check out the even more astonishing "THE Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years" by Richard G. Patton. Patton reveals the living , breathing human being that was Jesus and Miles reveals his 'Dad'. The two of these would be the perfect present for anyone wondering if there is anything beyond what the scriptures have already told us!
Rating: 
Summary: I did not like it.
Review: I must apologize because I did not truly read this book so I gave it
a 5. I suppose if I had read it I would have given it a 1. I saw an interview with the author and I was disturbed by what I heard. I am a Christian who believes in the sovereignty of the Lord God
Almighty. It is not possible to know and understand God without
first acknowledging Him as the Creator and Sustainer of life. Any
attempt to do otherwise would be neglecting God of His due praise and adoration. I pray that the Lord will open Jack Miles' heart and
show him what he missed when he wrote this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Uninteresting
Review: I'm not entirely sure why this book has received such aclaim. Miles's commentary is uninteresting and he doesn't contribute any profound insights. His interesting points are few and far between and he manages to say very little about each topic he covers. I applaud him in his effort -- the idea behind the book is a good one. Miles is just unable to really pull it off.
Rating:
Summary: God or aliens?
Review: If I were to have asked a serious investigative reporter to read all the books alleging that God was an alien and ask the investigator to critically analyze the Bible for any supporting evidence, this is the book that would have resulted. The tact of approaching the project as a critical literary review and analysis was brilliant on the part of the author - otherwise it would have never received serious reading.
There are only two conclusions any serious seeker of the truth can come to after reading this book. The first is that God and the Lord (the author provides convincing analysis that they were two distinct entities), were indeed advanced alien visitors per author Zecharia Sitchin and others. The other option is that God is not perfect, all knowing, etc., and that we are His "sensory organs" for learning about the universe (i.e., His tools for self-awareness and self-knowledge). Hence, if this is true He is on a journey of self-discovery through us and therefore no better than us.
Either conclusion shakes the foundations of organized religion. Only read this book if you are prepared to have your core beliefs challenged.
Rating:
Summary: Compare chapter on JOB with the Melian Dialouge
Review: If we accept Jack Miles retranslation, the Book of Job should be read side by side with the Melian Dialouge from Thucidydies. For the Athenians at Melos, justice was relevant only among equals in power. The "strong do what they will & the weak suffer what they must." The Athenians do unto the Melians precisely because they believe the Melians would do unto them given the chance. The Golden Rule becomes "Do unto others BEFORE they do unto you!"
In Miles translation, JOB is defiant to the end, "... now that my eyes have seen you, I shudder with sorrow for mortal clay."
The Lord God, however, unlike the Athenians does not crush JOB but restores his position. Miles reminds us that the story revolves around a wager between Satan and God. Satan tells God that Job worships out of eagerness for reward or fear of punishment. When Job defies the UNIDENTIFIED VOICE speaking from the vortex, he denies that Might makes Right and therefore reaffirms that his love of God DOES NOT derive from fear of punishment or promise of reward.
Miles translation of Job's final answer allows God to win the wager with Satan. Miles also suggests, as have others, that Western Civ was largely formed by the interplay between our intellectual heritage arising in Athens and the heritage arising in Jerusalem. His retranslation of JOB becomes one of the earliest declarations that justice is to be valued for its own sake whether or not a reward or punishment is expected.
Rating:
Summary: Who judges whom?
Review: If you are a christian your first reaction upon looking at this book might be to shudder and shy away. Yet another attempt to deconstruct God and reinterpret Him for our day and age you might say. Yes, there is a certain amount of that, but it is important for christians to be able to engage with this kind of exegesis too. Even a very flawed interpretation can yield new insights, and Miles' work certainly provides new depth and context in many ways. He definitely brings linguistic and socio-cultural historiographic strengths to the work, and he conducts an important exercise in breaking down the different images of God as seen through the eyes of the different authors of the Hebrew Bible.His political history is a little weak, and I think he would agree with that statement based on his disclaimers at the front of the book. The other frustrating thing about his work is that it is incomplete -- the literary biography of God has to be coupled with the literary biography of the Jewish people -- they are an extremely important "character" in the Bible, and the character of God that Miles describes is really the character of God as seen through the eyes of the Jewish people. In other words, this really should have been more of a three part discussion -- (1) the character of God, (2) the character of the Jewish people, and (3) how their character shaped their view of God and their relationship to Him. It's not so much that the narrator or narrative is fallible, as that the story of God is incomplete and incompletely understood. Given these constraints, Miles narrative is one of extremes. At some levels, it provides an extreme close-up view -- delving into the religious practices of the Israelites' neighbors, or discussing the multiple meanings of a given Hebrew word and its various alternatives. At other times, it provides broad brush strokes and makes gross assertions (ie God's stance towards sex) that aren't as substantiated as they could be. These are all qualities of an interesting and provocative study -- the reader will definitely be stimulated, but also show why Miles is not compelling in the end, and oddly, at least from my perspective, a little superficial. A book like Miles' God is a challenge to christians and non-christians alike, and worth the investment of time to read it, but if you are engaging in a study of God, it would be well worth it to return to the primary source again afterwards.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting And Provocative But Not Compelling
Review: If you are a christian your first reaction upon looking at this book might be to shudder and shy away. Yet another attempt to deconstruct God and reinterpret Him for our day and age you might say. Yes, there is a certain amount of that, but it is important for christians to be able to engage with this kind of exegesis too. Even a very flawed interpretation can yield new insights, and Miles' work certainly provides new depth and context in many ways. He definitely brings linguistic and socio-cultural historiographic strengths to the work, and he conducts an important exercise in breaking down the different images of God as seen through the eyes of the different authors of the Hebrew Bible. His political history is a little weak, and I think he would agree with that statement based on his disclaimers at the front of the book. The other frustrating thing about his work is that it is incomplete -- the literary biography of God has to be coupled with the literary biography of the Jewish people -- they are an extremely important "character" in the Bible, and the character of God that Miles describes is really the character of God as seen through the eyes of the Jewish people. In other words, this really should have been more of a three part discussion -- (1) the character of God, (2) the character of the Jewish people, and (3) how their character shaped their view of God and their relationship to Him. It's not so much that the narrator or narrative is fallible, as that the story of God is incomplete and incompletely understood. Given these constraints, Miles narrative is one of extremes. At some levels, it provides an extreme close-up view -- delving into the religious practices of the Israelites' neighbors, or discussing the multiple meanings of a given Hebrew word and its various alternatives. At other times, it provides broad brush strokes and makes gross assertions (ie God's stance towards sex) that aren't as substantiated as they could be. These are all qualities of an interesting and provocative study -- the reader will definitely be stimulated, but also show why Miles is not compelling in the end, and oddly, at least from my perspective, a little superficial. A book like Miles' God is a challenge to christians and non-christians alike, and worth the investment of time to read it, but if you are engaging in a study of God, it would be well worth it to return to the primary source again afterwards.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing work
Review: In "God: A Biography," Jack Miles attempts to flesh out, both physically, emotionally and spiritually, the God of the Old Testament. This book is not a typical biography, in that it is not a chronological tellign of God's growth as a person and the major events in his life. Rather, the book is a series of interpretations (and perhaps assumptions) of God's actions and interactions with the Israelites and all of His followers, and as such it succeeds brilliantly. The structure of the book was vital to its success: Miles titles each chapter under a broad element or theme of God's character, and throughout the chapter goes into more minute detail about what God did that brought the author to that decision. The interpretation of God here is near absolute; Miles selects incredibly applicable sections of the Bible from which to come to his hypotheses, and through his lucid and accessible writing one is able to understand God and his metamorphosis from Creator and Friend to recluse and silent observer. This book is a thunderous addition to Christian literature and should be read by all who would like more in-depth idea of God's influence and identity.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing work
Review: In "God: A Biography," Jack Miles attempts to flesh out, both physically, emotionally and spiritually, the God of the Old Testament. This book is not a typical biography, in that it is not a chronological tellign of God's growth as a person and the major events in his life. Rather, the book is a series of interpretations (and perhaps assumptions) of God's actions and interactions with the Israelites and all of His followers, and as such it succeeds brilliantly. The structure of the book was vital to its success: Miles titles each chapter under a broad element or theme of God's character, and throughout the chapter goes into more minute detail about what God did that brought the author to that decision. The interpretation of God here is near absolute; Miles selects incredibly applicable sections of the Bible from which to come to his hypotheses, and through his lucid and accessible writing one is able to understand God and his metamorphosis from Creator and Friend to recluse and silent observer. This book is a thunderous addition to Christian literature and should be read by all who would like more in-depth idea of God's influence and identity.
|
