The Silence of Jesus: The Authentic Voice of the Historical Man

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Summary: The Political Spin of the Evangelists
Review: This book is so good that I've not been able to keep a copy--always giving my copy away. Breech writes clearly and makes very convincing points. He contends that since the evangelists wrote with specific purposes--to convince the world of the divinity of Jesus--the actual words spoken by Jesus in the four gospels must be scrutinized. This might be compared to the credence deserved by a presidential candidate's campaign manager. I suspect that the term "political spin" was not in use when Breech wrote this masterpiece. Although some truth can be found in political spinmeisters' writings and oratory, their purpose is not to disclose or uncover truth. Breech is thus suspicious of much of what the evangelists claim Jesus actually said. Jesus' parables, however, do not seem to teem with the typical divinity spin: they are even problematic in terms of advancing the divinity case. Because of their confusing nature, Breech contends that they were likely actually spoken by Jesus. The writer spends the bulk of the book in deducing what the original parables may have been. I recommend this wonderful book to all thinkers interested in religious topics. I wish it were required reading at the university level. That this book is out of print is a general indictment of our brainless culture.

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Summary: The Silence of Jesus--Hearing what is and is not said.
Review: This is such a helpful book, especially perhaps for non-Christians who would like to understand what Jesus was about, that it would be good to see it back in print. Prof. Breech wants to silence all the interpretations, apprehensions and assumptions that are often imposed on the Gospel text and hear as clearly as possible what Jesus actually said, what he did NOT say, what he noticed and where he directs the listener's attention. Many scholarly works even in English have ponderous Teutonic sentences with many subclauses and a verb at the end that modify the subject so much it's difficult sometimes to remember what the subject was! Prof. Breech means to be heard himself, and understood. His language is clear and orderly. A book to read, think about, and after a while, and a personal grapple with the Gospel texts, to re-read.