Saturday, June 30, 2001
Jesus Through the Centuries
by Jaroslav Pelikan
Yet another treasure snapped up at the Friends of the Seattle Public Library book sale. This book is a brief look at the perception of Jesus through the centuries by the "Christian" culture. While Jesus Himself has not changed over the centuries, the way His followers perceive Him has. Pelikan breaks the book up into 18 different roles that have at one point in history been the dominant perception of Jesus of Nazareth. In each chapter, Pelikan explains the concept, showcases those who held it and shows how it in turn is reflected in their actions. It's fascinating how so many can take the same source material, the Bible, and see different things in it. It's also a bit humbling as I'm forced to realize that my own beliefs about Jesus are not necessarily a pure doctrine delivered directly to me by the Holy Spirit, but rather are teachings that have been handed down and flavored by generations of scholars, philosophers and teachers. And maybe even a prophet or two. This is a must read for those interested in Jesus and history, which is why it's going on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Yet another treasure snapped up at the Friends of the Seattle Public Library book sale. This book is a brief look at the perception of Jesus through the centuries by the "Christian" culture. While Jesus Himself has not changed over the centuries, the way His followers perceive Him has. Pelikan breaks the book up into 18 different roles that have at one point in history been the dominant perception of Jesus of Nazareth. In each chapter, Pelikan explains the concept, showcases those who held it and shows how it in turn is reflected in their actions. It's fascinating how so many can take the same source material, the Bible, and see different things in it. It's also a bit humbling as I'm forced to realize that my own beliefs about Jesus are not necessarily a pure doctrine delivered directly to me by the Holy Spirit, but rather are teachings that have been handed down and flavored by generations of scholars, philosophers and teachers. And maybe even a prophet or two. This is a must read for those interested in Jesus and history, which is why it's going on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf
Friday, June 15, 2001
Constitution
by Michael Jan Friedman
(Uh oh, two Star Trek books in a row. Either I've been traveling or I've been really stressed.) This is the second in the "My Brother's Keeper" trilogy, which is set right after the Star Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". I read and reviewed the first installment, Republic, last year. I liked this one better, for some reason. Maybe it's because there's less soap opera and more action. Kind of like the original show. Anyway, in Constitution, Kirk is dealing with the aftermath of his ill fated mission and the loss of his friend Gary Mitchell. In the process of this, he flashes back to an earlier adventure he shared with Gary. Like I said, there's a lot of action and drama under fire. The young Kirk has to prove himself as a commander and Gary helped him do it. I suspect that the third volume of this trilogy will be another flashback, perhaps even tying all three novels together. Then again, maybe it'll be set in "real" time. There is a mystery that builds up over the first two installments, and since there's no advertising for part four, I'm assuming that thread, at least, gets resolved. I'll let you know after I read it. (I suppose to be consistent I should wait until June 2002.) Anyway, I'd rate this as good waiting room material. It might have rated higher, but there's too many links to volume 1 to make this a good, stand-alone read.
LibraryThing link
(Uh oh, two Star Trek books in a row. Either I've been traveling or I've been really stressed.) This is the second in the "My Brother's Keeper" trilogy, which is set right after the Star Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". I read and reviewed the first installment, Republic, last year. I liked this one better, for some reason. Maybe it's because there's less soap opera and more action. Kind of like the original show. Anyway, in Constitution, Kirk is dealing with the aftermath of his ill fated mission and the loss of his friend Gary Mitchell. In the process of this, he flashes back to an earlier adventure he shared with Gary. Like I said, there's a lot of action and drama under fire. The young Kirk has to prove himself as a commander and Gary helped him do it. I suspect that the third volume of this trilogy will be another flashback, perhaps even tying all three novels together. Then again, maybe it'll be set in "real" time. There is a mystery that builds up over the first two installments, and since there's no advertising for part four, I'm assuming that thread, at least, gets resolved. I'll let you know after I read it. (I suppose to be consistent I should wait until June 2002.) Anyway, I'd rate this as good waiting room material. It might have rated higher, but there's too many links to volume 1 to make this a good, stand-alone read.
LibraryThing link
Labels: MichaelJanFriedman, StarTrek, WaitingRoomMaterial
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