The Jesus Papers

The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History
by Michael Baigent
Baigent's earlier book (Holy Blood, Holy Grail) stirred a lawsuit of plagiarism against The Da Vinci Code. Baigent loves the provocative, and this book followed suit. I suspected I might disagree with him, but I set out to give this author/historian a fair shake.

His blatant lack of intellectual integrity, however, was overwhelming.

Baigent references "incontrovertible evidence" (pg 7) that Jesus survived the crucifixion and was alive on earth in A.D. 45. With some digging, we find his source: a letter from Rev. Bartlett who in the 1930s heard that his mentor Canon Lilley had been invited by a former student to Saint Sulpice in the 1890s to translate a document which may have come from Abbe Sauniere. Lilley, by the way, is now deceased, and the document is now either "concealed or destroyed."

Really?

I don't mean to get snarky, but a disappeared document that is (at best) three-times removed is "incontrovertible evidence"?

I had a hard time believing Baigent's future claims after that. Yet it grew worse. He spends dozens of pages debunking the Bible as "bad history... inconsistent, incomplete, garbled, and biased" but then turns and makes an argument for Jesus' cross survival based meticulously on a turn of phrase in Mark's gospel (a rare portion, I suppose, that isn't bad history). To top it off, Baigent even briefly questions Jesus very existence, which (if true) negates all of Baigent's own work. (See also the following MSNBC interview with Baigent)

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The author does finally acknowledge the difficulty of his "evidence," saying that the date itself (A.D. 45) is "the only part of Bartlett's letter that I can accept without dispute or suspicion" (pg 263). I had to wonder why he waited 250 pages to point that out, however.

Baigent seems primarily driven not by fact or historical congruity, but by a thirst for conspiracy theory. (I started counting the number of times he wrote, "Could it be that [such and such]?") Just look at the subtitle: "Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History."

This book masquerades as scholarship, but I'd put it closer to works on Sasquatch and Area 51:

Mildly entertaining with scant facts.


GRADE:
_ _ _ _ F
Not badly written in style, but an insult to intelligence.

Behold... the Man!

Behold... the Man!
by Charles Swindoll
Though I've heard and read the story of the Jesus' death many times over the course of many years, it's amazing how much there is still left to learn.

Swindoll hits many lesser known backgrounds and details of Jesus' final day leading up to the crucifixion. He bases most on the four gospels with some historical accounts. The book begins with the Last Supper and ends at the cross with a short Epilogue addresses the question of why it all happened. The whole book is fairly concise at only 108 pages.

Especially helpful were the included charts in chapter four on the chronology of events and on Jesus' six trials. Most fascinating was chapter five: "The Man Who Missed His Cross" (focusing on the released Barabbas).

My only criticism is merely a personal one. I've never been the biggest fan of Swindoll's writing style--it feels slightly dated. Still, the book is very readable and the content makes it a valuable piece.

Worth the read. You will never view the cross the same again.


GRADE:
_ B _ _ _
Not fantastic writing, but great (and concise) content.

The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross

The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross
by A. W. Pink
I breathed a sigh of satisfaction when I finished the last sentence of this book. Pink is eloquent and powerful, even decades after his death. In no overstatement, this book is truly great.

Pink mentions that it was the goal of ancient Greeks to say much in little: "to give a sea of matter in a drop of language." Nearly all of these 139 pages gave oceans of matter.

The book is divided into seven chapters based on each of Christ's final words on the cross with seven points under each. Pink adds his own perceptive observances often, supporting them with frequent Scripture.

I found myself writing "Well said," "So true," and "Interesting perspective" in the margins. Pink's words are sometimes comforting, sometimes challenging, sometimes chilling... but always thoughtful and theologically sound.

My only criticism--and it is a minuscule one--is that once or twice (to meet his seven-point format) he stretches a single point into two. Still, Pink has a way of presenting the same material in a fresh way.

Pink's own dying words were: "The Scriptures explain themselves." Clearly, he was a man who knew and loved those very Scriptures. His words will ring true for decades yet to come.

Good for the soul.


GRADE:
A _ _ _ _
Beautiful topic, beautifully written.

The Gospel According to Starbucks

The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living With a Grande Passion
by Leonard Sweet
Most books have both good and bad points in them. But every so often, I run across a book that has practically no redeeming value. This was one of those books.

Bluntly, it was one of the worst books I've read.

The essence of the book's message: Church should be E.P.I.C. (Experiential, Participatory, Image-Rich, Connecting). Starbucks does EPIC really well. Therefore, the church could learn a lot from Starbucks.

The format takes each letter (E.P.I.C.) and covers a chapter on how Starbucks enacts that letter, followed by a chapter on how the church could follow sync. It is ridiculous, offensive, and flirting with blasphemy to have God saying, "Wow, Starbucks has a great thing going there. Let's try that." (By the way, the Epilogue is entitled "Jehovah Java.")

The content is way off base. But the style is also lacking. Sweet extends his metaphors far beyond bounds of sense and interest. Boxes within the pages (with themed titles like "Brewed for Thought" and "Grounds for Truth") attempt to stir thinking, but are usually rhetorical questions with minimal substance. The ideas aren't even fresh, as I've heard this basic message many times before.

Sweet is clearly a coffee aficionado and he knows something of marketing strategy. This book would've been fine (not good, but OK) if it were just on that subject. But when he drags in the gospel according to Starbucks, it's a whole different story.

Don't waste your time on this book.


GRADE:
_ _ _ _ F
Bad content. Bad style. Just bad.

Edward Elgar: Memories of a Variation

Edward Elgar: Memories of a Variation
by Dora M. Penny Powell (Mrs. Richard Powell)
Edward Elgar was either genius or crazy--and I'm leaning toward genius. The orchestra composer interwove a complex puzzle into his music that has since been left unsolved after his death.

This book recounts Elgar's life with emphasis on his second most famous musical piece, "Enigma Variations" (his first was "Pomp and Circumstance"). Enigma takes a basic theme and spins it into 14 variations, each cryptically based on a friend of Elgar.

The identity of the friends have all been discovered. (The author of the book inspired Variation 10, entitled "Dorabella Intermezzo.") But greater still is the overarching enigma. Elgar himself wrote in 1899 (recorded in the book):

"The Enigma I will not explain -- it's 'dark saying' must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the apparent connexion between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme 'goes', but is not played... the chief character is never on stage."

Enigma is the perfect word for it (and for him!).

Elgar's Enigma was never solved. Neither was his famous Dorabella Cipher, a cryptic letter to the author shown in the book appendix. Some of the world's top cryptologists have tried to solve it, but no one has... yet.

A fascinating book on a fascinating man, particularly for the puzzle-lover.


GRADE:
_ B _ _ _
The writing wasn't great, but I curved up for sheer interestingness of topic.

The Shack

The Shack
by William P. Young
I've heard a wide spectrum of responses to this book-- very positive to very negative. I was curious to read it and see where I would fall. My response is: Very uneasy.

Many have said that The Shack isn't meant to be a theological piece and is simply fiction. I disagree. This book was designed to teach through narrative.

A good majority of the book is dialogue, in which Mack (the main character) is being taught by God embodied in three persons. The conversation is not uninteresting (in fact, it was pretty engaging), but it leaves us with the question:

Is the teaching sound?

There are many themes of the book (too many to mention here). But one that stood out is stated by Papa, the female character representing God the Father (who, as written, reminds me of Corrina, Corrina). She says to Mack: "I'm not asking you to believe anything, but I will tell you that you're going to find this day a lot easier if you simply accept what is, instead of trying to fit it into your preconceived notions"(emphasis added).

The Shack is successful in breaking down our notions of God, but I am uneasy about the new notions it gives us to replace them. While I enjoyed the book literarily, it subtly draws us away from Scripture (or God "in a book", as Young calls it). This sets me on edge.

Frankly, it seems much wiser to know God as he has shown himself through his own Word instead of seeing Him through the imagination of a 21st century author.


GRADE:
_ _ _ D _
Engaging narrative, but questionable theology.

The God Delusion

The God Delusion
by Richard Dawkins
Dawkins states the core of his book in chapter two. God is a delusion, he says, because “any creative intelligence, of sufficient complexity to design anything comes into existence only as the end product of an extended process of gradual evolution. Creative intelligences, being evolved, necessarily arrive late in the universe, and therefore cannot be responsible for designing it.”

This is a faulty fundamental assertion, coming though a couple unfounded assumptions. A simple review is far insufficient to hit the particulars, but here are my initial afterthoughts on the book as a whole:

Dawkins is an intelligent man. I respect his value of science, his passion for knowledge, and his search for answers.

Still, Dawkins (and atheist scientists) are not the only thinking people. Some have a faith simply through parental upbringing; others approach God with deep intelligence. Many intelligent people have looked at much of the same facts Dawkins presents and reached the opposite conclusion, faith in God.

I'd hoped Dawkins' book would face more of the “greats” of faith (C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer, Ravi Zacharias, e.g.) and ignore the religious extremists like Ann Coulter and Fred Phelps. Dawkins would be equally upset if I used the opinions of the wilder atheists (see YouTuber TheAmazingAtheist, for a public example) to represent him.

Admittedly I had a few misconceptions about Dawkins and aspects of Darwinism (though I still think it incorrect, having examined further). Dawkins, however, also has his own misconceptions about Christianity--and Judaism, Islam, and others.

Throughout the book, I get the feel that Dawkins believes not only that humans are evolved, but also that smarter humans are evolved further still. (This, by the way, explains the pomposity that often creeps up through the pages.) If Dawkins views himself as among the most supreme beings, does that make him, in his own eyes... godlike?

This book seems more trendy than anything. He makes a few valid points, but I think it’s mostly popular because it’s an edgy topic.


GRADE:
_ _ C- _ _
If you can read past the arrogance, Dawkins is thoughtful and occasionally correct.

The Jesus I Never Knew

The Jesus I Never Knew
by Philip Yancey
Yancey calls this a look at "Jesus' life 'from below,' as a spectator, one of the many who followed him around." It gives us fresh eyes.

I notice all the preconceived notions and unwarranted assumptions we have about Jesus--especially now, this Christmas season. Sitting in front of me is a manager, the "little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes." The porcelain figure is more a caricature than reality.

What if we didn't have the benefit of knowing Jesus through history's lens? How would we see him then? Who was the Jesus they knew? Yancey has a knack for entering into those questions without completely deconstructing everything (as some postmodern authors do).

Yancey dives deeply, yet writes lightly. I found myself writing "hmm," "good question," and "interesting perspective" in the margins. Yancey has a rare way of making the profound digestible and understandable.

I would call this a must-read. But (as Yancey would agree) the best way to see the true Jesus is through the Bible--in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Still, this makes a great companion. Well-worth reading.


GRADE:
A- _ _ _ _
Not Yancey's best, but still great.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
by Annie Dillard
“We wake, if we ever wake at all, to mystery, rumors of death, beauty, violence.”

Whatever Dillard came searching for down at Tinker Creek in Virginia, she found this. It emerged in simple forms of mantises, sycamores, muskrats, and parasitic insects.

No matter how I slice the book, I will drain it of its juice. Dillard is a masterful wordsmith with an eye for mundane richness. She dabbles in biology, theology, philosophy, entomology, and physics. While standing on old stumps, she reaches handfuls of clouds.

“Say even that you are sitting across the kitchen table from me right now. Our eyes meet; a consciousness snaps back and forth. What we know, at least for starters, is: here we--so incontrovertibly--are. This is our life, these are our lighted seasons, and then we die…. In the meantime, in between time, we can see.” (Chapter 8)

I’m not sure how else to describe this book except that it is a commentary on seeing. Annie Dillard, who is “in the market for some present tense,” has a knack for seeing. And she shares it. At one point, I put down the book and looked (really looked) at my own hand. Dillard gave me new eyes.

If you didn’t like Thoreau’s Walden genre, this won’t be for you. Otherwise, it’s a truly beautiful, thoughtful meditation well worth the pilgrimage.


GRADE:
A _ _ _ _
Bold, beautiful, breath-taking, breath-examining

Man's Search for Meaning

Man's Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl
I loved this book--UNTIL the second half. Then I couldn't believe the inconsistencies I was reading. The first half recounts Frankl's own experience in Auschwitz from his psychiatrist perspective (fascinating). The second describes Frankl's view on how to define life's meaning (overextended). He writes:

"It is, therefore, up to the patient to decide whether he should interpret his life task as being responsible to society or to his own conscience."

I was shocked to read such a relativistic viewpoint, one that validates even the very Nazi oppression that had torn him apart. Jewish, Christian, or otherwise, it just doesn't make sense. Overall, interesting thoughts but deeply flawed philosophy. Read only critically.


GRADE:
_ _ _ D+ _
Good as WWII personal story, but falls flat when crossing into existential ideas.

Giants

Giants
by Charles DeLoach
This isn't some Lord of the Rings fantasy piece. An ex-journalist with no agenda except mere fascination undertook a comprehensive combing of history books for actual accounts of giants over the ages.

The book style is A to Z reference format, but I used the Chronological Index in the back to follow their timeline--much easier. Biblical giantry is particularly well-accounted, though he also records many giants outside that era.

While most is recorded history, DeLoach also includes a slight bit of his own commentary. His "Origin of the Giants" theory is a bit far-fetched and over-extended in my opinion, but his take on "Graveyards of the Giants" is well-founded. He writes:

"Since they are people, even historians are sometimes given to exaggeration, and a few now and then even to outright lying. So can we really believe that some giants stood fourteen, seventeen, or even twenty-two feet tall? We can, for in addition to the historians' mostly reliable accounts, we have from the graveyards of the giants irrefutable evidence that some of that tremendous size once lived on earth."

Fascinating. Maybe David's Goliath story wasn't just a story after all.

For the person into historical giants, this is by far the best (and possibly only) book of its kind. Well worth reading.


GRADE:
_ B+ _ _ _
Comprehensive, but could've used a tidier format.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians

Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile
by Rob Bell
Rob Bell writes with a silver pen, both a blessing and a curse. He has a smooth, compelling writing style, which is easy to follow but often blurs the line between truth and opinion.

Things that concerned me: Bell dangerously flirts with the notion that all humanity will be saved, he grows more human-centered than Christ-centered (i.e. We become the Eucharist), and he stretches Biblical analogies far beyond their intended (or logical) limits.

Things that challenged me: Bell presents a startling picture of the Western church that is self-consumed and generally true. It was a good reality check. (This is Chapter 5: the only chapter, in my opinion, without significant theological holes.)

Overall, a smooth read (but not as seamless as his previous two). Above all, it should be read with an especially discerning eye. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. There are other books on a similar topic that have a more solid base.


GRADE:
_ _ C- _ _

But if you count the cover art, C+ (because it's just cool).