Jesus; A Biography from a Believer - Book 34

My book this week was Jesus; A Biography from a Believer by Paul Johnson. I found this book perusing the shelves of my local library. I recognized the author's name as Paul Johnson is a fairly well known historian. He's been recommended on the Well Trained Mind High School list. In fact I have his book on A History of the American People which I started to read a couple of years ago when I was teaching American History to my oldest two kids. I remember really enjoying it, but life got super busy and I got bogged down so it was one of those books that I have left unread much to my own shame and dismay! Anyway, that former encounter with Johnson was enough to make me take this book on Jesus home with me.

Johnson is a good historian but a little quirky, I think. He'll be going along telling you history in a surprisingly easy to read and very clear way and then suddenly he'll just introduce his own personal opinion about something. I don't always agree with him, but he's interesting and gives a lot of food for thought. Often he'll explain something in a way I had never thought of before. I might decide I reject that perspective but there is something refreshing and unstuffy about the way he does this. He's a pleasant read.

He also can turn a phrase quite nicely. One quote that stayed with me (there were more than this example) is this, when he is talking about Jesus's teaching style:

All the time he taught he was creating little pictures in the minds of the men and women who listened to him. He was the poet of virtue, the bard of righteousness, the minstrel of divine love.

The book is sprinkled through with those kinds of observations.

I also really liked the way Johnson organized his material. The Book is divided by chapters:

1) Birth, Childhood, Youth

2) Baptism, Temptation and the Apostles

3) The Danger of Miracles - What was so interesting to me about this chapter was Johnson's theory on why Jesus always tell people not to speak of his miracles.

4) What Jesus Taught and Why

5) Poetry and Parables, Questions and Silence

6) Encounters: Men, Women, Children, The Aged

7) Jesus's New Ten Commandments - This chapter was especially thought-provoking and introduced a lot of Johnson's own spin on the Gospels. Here's a quote:

The aim of Jesus was not to change the world. His aim was to fit its inhabitants for the Kingdom of God, which he insisted, "is not of this world."

8) Jesus's Trial and Crucifixion

9) The Resurrection and the Birth of Christianity

As I said before, I'm not sure I agree with Johnson's take on things all the time, but he is really insightful in some areas, and he often gave me food for thought, or presented well known information in a new light.

I thought this was a worthy read.

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