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The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)

Thomas Cahill

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Total reviews: 141 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

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The author of the runaway bestseller How the Irish Saved Civilization has done it again. In The Gifts of the Jews Thomas Cahill takes us on another enchanting journey into history, once again recreating a time when the actions of a small band of people had repercussions that are still felt today.



The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endless cycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinning ceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see time differently. For them, time had a beginning and an end; it was a narrative, whose triumphant conclusion would come in the future. From this insight came a new conception of men and women as individuals with unique destinies--a conception that would inform the Declaration of Independence--and our hopeful belief in progress and the sense that tomorrow can be better than today. As Thomas Cahill narrates this momentous shift, he also explains the real significance of such Biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Pharaoh, Joshua, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.



Full of compelling stories, insights and humor, The Gifts of the Jews is an irresistible exploration of history as fascinating and fun as How the Irish Saved Civilization.

More Than a Carpenter

Josh McDowell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 169 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A long review of a short book 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The shortness of this book is both its strength and weakness, but I definitely enjoyed it for what it was.
He attempts to make the argument that science is invalid when investigating something that already happened, or historical events. He says, "The scientific method can be used only to prove repeatable things; it isn't adequate for proving or disproving many questions about a person or history" (page 38). I couldn't possibly disagree more. If we were to adopt McDowell's rather narrow definition of science, then paleontology (the study of the fossil record) should not be considered a science, because fossils aren't "repeatable" (i.e. you can't, and really shouldn't need to, actually see an animal being fossilized to make paleontology possible). Likewise, astronomy, forensic anthropology and archeology should also not be considered sciences, because it is impossible to "repeat" and observe the big bang, or a murder, or an ancient civilization. I consider history (and, in effect, scriptural history) a science because it should require the same sort of evidence seeking as any of the other fields that I mentioned above. A field of study doesn't need to have repeatable results to be considered a science.
I realize that this might just be how we choose to define what "science" is, so I can't really hold this against McDowell. But what I can say is that, even if we adopt his more conservative definition of what the "scientific method" is, I still have quite a few things to say about McDowell's claims. For one, if he's claiming that someone in history literally rose after being dead after three days, then that's something that most definitely can be repeated and observed. He says "based on overwhelming historical evidence Christians believe that Jesus was bodily resurrected in time and space by the supernatural power of God. The difficulties of belief may be great, but the problems inherent in unbelief present even greater difficulties". Difficulties in disbelief are greater than belief? Oh really? Since the dawn of modern science, there has never been a verified instance of anyone rising from the dead, anywhere at any time (There has, however, been many instances of staged deaths). What's more, in claiming that Jesus literally rose from the dead, he's also undermining all of our current knowledge of human anatomy and of modern medicine. So far, there is no known physical mechanism by which a dead corpse can be reanimated. What's more likely: for all the known laws of physics, medicine and general biology to be completely suspended (such would be necessary for a supernatural event such as a real resurrection), or that there was a simple misunderstanding about Jesus' death? Perhaps the writers of the New Testament felt they had to embellish Jesus' story with a few miracles so that he would seem more believable as the messiah - who knows. There as many things that could potentially explain the account of Jesus' resurrection, but claiming that it was due to a supernatural event that defies all that we know about nature is definitely not the most probable answer.
McDowell actually reveals himself to be a young-earth creationist in chapter 9. If you didn't already know, a young-earth creationist Christian is a person who takes the stories of Genesis literally and thus is confident that we can measure the age of the universe by tracing the lineage of mankind all the way back to Adam and Eve. This view implies, among many, many other outrageous things, that during the great flood of Noah, the human population was reduced to only three reproducing couples. In the book, McDowell argues that it's highly unlikely that Jesus was not the Messiah, because God, through the prophecies of the Old Testament, narrows down the possible candidates for Messiahship to a very exclusive set of people, Jesus being one of them. Part of his defense was this: "Noah had three sons, Shem, Japeth, and Ham. Today all of the nations of the world can be traced back to these three men. But in this statement, God effectively eliminated two thirds of them from the line of Messiahship. The Messiah will come through the lineage of Shem." (page 104) Did you catch it? He said today all the nations of the world can be traced back to these three men. This is most definitely not just a historical statement, but a scientific one, i.e. we aren't simply able to use testimonial evidence to prove that statement (actually, even the testimonial evidence is lousy, because while many cultures have "big flood" stories, they don't all agree, and they don't involve animals going into a big arc in pairs). We can take DNA from people around the world to trace the lineage of mankind, and the evidence suggests that we all came from a small population in Africa. Note that when I say "small", I don't mean merely three couples (Shem, Japeth, Ham and their wives), as McDowell believes was the case, but a population of about 15,000 individuals. That may sound like a large number, but it really isn't if you wanted to avoid marrying a relative. A species that is reduced to just three reproducing couples (not to mention that all the fathers are brothers!) has an ice cube's chance in hell of surviving. This is because incest is inevitable once you get to the next generation, and everybody knows what happens when you marry blood relatives.
With that said, I'll concede that if Noah and his sons and their wives had exceptionally good genetic health, they could technically repopulate the earth just between themselves. But even this presents a problem. The genetic variability within the different peoples of the world is much too great for all of us to have descended from just three couples no more than 6000 years ago. 6000 years is the age of the earth, according to young-earth creationists, and this number, I reiterate, was found by tracing the lineage back all the way to Adam and Eve and counting the years. Now, McDowell doesn't specifically say that he believes the earth is only 6000 years old, but I'm betting dollars to donuts that he does. If you take the Bible literally enough to believe that we all came from Noah's three sons, you kind of have to believe in the 6000 year estimate to stay consistent.
McDowell admits that he relies completely on scriptural testimonies to prove his points. Well, so do Muslims, and they have as fervent a belief in their scriptures as any Christian (and they fervently believe that Jesus was not the Son of God). Who's to say which religious scripture is correct? McDowell seems to be going the right direction when he says that there are three ways to prove whether a document is historical accurate: "the bibliographical test, the internal evidence test, and the external evidence test" (page 47). The Bible passes the "bibliographical test", which is really not so hard as long as you have enough people willing to copy it with enough precision. But copying a document that was false to begin with would still produce a false document, no matter how accurate copiers were. What is important is the validity of the original document. Okay, for "internal evidence", he has no trouble yanking out multiple passages from the Bible that he beliefs proves that the Bible is literally the word of God. But how far can you really go by simply quoting from the same text that you want to prove? It would be like saying "I know this book is true because it says so in its pages". In addition, he presents nothing from the Bible that could not have been written by a man 2000 years ago. On the most important test, the "external evidence test" he only has a little more than 2 pages written, and I think I may know why: because no such external evidence exists! McDowell quotes someone who says, "Archeology often provides powerful external evidence [for Christianity]" (page 56) but never actually provides the archeological evidence that he says exists. Unfortunately for McDowell and any other scriptural literalist, no big, wooden arc or any remains of an arc have ever been found, no external records or archeological evidence has ever been found to verify the Exodus, and there is no record of Jesus in any other ancient text other than the Bible. You'd think that if someone really did rise from the dead and perform a whole slew of miracles, a Roman guard or someone - anyone - would have written it down or told someone about it. But the fact of the matter is, no external text describing any aspect of Jesus' allegedly world-altering life has ever been found. He uses the testimony of two friends of John to claim that therefore, ever word that John wrote down about Jesus was absolutely, one-hundred percent true (page 55). Does the testimony of two friends seem like enough evidence to you? It seems to me that the testimony of two enemies of John might be more convincing, because then they wouldn't have any incentive to stick by their buddy.
In addition, to "prove" that the New Testament was actually written by some of Jesus' disciples, he quotes "Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (A.D. 180)" (note the date) who said something along the lines of "Yes, the guy who wrote the Gospel of John was really Jesus' disciple, so his account of Jesus is accurate" (page 55). Okay, now, I don't know much about who actually wrote the New Testament, but does this argument sound convincing to you? Why wasn't there anyone who actually lived at the same time as John to confirm that he was, in fact, Jesus' disciple? Why did we have to wait one hundred years before someone actually confirmed that, yes, indeed there was a first-hand, written account of Jesus' life? I'll give you my speculation: none of Jesus' disciples or any of his acquaintances actually had anything to do with writing the scriptures. They were all written by people who heard about Jesus, but never actually met him or met anyone who knew him personally. (Okay, this isn't just speculation. I've read about it before).
Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that the scripture is an absolutely, one-hundred percent truthful account of Jesus' life (even though this is highly dubious). So, was Jesus a liar, a lunatic or Lord? I would have to say that Jesus was, at worst, a lunatic, and a best, a well-intentioned lunatic. McDowell quotes J. T. Fisher who said "Here... rests the blueprint for successful human life with optimism, mental health, and contentment" referring to Jesus and his life. I will certainly agree that Jesus had a lot of exceptionally wise and profound things to say during his short career on earth, but to claim that he was somehow a perfect, ideal human being with flawless mental health is somewhat of a stretch. He had many moments when he simply lost his temper, or would give bad advice, which would indicate that he's not the flawless son of God, but rather an imperfect leader with good intentions, but was just a little insane (which is really not so unusually for a religious leader):

"Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, `Why are you doing this?' tell him, `The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'" (Mark 11:1-3) (Comment: Jesus never actually returns the colt).
"If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell." (Matthew 18:8-9) (Comment: the Christian parent who cut off her child's arms may have unfortunately taken this message to heart).
"On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out
those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts." (Mark 11:15-16)
"Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26)
"The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, `May no one ever eat fruit from you again.'" (Mark 11:12-14)
I agree with McDowell that Jesus was, in many ways, an exceptional teacher and leader, but McDowell doesn't stop there. He insists that He also had absolutely flawless mental health. Such is required for the Son of God, after all - and this is how McDowell "proves" that Jesus was more special than any other religious leader in history. However, does a person who curses a fig tree for not giving him fruit seem like a person with flawless mental health to you? There's nothing undeniably special about him that could only be explained by concluding that he's the inerrant Son of God.
McDowell goes on to say "wherever Jesus has been proclaimed, lives have been changed for the good, nations have changed for the better, thieves are made honest, alcoholics are cured, hateful individuals become channels of love, unjust people become just" (page 28). It's funny, because while the US has a much higher percentage of believing Christians than do countries like England, Switzerland and Germany, these European countries have far less crime than the US. This does not in any way prove that Christianity inspires crime, but it does indicate that Christianity does nothing to deter crime, and that anyone who says that it does it sadly mistaken.
McDowell asks, in chapter 5 of his book, "Who Would Die for a Lie?" He suggests that because the apostles of Jesus were willing to be persecuted and die for their belief in Jesus, it could not have been a big lie. These people were serious about what they believed. From this, he concludes that Jesus really must have been the son of God, and that he really must have rose from the dead, etc. I hope that you can see the glaring logical flaw in this argument. It's true that it is difficult to die for a cause that you don't honestly and passionately believe in, but that alone doesn't prove that the cause was true to begin with. This is what McDowell specifically says: "The apostles went through the test of death to substantiate the veracity of what they were proclaiming. I believe I can trust their testimony more than that of most people I meet today, people who aren't willing to walk across the street for what they believe, let alone die for it" (page 70). I suppose now McDowell should become a radical Muslim, because currently, they seem to be the most willing to die for their beliefs. How do we know that in another hundred years, people aren't going to look back and argue that Islam must be the true religion, because so many people were willing to die for it, just like McDowell did to argue for Christianity?
Okay, now for the question "Isn't There Some Other Way?" Did Jesus have to die on the cross to save our sins? Why didn't God just forgive us? Or couldn't he have just sent Jesus down and then let him die of old age? Why did God have to make Jesus' death a violent and bloody one? McDowell goes through a lot of hoops to justify this one: "many people ask the question, `Why couldn't God just forgive?'... People fail to realize that wherever there is forgiveness there's a payment. For example, let's say my daughter breaks a lamp in my home. I'm a loving and forgiving father, so I put her on my lap, and I hug her and say `Don't cry honey. Daddy loves you and forgives you'... who pays for the lamp? The fact is, I do. There's always a price in forgiveness" (page 116). McDowell's cute little analogy doesn't really work, because there's a very important difference between God and himself that he seems to be forgetting. God is all-powerful, but McDowell isn't. Therefore, God can do whatever the heck He wants, while McDowell is stuck with paying for broken lamps. You see, because McDowell isn't all-powerful, he can't magically make a lamp appear out of nowhere. But for God, such things are possible. And since when did God have to pay for anything? The entire universe is His on making, so there's nothing that doesn't already belong to Him. So where exactly does the "payment" for forgiveness come in? More important, isn't God the top man, the biggest of all big cheeses - why does He ever have to do anything? Why is he forced to make Jesus die on the cross in order to redeem the sins of mankind? In order for McDowell's argument to have any validity, he must concede that God is not all-powerful after all, and that even He is confined by a set of rules. But of course, you'll never get McDowell or any true Christian to admit this, because omnipotence is one of God's most important traits. Either God is all-powerful, or He is bound by a set of rules that mandates Him to sacrifice Jesus. You can't have it both ways!
As a final note, I'd like to point out one of McDowell's earlier points. "If Jesus wanted to get people to follow him and believe in him as God, why did he go to the Jewish nation? Why go as a Nazarene carpenter to a country so small in size and population and so thoroughly adhering to the undivided unity of God? Why didn't he go to Egypt or, even more, to Greece, where they believed in various gods and various manifestations of him?" (page 30) If I may paraphrase a bit, he argues that if Jesus really wanted to lie to people about his divinity, then he would have had an easier time at it if he had gone to Greece, where they were much more willing to believe in half-god individuals. If Jesus was truly a con artist only pretending to be the son of God, McDowell argues, then why would he do it the hard way? This is meant to be an argument for Jesus' divinity, but when I read it through the first time, it actually sounded like an argument against Jesus' divinity. I mean, if Jesus really was the Son of God, would it have been better if he had gone to Egypt or Greece, where hundreds of merchants from all over the world go to trade, so that his message would have spread much faster throughout the world?
Doesn't it seem odd that God would decide to send his one true messiah to a small, extremely isolated country in the Middle East, and not to a more accessible country like Greece or Egypt? Sending Jesus to the Middle East ensured that the soul-saving message of Jesus would not reach East Asia for at least 600 years. Doesn't that seem unfair? Christianity would not reach the Philippines until the Spanish brought it over in the 1500s, suggesting that native Filipinos went on living and dying and going to hell (because they most certainly worshipped false idols) even after Jesus supposedly redeemed the world with his message. Remember what Jesus said: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to God the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Isn't it unfair of God to give only some people the secret to salvation (people in the Middle East) while leaving others (such as people in Asia, the Americas and Africa) out of the loop and in the dark for at least another few hundred years?
I found the last chapter of the book very touching, and I'm not being facetious. I'm reminded of the saying: "Nietzsche said that God is dead. Freud said that God is dad". I feel that the reason why McDowell turned to Christianity was because he was in dire need of a solid parental figure to set rules for him. His own, earthly dad was an embarrassment to him, so for guidance he looked to the heavens. He seems to me one of the people who would genuinely be lost if they did not believe that there was a God to guide their every action. However, I think that the majority of people aren't like McDowell and don't need God in order to determine what's right and wrong. Most of us, I believe, eventually grow out of our childish need for parental rule. We do the right thing not because we are told by a celestial parent, but because our own inner convictions tell us to do so. Doesn't that seem like a much better way to live one's life?

Editorial Review:

Josh McDowell thought Christians must be "out of their minds". He put them down. He argued against their faith. Eventually he saw that his arguments wouldn't stand up. Jesus Christ truly was God in human flesh. A hard-hitting book for people who are skeptical about Jesus' claim on their lives.

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger: An Invitation Worth Considering (Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper))

David Gregory

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Total reviews: 141 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

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You are Invited to a Dinner with Jesus of Nazareth

The mysterious envelope arrives on Nick Cominsky’s desk amid a stack of credit card applications and business-related junk mail. Although his seventy-hour workweek has already eaten into his limited family time, Nick can’t pass up the opportunity to see what kind of plot his colleagues have hatched.

The normally confident, cynical Nick soon finds himself thrown off-balance, drawn into an intriguing conversation with a baffling man who appears to be more than comfortable discussing everything from world religions to the existence of heaven and hell. And this man who calls himself Jesus also seems to know a disturbing amount about Nick’s personal life.

…………..

"You’re bored, Nick. You were made for more than this. You’re worried about God stealing your fun, but you’ve got it backwards.… There’s no adventure like being joined to the Creator of the universe." He leaned back off the table. "And your first mission would be to let him guide you out of the mess you’re in at work."
………….

As the evening progresses, their conversation touches on life, God, meaning, pain, faith, and doubt–and it seems that having Dinner with a Perfect Stranger may change Nick’s life forever.

Amplified Bible, Large Print

Zondervan Publishing

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Total reviews: 87 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Amplified Bible 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Purchased as a gift for diabetic who is loosing his sight. He was happy to be able to study once again.

Careful- don't read too much into it 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Although it may be helpful in seeing a range of possible meanings for words, it has often been used as a witness for formulating false or misleading doctrines. Just because a word can have a particular semantic range doesn't mean one can pick and choose the meaning they want. A term must be understood properly in its immediate and larger context to avoid mis-understanding the text. Read other translations first, and multiple commentaries before advocating a new-found meaning for a verse.

This version of Amplified Bible is missing pages 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This particular version of the Amplified Bible from Amazon is missing pages from the New Testament. Returned for another of the same, and it was missing the same pages. The printing of this version must have been defective.

Amplified Bible, Large Print Hardcover Edition 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Beautiful edition of the Amplified Bible! The print font used is so clear and bright on the page, and just the right size. These were gifts for friends who are elderly and have vision problems, and they were so thrilled they could actually read them with no difficulty at all.

Editorial Review:

- Large print edition.
- Amplified Bible text and footnotes.
- Clear, easy-to-read type. Introductions and outlines for every book.
- Bible reading plan.

Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality (Thorndike Press Large Print Inspirational Series)

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Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

An intimate guide to living a life in full, from a woman who has . . .

“Everything starts with one person . . . I don’t care if you’re 5 or 105, God from all eternity chose you to be where you are, at this time in history, to change the world.”

“If you are following God, He never shows you the end. It’s always a walk of faith.”

“Faith is one foot on the ground, one foot in the air, and a queasy feeling in the stomach.”


—Mother Angelica

Are you unsure of your purpose in life? Stuck in the past and worried about the future? Hamstrung by fear, failure, or trials? Mother is here to help.

For more than twenty-five years, Mother Angelica has dispensed spiritual wisdom and practical advice to millions around the globe through her lively broadcasts on EWTN. Now she shares with you her personal life lessons and hilarious counsel as never before. Raymond Arroyo, author of the bestselling biography of Mother Angelica, has assembled an inspiring collection of her powerful insights, comic musings, and no-nonsense guidance for everyday living. Culled from never-before-seen interviews, private conversations, and recorded lessons not heard in over thirty years, to which Arroyo had exclusive access, these selections capture Mother Angelica’s spunky spirit and profound wisdom at their zenith.

In Mother Angelica’s Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality, the beloved nun is your personal mentor. Together you’ll discover:

How to find God’s Will in your life
How to pursue inspirations fearlessly
How to make sense of pain and suffering
How to spiritually overcome personal faults and trials


Created in cooperation with Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, this devotional treasury is accompanied by original prayers from Mother Angelica’s private collection. Within are the meditations, personal beliefs, and pithy life lessons that transformed a disabled child of divorce into Mother Angelica, founder and CEO of the world’s largest religious media empire. Packed with real-world hope, this little book is sure to transform your life in a big way.

A portion of the proceeds of this book goes to support the work of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery

Experiencing God: How to Live the Full Adventure of Knowing and Doing the Will of God (Walker Large Print Books)

Henry T. Blackaby, Claude V. King

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Total reviews: 140 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An Excellent Bible Study 5 out of 5 stars.
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I've completed Experiencing God twice in ten years. I find it very revealing about where I am in my spiritual development and it causes me to dig deeper, and seek God with renewed passion. I highly recommend this study. It's simple to follow, well presented and promises growth to the one who truly desires to be a man or woman of God.

A MUST READ FOR CHRISTIANS 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Conservative evangels have misdirected the development of Christian Faith by gimmicks, acronyms, and rigid doctrine. Henry directs us back to the basics of developing our own faith and nurturing others through experience. IT IS A MUST READ !

experiencing God 5 out of 5 stars.
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excellent book, very informative, inspiring and easily understood.
excellent book for believers and unbelievers.

thank you

dino

The Jumpstart I needed 5 out of 5 stars.
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Experiencing God has been a great ride. I've really drawn closer to God through the experience. The key to the book is to not read it but to work through it. Take it at your own pace, my pace was a chapter a day to augment my time with God. The book is not a wordy scholarly read but more of a workbook where Henry Blackaby asks some tough personal questions that we often think about but rarely answer with honest hearts. The whole idea behind Experiencing God is to find out how to interact with God and how he interacts with you.

Editorial Review:

This book challenges Christians to experience the fullness of a life lived in fellowship with a loving, personal God. Large print edition.

Jesus for the Non-Religious LP

John Shelby Spong

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Total reviews: 68 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Writing from his prison cell in Nazi Germany in 1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young German theologian, sketched a vision of what he called "religionless Christianity." In this book, John Shelby Spong puts flesh onto the bare bones of Bonhoeffer's radical thought. The result is a strikingly new and different portrait of Jesus of Nazareth—a Jesus for the non-religious.

Spong challenges much of the traditional understanding that has for so long surrounded the Jesus of history, from the tale of his miraculous birth to a virgin, to the account of his cosmic ascension into the sky at the end of his life. Spong questions the historicity of the ideas that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that he had twelve disciples, and that the miracle stories were meant to be descriptions of supernatural events. He also speaks directly to those contemporary critics of Christianity who call God a "delusion" and who write letters to a "Christian nation" and describe how Christianity has become evil and destructive.

Spong invites his readers to look at Jesus through the lens of both the Jewish scriptures and the liturgical life of the first-century synagogue. Dismissing the dispute about Jesus' nature that consumed the church's leadership for the first 500 years of Christian history as irrelevant, Spong proposes a new way of understanding the divinity of Christ: as the ultimate dimension of a fulfilled humanity. Traditional Christians who still cling to dated concepts of the past will not be comfortable with this book; however, skeptics of the twenty-first century will not be quite so certain that dismissing Jesus is the correct pathway to walk. Jesus for the Non-Religious may be the book that finally brings the pious and the secular into a meaningful dialogue, opening the door to a living Christianity in the post-Christian world.

Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them

John Ortberg

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Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

My cousin thought it would be a book I liked. I am planning on reading it soon.

Men need to read this 5 out of 5 stars.
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I have read many of Ortberg's books but overlooked this one until now. Wow, what a great book. I have been quoting this book on a daily basis. The advice, which seems aimed at Men due to the fact that we have trouble with "fellowship" and opening up, is very helpful. Once again Mr Ortberg has made me search my soul, strengthen my faith, and laugh out loud. Very insightful and highly recommended for anyone.

THEY ARE NOT! 5 out of 5 stars.
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Well, most people are. THis book is great for those of us who have forgotten that EVERYBODY in high school thinks they are wierd.

Editorial Review:

A CBA Bestseller

None of us are normal according to God's definition, and the closer we get to each other, the plainer that becomes. Yet for all our quirks, sins, and jagged edges, we need each other. Now teacher and bestselling author John Ortberg gives us the tools for drawing closer to others in powerful ways. With humor, insight, and a gift for storytelling, he shows us how community pays tremendous dividends in happiness, health, support, and growth.

Jesus LP: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary

Marcus J. Borg

Amazon Price: $19.46 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperLuxe Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $7.80

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent perspective of the life of Jesus 5 out of 5 stars.
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If you have never read any of Mr. Borg's works, please do yourself a favor and pick up this book. While he has written other books on Jesus, specifically "Meeting Jesus Again For The First Time", this one dives much deeper and provides a rich and detailed study of who Jesus was and what he stands for. Mr. Borg does a great job of explaining his positions and providing definitions for the "big words". The material might be scary for Christians who are founded on literal understandings but can be quite a revelation, as it was for me. The message from Mr. Borg is that while much of Jesus' story might not be literally true, it has a more-than-literal truth that forms a comprehensive (and new for me)basis for an increased level of Christianity and a transformational relationship with God.

Editorial Review:

Rediscovering the Original "Way" of Jesus the Christ

Leading Bible scholar Marcus Borg takes us on an incredible journey to discover who Jesus was, what he taught, and why he still matters today. In the definitive book of his career, Borg argues that how we see Jesus affects how we see Christianity and reveals a new way of seeing—a new perspective that can overcome the differences between the literalists and progressives, a path that emphasizes following "the way" of Jesus, the original name of the Jesus movement.

Life Application Study Bible KJV, Large Print

Amazon Price: $50.39 List Price: $79.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tyndale House Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $50.39

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 80 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

LIFE APPLCATION STUDY BIBLE KJV 4 out of 5 stars.
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IT IS WRITTEN SO YOU READ ALL THE WAY ACROSS INSTEAD OF ALL THE UP AND DOWN

kjv la 5 out of 5 stars.
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I really wanted the Bible that you advertised (leather bound NOT bonded leather) but after 2 failed attempts on your part you gave up and cancelled my order! VERY DISAPPOINTED on your part.

The Best Bible Out There! 5 out of 5 stars.
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The Life Application Study Bible's footnotes and marginal notes make this Bible a must-have for all Christians. These notes explain confusing verses and make the reader understand how these verses relate to daily life. Highly recommended.

Great commentary 5 out of 5 stars.
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I've read through many different study bibles in my work as a youth minister. I haven't found any to be easier to understand or have more useful information than the Life Application Study Bibles. The NLT version works well as it is generally seen as truer the the biblical text. In general the commentary does a great job giving very useful information right on the page regarding the historical activities going on during the time of the verse being referenced.

Editorial Review:

This large print edition of the Life Application Study Bible offers the King James Version along with thousands of Life Application notes to challenge readers to apply the truths of Scripture to everyday life. The Bible includes book introductions, in-text maps and charts, personality profiles, and a topical index.