Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament Review

Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament
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This is an excellent book on the subject of judaism in the period between the OT and the NT.
Dr. Julius Scott covers a lot of ground regarding religious beliefs and how they changed over time.
There were different branches of judaism with similarities as well as differences.The author also details some contrasts between Samaritans,Pharisees,and Sadducees.
There is some helpful information on the Septuagint,it's source,and difference of translation between the hebrew OT and the greek OT.
Dr.Scott looks at Josephus and Philo and the value of their writings in the study of intertestamental judaism,with some understandable scepticism of Josephus.
He also details the priesthood and rivalry between families-Zadokites and Tobiads.The pollution of the priesthood is also discussed.
He covers the start of rabbinical judaism and the circumstances that led to the percieved need for oral law/tradition as a hedge around Torah.
There was some interesting information about Simon bar Kosiba(Kochba).
There is an "Intertestamental Calendar and Festivals Table" that is an excellent resource about the Biblical feasts.This period also saw the addition and alteration of some OT feasts.
The use of the sacred name is discussed.
"The Talmud and other rabbinical sources indicate that by the time of Simon the Just(c.200BC)the divine name was no longer pronounced,except by the high priest on Yom Kippur".
He also had an interesting perspective on the sabbatical and Jubilee years.
"The sabbatical year,occuring every seventh year and the Jubilee,every fiftieth year,prevented the accumulation of too much wealth and oppression of the poor".
There is a very good list of general sources,frequent footnotes and quotes.
I found a few minor points that I think are debatable in the book.That doesn't lessen the value of the author's work.
While not as comprehensive as Edersheim's "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah", this book is a good choice for anyone interested in the diverse beliefs and Messianic expectations of the period.

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A survey of intertestamental Judaism focusing on the customs and controversies which provide insight into the New Testament.

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The Illusion of Everything Sacred Review

The Illusion of Everything Sacred
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Drama! Drama! Drama! The Illusion of Everything Sacred is definitely a page turner! If you enjoy intriguing, scandalous, drama filled story-lines...this is a must read.

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Well Done, Those Men: Memoirs of a Vietnam Veteran Review

Well Done, Those Men: Memoirs of a Vietnam Veteran
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This reviewer read through the book in one 24-hour sitting, it was that engrossing! I have since read it yet again, taking away enough more understanding of what he, and I in a different part of Vietnam, brought back as scars. Some of these can heal over time; some will never heal. One is struck by the need to tell every veteran we meet: "Well done!" We must also tell them thanks for serving, and WELCOME HOME!

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In an intensely personal account, this chronicle draws on a young conscript and his comrades' lives before, during, and after the Vietnam War. Offering an Australian perspective of the trauma that occurs after such a deeply emotional and psychological experience, this story is a vivid, piercingly honest portrayal of a post-war breakdown and recovery. This sensitive and unforgettable account of one man's struggle througha warand a mental illness is at once a tribute to the soldiers who fought beside him and a lucid account of the horrors he faced.

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Introduction to Manuscript Studies Review

Introduction to Manuscript Studies
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Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham provide a spectacular introduction to the fascinating subject of manuscript studies. This well-organized book lays out nicely the various aspects of this field, including all aspects of book production, scribal practice, and script styles, making it a useful read for any student of the medieval period. The clear prose also makes this book accessible to anyone interested in the medieval period and/or the history of book making.
Beyond the actually text, this book is beautiful. It includes a myriad of full color images, highlighting the manuscript features discussed in the text. Consequently, one might derive enjoyment simply by flipping through the book and looking at the pictures, and it might very well be as appropriate sitting on a coffee table as shelved in a scholarly library.
While remaining accessible to a reader of casual interest, this book does not avoid the depth sought by a serious scholar. The book is thoroughly researched, with copious footnotes to direct the curious reader to further reading on particular topics. Even more useful to this end is the copious and well-organized bibliography which covers the all aspects of this broad field.
In short, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in manuscript studies: from the casual admirer to the serious scholar.

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Eventide (Dragon's Bard, 1) Review

Eventide (Dragon's Bard, 1)
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This will be a review of both the book and the Dragon's Bard experience as a whole.
The story of Eventide is a kinder, gentler tale than most Fantasy fiction these days. More Wizard of Oz than Lord of the Rings. No epic quests and journeys across the land. It was a quest of the heart and a stroll across the village square.
Jarod Klum was an average lad in his village. All he wanted to do is prove himself to the girl of his dreams. Things weren't going well for him. After Edvard the Dragon's Bard took an interest in him, it went worse. What followed was an entertaining adventure through the town of Eventide. Along the way you meet villagers, farmers and fairies. All with secrets and stories of their own. This is a book that would truly be fun for the whole family.
When I first heard about this experiment Tracy Hickman was undertaking, I was intrigued. I've been a fan of his for many years and knew that he was a good storyteller so I wouldn't be sorry on that end of things. I was curious to see how the rest of it worked. I signed up and was very glad I did.
The Dragon's Bard project was handled very well from start to finish. For the subscription fee you got the chapters a week, an omnibus edition of the chapters, direct access to a message board where you were able to interact with other subscribers and the writers themselves and the audio version of the chapters read by the authors. Then at the end of journey, you get a signed and numbered hardcover book to help you remember your visit to this village full of new friends. (Both the characters and the other subscribers.)

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The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth: The Jefferson Bible Review

The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth: The Jefferson Bible
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Thomas Jefferson was no Christian. Like many of the most famous of the founding fathers, he was a Deist, and counted himself a Unitarian, but he often said he was the sole member of a sect including no one but himself. He had confidence in his own reason and conscience. He did admire Jesus, saying, "Among the sayings and discourses imputed to him by his biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of the most lovely benevolence; and others again of so much ignorance, so much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism, and imposture, as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictions should have proceeded from the same being." It was Jefferson's view that he himself could sort the truth from the imposture, for he felt that the real words applicable to Jesus were "as distinguishable as diamonds in a dunghill." He thought about the process of doing so for many years, did a quick job around 1800 and did a thorough one in 1820. His purpose was to make his own version of the gospels, an extraction that would summarize Jesus's life and morals, for "I hold the precepts of Jesus, as delivered by himself, to be the most pure, benevolent, and sublime which have ever been preached to man. I adhere to the principles of the first age; and consider all subsequent innovations as corruptions of his religion, having no foundation in what came from him."
It was not enough for the polyglot Jefferson to make such a distillation from the King James Version; he also bought a couple of Greek, French, and Latin versions to use, two volumes of each, for his plan was to cut and paste the parts that he found useful into one volume, but using all four languages. The resultant volume is called The Jefferson Bible, although his own handwritten title page gives "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, Extracted textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French & English." He apparently studied the volume of his own manufacture nightly before going to bed, but he was horrified at the idea that it be published, feeling that his political enemies would use his ideas against him (his lofty Deism had produced against him charges of atheism) and that this product of his own conscience was his own comfort. His descendants did not know that the volume existed until after his death.
The English extracts of the book were printed by the Government Printing Office in 1904 in a small booklet, and a tradition began of having the book be presented to newly sworn in congressmen. Currently in print is an edition from the Beacon Press in Boston, which is entirely fitting, as this is the printing house for the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Naturally it is fascinating to go through the little volume and to see what was important to the genius of Jefferson and what was not. He left out all the Old Testament, of course, and all of Paul's additions (he felt that Paul was the "first corruptor of the doctrines of Jesus"); the Apocalypse, upon which so much of current prophetic beliefs are founded, he said was "merely the ravings of a maniac." He must have felt that only the life of Jesus was worthy of study.
But even the life does not start out in the way in which we are familiar. The first sentences of Jefferson's Bible have to do with Joseph and Mary going to Bethlehem to be taxed. There is no Annunciation, indeed, no implication that Jesus had any sort of miraculous birth; Jefferson distrusted miracles. Having seen the beginning, I turned to the final pages; I knew how the story turned out, you see, so I did not really risk ruining it for myself. The end is just as worldly; "They rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed." (Matthew 27:60) There is no magical resurrection in this version. The life and teachings were apparently enough.
There is a similar lack of miracles throughout. The story in the ninth chapter of John is cut short, when being presented with a blind man and asked who had sinned, he or his parents, to bring on the blindness, Jesus only gives the comment, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." This sounds a bit enigmatic to me, and although the blind man may have taken comfort that his condition was not the product of sin..., I cannot think he would be happy at being a display for the works of God. A sighted man would be a better display. Anyway, the episode does not climax with Jesus making mud with his spittle and putting it on the blind man's eyes to bring him vision. One looks in vain in this volume for healed lepers, risen corpses, strolls on the waters, or renewed wine cellars. Such stories were not important to Jefferson; only the life and teachings were.
And those teachings, though familiar, are magnificent. Jesus causing the mob self-examination when it was about to stone an adultress is one of my favorites, and of course it is here. There are higher values than obedience to old laws, he makes plain. The widow still gives everything she has, thus giving more than the large sums from the rich. Jesus encouraged love of others, as much as we love ourselves; the love extended to those who have no love for us. The beseechings to do good make me painfully aware that I fall short of the sort of ideal Jesus would want: "When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind." Surely he was being hyperbolic, but even so, I don't come close.
I think the exaggeration does not serve him in many cases. "Take no thought for tomorrow" I think of as exceedingly bad advice. I hold that there is much to be said for thinking about the here and now, but only a fool never plans for the future. Similarly, the enjoinings to abandon one's family or to give away everything one has to the poor are so far removed from the way my world works (and surely from the way the Nazarene's did, as well) that such exhortation is not only futile but argues against itself.
Jefferson has eliminated some of the verses that gave me ammunition against Biblical literalists. He includes the story about Peter denying Christ three times before the cock crows, but omits the pesky Mark 14:66-68 which shows Peter got only one denial in before the crowing. He leaves out the Holy Spirit or any verse that would show Jesus to be divine. He does not include any verses that show Jesus speaking with a short temper to his mother, as at Cana. Jesus certainly does not invite anyone to eat his flesh.
I was disappointed at some of the inclusions. It is surprising that the naturalist Jefferson allowed Jesus to go on saying that the mustard seed is the biggest of all seeds and that it grows into a plant bigger than all other herbs. Jefferson had no misgivings over having Jesus speak of a literal Noah: "Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all." Not only does this seem to countenance a holocaust worse than any subsequent one (and against a world of poor animals, too), it makes clear that Jesus took the Old Testament myths literally.
The biggest disappointment is that although Jefferson saw fit to cut the story before any ascendancy of Jesus into heaven, he retains many of Jesus's parables of what the afterlife is like. This is not so bad in the descriptions of heaven, but also included are Jesus's warnings about hell... It is indeed a shame that Jefferson's admiration for the ethical system proposed by Jesus includes all of his verses that warn about being burned or tortured forever. Jesus's words make clear he countenances such a system. That's not morals, it's monstrosity.
I did like the Jefferson Bible, though, for its brief summation of the stories that have changed the world. I like most of all the idea of Thomas Jefferson with scissors and paste finding what was meaningful for himself in the gospels and cutting out his own version. This was the Jefferson who encouraged, "Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear." His Bible was an act of audacious redaction: he refused to accept the book as divinely inspired holy writ, and determined that he would examine it carefully to see in it what his own conscience and reason showed was good, and follow that good, and ignore the rest. Would that others would do the same.

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THE LIFE AND MORALS OF JESUS OF NAZARETH: The Jefferson Bible was Thomas Jefferson's effort to extract the doctrine of Jesus by removing sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects as well as perceived misinterpretations he believed had been added by the Gospel writers.
It gives an account of the events of Jesus's life without references to angels, genealogy, or prophecy. Miracles, references to the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, and Jesus' resurrection are also absent from the Jefferson Bible in its focus on the physical life and moral teachings of Jesus rather than its spiritual aspects. It does however include references to Noah's Ark, the Great Flood, the Tribulation, and the Second Coming, as well as Heaven, Hell, and the Devil.

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How We Got the Bible Review

How We Got the Bible
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Wondering how the Bible came to be?
Wondering about translation issues?
This is the book for you. Lightfoot gives a good explanation of how the Bible was created and transmitted down through the centuries. The book covers the history of the written language, writing materials, Biblical archaeology, textual criticism, and translational issues.
The book has pros and cons.
Pro: The research is top notch. The author has gone to great lengths to investigate the textual transmission of the Bible.
Pro: The material is explained in an easy-to-understand manner. One need not have a Masters in History or Archaeology to understand this book.
Pro: The book includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter.
Con: Though the book is well footnoted, the footnotes are all listed in the back of the book by chapter. I prefer footnotes to be either at the bottom of the page that references them or at the end of each chapter. Placing them at the end of the book makes research difficult.
Con: The research and information presented is quite brief. The book presents an excellent overview of the topic but does not go into extensive detail on each topic. Likely, this is not the author's intent but a little more wouldn't have hurt.
I recommend this book for anyone who is wanting to study Bibliology. It's a good place to start.

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How We Got the Bible provides factual, accessible answers to questions such asHow and when did the books of the Bible originate? In what sense are these books different from other books? How have these books been preserved and transmitted to us? Why do we have so many different translations of the Bible?A popular guide for Bible students, it has sold more than 1 million copies during its forty years in print. This trade paper edition of the well-loved classic offers readers an even more affordable way to learn about the development of the most important book in history.

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Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction Review

Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction
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How did the Old Testament get to us in such good shape and what are the apologetics for such a claim? Can someone who is not a student of Hebrew get some basic information on this subject? The answer is `Yes', with some effort, since the book is geared to an intermediate student of Hebrew, as stated near the end of the book.
Author Ellis Brotzman says that it is a "miracle" that Old Testament even exists, and a "double miracle" that it is highly accurate after its transmission from ancient times! I am very impressed with the care of the Old Testament by the Jewish custodians of the scriptures for such a long period of time. We have them to thank (through God's Providence) for what we have today. To explain how, Brotzman stayed fairly high-level, taking us from the creation of the original manuscripts to the present day, through different text styles, different language translations, and through the different gyrations of textual criticisms. Textual criticism, I found out, is a very organized, scholarly methodology of condensing the various texts into one that is as accurate as possible for our use today. To this end, Brotzman patiently goes through enough of the Hebrew language characteristics to allow us to understand what textual criticism is about. For example, I found that for hundreds of years early on, the Hebrew text was originally entirely consonantal, with the vowels being transmitted only through oral tradition. Later, the oral tradition was changed to written, and the vowels were indicated by adding the appropriate number of dots below the appropriate consonants. He lets us know in a general way how that works and the affect it has on the transmission accuracy of the text. He also gives examples of standard BHS texts with the margin notes on the sides and bottoms and what they mean, and the references they point to (other manuscripts, frequency of different types of errors, etc.). He also talks about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the great roll they play in validating the accuracy of the textual transmission. He then gives us some actual case studies from the book of Ruth and how the scholars settled the variant readings through textual criticism, applying the methodologies he describes earlier in the book.
The book took some work for me to understand, but it was worth it.

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David's Broken Hallelujah Review

David's Broken Hallelujah
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I really enjoyed reading David's Broken Halleluiah. It was a fun easy read with interesting characters, at the same time shocking. The story opened my mind to different perspectives of how life was in 455 BCE and how the bible could have been written.
I would recommend this book to anyone, regardless of religious backgrounds or knowledge. The author did a great job of incorporating real scriptures with an intriguing story. I wanted to find out what would happen next and found it hard to put down.


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King David was a handsome musician and warrior who was chosen to be the King of Israel. King Saul was jealous of him, women from all nations desired him, and he defeated ruthless enemies. But was this story true?David's Broken Hallelujah will take you on a journey back in time to the tumultuous life of King David and reveal long kept secrets about the bible.Based on the latest research.

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The Myth of the Great Depression Review

The Myth of the Great Depression
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I gave this book to my boss who is something of a history buff. He loved the book and told me that he has quoted several stories out of the book already.

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While mostnarratives of the Great Depression chronicle the pain and struggles of the common folk, this account takes a drastically different approach—telling stories of health and happiness in the 1930s.In Australia, as in most of the world, the Great Depression obliterated jobs, bank balances, and, by all accounts, optimism.When Potts interviewed Australianswho remembered the period, however, he found that many spoke with surprising affection, recalling that it seemed "people were happier then."In this lively social history,the author displays a unique perspective not only on the Great Depression but also on what brings happiness. Archives, official statistics, and the firsthand accounts ofmore than 1,200 survivors prove that, despite the reality of the struggle, thereare compelling tales of resilience and happiness even among those who were lost, poor, and unemployed.

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The Illuminator Review

The Illuminator
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This is a well-researched work of historical fiction that captures the essence of medieval life in feudal England. It is set against the precarious political and religious philosophical backdrop of the turbulent fourteenth century. It is a time when life was cheap, and death always seemed to be just around the corner. It tells the story of two people whose paths cross in the latter half of fourteenth century England and the events that follow. The politics of the day, both the religious and secular ones, would leave their imprint on each of them, as well as on their progeny.
Lady Kathryn, having been locked in a loveless marriage, has recently been liberated by her dissolute husband's death. In a time when women were little more than chattel, she has been left as mistress of Blackingham Manor in East Anglia. She is trying to shepherd it along, as it is the inheritance of her fifteen-year-old twin sons, Alfred and Colin. She is fraught with concerns over money and the possibility that John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster with whom her late husband imprudently allied himself, and who was now Regent to the young King Richard, might not maintain his power for long. If so, the fact that he is a patron of the heretic John Wycliffe and his Lollard followers could prove to be potentially disastrous for her and her family.
In order to try to conserve her property, as she fears that it will be swallowed up by the King's taxes, as well as the seemingly endless tithes required by the church, Lady Kathryn agrees to take in a boarder at the local abbot's request. In addition to conserving her property, she is also trying to keep at bay the unwelcome advances of Sir Guy, the local sheriff and friend of her late, unlamented husband, as well as the owner of the property adjacent to Blackingham Manor. She knows full well that she would just be the means to acquiring Blackingham Manor and increasing his holdings.
The boarder in question is an artisan named Finn, who has with him a beautiful teenage daughter named Rose. Together they take refuge at Blackingham Manor. Finn is a master illuminator who works for the Church. While working for the Church, however, he labors in secret for the heretic John Wycliffe, illuminating an English translation of the Bible, something that is forbidden by the Church. Moreover, Finn is a widower with a secret past, one that will cause Lady Kathryn much grief of her own making.
The freethinking Finn and the newly liberated lady of Blackingham Manor soon find that they have quite a bit in common. Their friendship grows into a passionate romance that neither of them would have expected or anticipated. In the wake of their passion, however, a chain of unstoppable events is unleashed. Finn and Lady Kathryn's relationship will lead her to a crossroad where she finds herself with her loyalties divided between Finn and her sons, forcing her to make a choice she would rather not have to make. Moreover, unbeknownst to them, Rose and Colin likewise find love budding between them with ramifications beyond their understanding.
Always at the center of the book is life as it is lived on Blackingham Manor and the everyday concerns that go along with living in a place under such oppressive circumstances. Always in the backdrop is the political and religious turbulence that would one day eventually lead to the Reformation. Meanwhile, that turbulence has the capability of profoundly changing the lives of everyone living at Blackingham Manor. Serving to complicate matters further, is the murder of an avaricious priest, which murder appears to be laid at the doorstep of Blackingham Manor. In addition, Lady Kathryn's malevolent overseer, the yeoman Simpson, is dealing her a bad hand and causing untold mischief among her serfs. Consequently, there comes a time when the seething cauldron of unrest bubbles over, taking everyone in its path for a ride not of their own choosing.
This author is a welcome new voice in the historical fiction genre. She has managed to create interesting and somewhat unusual characters not often found in historical fiction. A prominent character in the book is the local anchoress, which is based upon the mystic, Julian of Norwich, a character one does not often see mentioned in historical fiction of the period. Nor does one often come across an illuminator as an integral character in a novel. The author also seamlessly weaves historical figures into the fabric of her fiction with practiced ease. This is a well-defined, imaginative book that brings the Middle Ages to life. It will be enjoyed by all those who love well-written historical fiction.

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The Heart is Highland: Memories of a childhood in a Scottish glen Review

The Heart is Highland: Memories of a childhood in a Scottish glen
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This is a book written by a bitter, lonley, zealous woman with a lot of venom for anyone in the past that did not like her, and fake glorification for those she did like.
By her own admission in this book, an alcohol addiction almost destroyed her life and this book can verify that.

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A fascinating month-by-month account of a child's life in the Scottish Highlands in the thirties and forties. Hardship and adventure combine with a strong sense of the value of life, the beauty of nature and the importance of humour, to produce a fascinating new book, which provides both a nostalgic and insightful account of the Scottish countryside and of the traditional Scottish way of life.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Media Tarts: Female Politicians and the Press Review

Media Tarts: Female Politicians and the Press
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Well written and thoroughly researched work about the treatment of female politicians by the Australian media. Originally published in 2004 it is essential background reading for anyone wanting to understand the hostile media and political environment in which Australia's first elected female Prime Minister survived and thrived. Baird clearly has the trust of her subjects in her interviews which allows her to build a detailed and complex insider's view of the treatment of female policians by the Australian media.

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Gospel Parallels: A Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels, NRSV Edition Review

Gospel Parallels: A Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels, NRSV Edition
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Gospel Parallels is a serious work indexing and comparing the first three New Testament books (Matthew, Mark and Luke) so that those interested in the study of the Gospels can see exactly the similarities and discrepancies in the stories.
But the book is more than that. Given the increasing interest in recent years in the non-canonical works, Greek and other manuscripts that are not easily found in the local library are cited as a way of further illuminating the path toward further understanding of early Christian writing and thinking.
This is not a book that offers a lot of commentary. In fact, it offers virtually none. It simply lines up in a table such offerings as Accusations Against Jesus and then gives us Matthew (12:22-24) against Mark (3:19-22) and Luke (11:14-16).
One benefit of this style is that we're able to quickly see the differences in accounts. Those wanting an explication of the significance in choice of language or details included or excluded will have to look elsewhere for enlightenment. That makes this very thorough book a study aid accompanying other works that might provide more understanding; it is not a freestanding help to those curious about why accounts of Jesus' life or teaching vary so radically.
I used the fourth edition of this book in a New Testament course years ago and had forgotten its seeming limitations. But for those interested in serious exploration and in need of help tracking down New Testament and other texts, this book is invaluable.
It offers us a decent who's who of church fathers, and a short but terrific explanation of the different versions of texts in the Bible, which helps account for differing interpretations and changes in language. The fourth edition is in conformity with the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
For those wondering, the Gospel of John is not included in this book because of the extensive differences in content between it and the three synoptic gospels covered by this book. Among them:
John doesn't include a lot of the material about the temptation of Christ, his transfiguration and the Lord's supper, the Sermon on the Mount. John offers virtually nothing in the way of narrative parables. John's account of Jesus' ministry is also at odds with the three synoptics.
The many differences make a side-by-side comparison just about impossible, though certainly extensive scholarship exists on this topic.
What this book will do is shed light on the ways in which some of the same events and thoughts are reported. You'll see quickly which author appears to exaggerate or at least report events in their most extreme, and which basic themes, such as concern for the downtrodden, draws the most attention in each gospel.
I'd recommend this to anyone studying the New Testament and in need of a quick guide to where to find a specific verse or theme.

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A classic since 1949, Gospel Parallels presents Matthew, Mark, and Luke printed side-by-side for easy and enlightening comparative study.Now fully revised and updated using the NRSV, it features a more readable type face and a new, even more effective system for comparison.


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Building with Logs Review

Building with Logs
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I was able to use this book to aid in building a log home here in Michigan, found it to be sufficient to show me everything needed for building the home that we built. I also found it to be very thorough in its content. The Home worked out just as we wanted, and the owner is very happy with just how it was done.

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Jesus and the Powers: Conflict, Covenant, and the Hope of the Poor Review

Jesus and the Powers: Conflict, Covenant, and the Hope of the Poor
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I bought this for class, not sure what to expect. I found it to be very eye opening, and very entertaining. Horsely makes you think about the gospels and Jesus in a way you weren't raised to. This book is not written to disprove christianity or jesus. It is simply written to help readers understand the historical context of Jesus life and teachings. Some extreme conservatives might not like a few sections, but even they will appreciate it mostly. If you are interested in New Testament scholarship, and you want a fresh perspective on Jesus, I highly reccomend this book. Conservatives to liberals alike should appreciate it.

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Refuting a false dichotomy between "politics" and "religion" in Jesus' world (and our own), Jesus and the Powers rediscovers Jesus' response to the imperial power of his day. Richard A. Horsley describes the relevance of political realities under great empires for understanding the rise of covenantal theology and apocalyptic vision in Israel's history. Then he explores aspects of Jesus' activity in the context of the Roman Empire. Horsley examines Jesus as an exorcist and prophetic figure and the character of his death by crucifixion. He also shows how the community life in the early Pauline assemblies gave form to a new response to imperial powers - and stimulus to contemporary readers to re-imagine their own response to political realities in our own day.

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Asbestos House: The Secret History of James Hardie Industries Review

Asbestos House: The Secret History of James Hardie Industries
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A surprising thing about Mr Haigh's book is the small number of villians. He concludes not that 'James Hardie knew' about the ultimate effects of asbestos, but that 'they should have known'. In its old existence as a successful asbestos company providing a popular product, the company's senior managers were tardy in keeping up with advancements in knowledge of asbestos. But they were not malicious men hiding a dark secret: they walked the factory floors themselves, could be generous to sickening workers, did not - like some of their American peers - lie to their employees and in some cases ultimately died of the blue dust too. While narrating all this Mr Haigh introduces us to many people from James Hardie's past, the progress of medical science, the business environments of the ages of the twentieth century, a tale of commercial risk and company transformation and the history of a remarkable natural resource. And he tells dolorous tales of the cruel course of asbestosis and mesothelioma on unsuspecting people.
The villainy comes later, during the age of 'shareholder value', with sharp dealing by senior managers of a company that had, in all its day to day operational aspects, completely moved on from the days of asbestos. These chapters can be heavy to read, laden with actuarial accounting, contracts and board communciations. But it is a credit to Mr Haigh's efforts that they are not too dense for the business-layman: he keeps his tale moving. Here we see the intersection of governments, law, unions and business, as well as personalities that Mr Haigh sketches deftly.
One of the pleasures of reading anything by Gideon Haigh is his wealth of anecdotes from outside his immediate subject and his lightly worn erudition: he throws the odd latin phrase in here and there, and quotes Ibsen. He can tell a good story, wring pathos from us, and bring out a 'moral of the story' concisely. The only books on cricket I am ever likely to pick up will be by Gideon Haigh.
The court case against Hardie's ex directors is still going on and we must sincerely hope that Hardie flourishes, at least for another few decades, but Asbestos House is not an incomplete story. Coming to the end of Mr Haigh's book, we feel we have followed much the most interesting part of James Hardie's tale.

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Reconstructed from hundreds of hours of interviews and thousands of pages of documentation, this multi-award-winning saga of high finance is a clear depiction of industrial history, legal intrigue, medical breakthrough, and human frailty. Focusing on James Hardie Industries and the disastrous effects of asbestos in the Australian workplace, this study provides an insightful commentary on modern business ethics.

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