Jesus; what he really said and did. (Social Studies).MITCHELL, Stephen Jesus; what he really said and did. HarperCoilins, Tempest. 145p. notes. c2002. 0-06-449009-2. $6.99. Mitchell wrote this for young people, basing it on his book for adults, The Gospel According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Jesus, which came out about 10 years ago. As he says in his introduction, "Many people from traditional Christian backgrounds may find this book shocking and offensive." Stephen Mitchell
Religious movement that has modified or abandoned many traditional Jewish beliefs and practices in an effort to adapt Judaism to the modern world. It originated in Germany in 1809 and spread to the U.S. to Zen Buddhism Zen Buddhism, Buddhist sect of China and Japan. The name of the sect (Chin. Ch'an, Jap. Zen) derives from the Sanskrit dhyana [meditation]. ; he has translated spiritual texts from various religious traditions. He loves Jesus, as he loves the Buddha and other great spiritual teachers, and he presents Jesus' life from translations of the New Testament Gospels. Like Thomas Jefferson (The Jefferson Bible The Jefferson Bible, or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth as it is formally titled, was an attempt by Thomas Jefferson to glean the teachings of Jesus from the Christian Gospels. ) before him, he has omitted passages that he feels are not consistent with the enlightened teacher of most of the Gospel stories. By using stories of Jesus' life, how he healed people, what he said, Mitchell succeeds in presenting a highly attractive portrait of an enlightened teacher. Mitchell uses stories about Jesus' life and hi s death (from the Scriptures), and he tells the main parables, including the favorite stories of the Prodigal Son and The Good Samaritan. He repeats the Sermon on the Mount Sermon on the Mount Biblical collection of religious teachings and ethical sayings attributed to Jesus, as reported in the Gospel of St. Matthew. The sermon was addressed to disciples and a large crowd of listeners to guide them in a life of discipline based on a new law of and other teachings of Jesus found in the Gospels. While he is right that many Christians might be offended by his belief that Jesus is not divine, that he was illegitimate (and in fact largely rejected by his own family during his ministry), that he did not return from the dead, it is also true that anyone interested in Jesus will be drawn to the essence of Jesus' charisma as described by Mitchell. Non-Christians will understand Jesus' teachings from Mitchell's presentation of the essential stories from the Gospels. Claire Rosser, KLIATT |
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