DWD's Reviews

Published in 2015 by MacMillan Audio. Read by Peter Larkin. Duration: 7 hours, 55 minutes. Unabridged. This is not a deep book theologically, but it does take a balanced look at 6 things that are associated with Jesus and a few related topics and is respectful of the faithful while doing its exploration. If you are expecting a book that is out to burst religious bubbles, this is not your book. The topics are: 1) John the Baptist. Who was he? Is he in the historical record? Are the relics of John the Baptist in scattered across Europe actually him? The James Ossuary. 2) James, the brother of Jesus. Who was he? Was he Jesus' half brother through Mary or a step-brother from a previous marriage of Joseph? Is the James Ossuary (a casket to hold bones) that was discovered a few years ago real? 3) Mary Magdalene. Who was she? Was she a disciple or simply a follower of Jesus? Why is she not mentioned after the four gospels? Was she the wife of Jesus? Was she really a reformed ...

Published by Blackstone Audio in December of 2014 Read by Stephen E. Thorne Duration: 10 hours, 5 minutes Kenneth E. Bailey spent more than forty years teaching theology in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus and along the way he developed a natural curiosity about shepherds. This is natural, considering how often shepherds are mentioned and that many of the main figures of the Old Testament were shepherds at one point or another (Abraham, Moses and David to name a few) and that Jesus refers to himself as both a shepherd and a lamb.  Combine that natural curiosity with a willingness to research and the ability to see the stories from a different cultural perspective and you have something new, at least new for those of us in the West.  What Bailey has delivered here is a very readable (or in my case, listenable) overview of the major passages about shepherds in the Old and New Testaments and how they relate to one another and the cultural meanings of these texts an...

Published in 2014 by Simon and Schuster (AUDIOWORKS) Read by the author, Jimmy Carter Duration: 6 hours, 33 minutes Jimmy Carter and I have a strange relationship. Don't get me wrong, the 39th President and I have never met and are not likely to. I think that his presidency was, on balance, a well-intentioned mess and his post-Presidential career has been a mix of amazing achievements (Habitat for Humanity, for example) combined with annoying commentary and self-intervention into areas where he was not invited (ask Bill Clinton what he thinks of Carter's self-appointed mission to North Korea during the Clinton Administration). This book only re-affirms my impressions of Jimmy Carter. I admire his religious faith and his intimate knowledge of the scriptures. I also admire his willingness to learn about other faiths and the fact that he teaches in his church's Sunday school. His work through the Carter Center has also been a mixed bag of amazing work against poverty ...

Published by Simon and Schuster Audio  Published February 5, 2013 Read by Jason Culp Duration: 9 hours, 11 minutes As the title says,  Iscariot: A Novel of Judas  tells the the story of one of the most infamous people in history - Judas, the disciple that betrayed Jesus. Tosca Lee tells the story in a very sympathetic manner. At no point in the story is Judas an evil man. In fact, he is the opposite - he is an exceptionally good man who lives an upright life, tries his very best and truly loves Jesus, the man he calls "teacher." A close up of Judas Iscariot (front) in Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" Tosca Lee creates a sympathetic back story for Judas involving a life full of loss, pain and a tragic multi-generational search for the messiah. Judas has decided that searching for a messiah is the surest way to get hurt. Instead, he has joined a secret society that is working to push the Romans out of Judea. But, things radically change whe...

A simple series of Bible studies about everyday life Lots and lots of Bible studies are concerned with literally studying the stories of the Bible. There is a place for that, but many times problems of everyday life are not addressed, or at least not directly. This Bible study mines the immensely rich vein of Martin Luther's commentaries, sermons and even dinner table discussions in an attempt to create a Bible study that deals with 13 real life issues such as "Dealing With Temptations", "Counerfeit Christians", "Work...But Don't Worry", "Be Patient in Adversity" and "God Really Forgives Our Sins." Luther's practical teachings written in everyday language and cemented in a thorough reading and study of the New Testament, shine throughout. Every short study (8-10 pages) begins with a relevant passage from the New Testament, a short story that frames the problem, Luther's relevant commentaries with supportive verses ...