The Book of Jesus: A Treasury of the Greatest Stories and Writings about Christ

If apologetics is the artful defense of Christian beliefs by logical argument, then Dr. Calvin Miller's literary smorgasbord of scripture, poetry, hymns, stories and essays about Jesus Christ succeeded in that lofty endeavor. The sine qua non for Christian belief is the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his death for our sins. A discussion of believers' indefinite longing for His Second Coming, concludes this wonderfully edited book and Miller's collection leaves us with the hope that "the future holds a final major Christian event." Unlike standard criticism of eclectic works such as this, I do not complain that say William Butler Yeats' poem, "The Second Coming," was not included. Yeats borrowed this title from what Miller characterizes as one of Jesus' most fascinating lessons always introduced with apocalypses of "natural calamities and great cosmic disturbances," the retelling of which eschatologists relish. But this is a comment on only the last of ten eminently substantiated chapters, the rest of which may be read through the "search inside" facility above. In the beginning, Miller may be accused of jingoism - that bit about Christ being "a contemporary of American presidents" on page 25, [hardcover, 1996], or nitpicking that there were eighteen major parables, rather than the customary thirty-something but, in the end, unlike Yeats' apocalyptic vision, the center does hold and nothing falls apart. This book is all muscle, there is no fluff there - Dr. Miller, a Baptist clergyman, did his research admirably and rather than leave his selections as a hodge-podge, Miller fastidiously compiled, arranged and stitched everything together in one heavenly collage! Trained as a Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church, I was ecstatic to discover this book as a resource. After all is read and done, every believer would discover new interpretations and inspiration from this recipe of scripture, poetry, hymns, stories and essays about Jesus Christ in all His modalities of Being. Before the invitation to await His return, one is reminded of the historical Jesus and then encouraged most insistently to focus on the living Christ. Miller submits that we have highly individualistic views of Jesus Christ and that each of us must blend unstudied adoration with the Christ whom only critical scholarship, (such as is displayed in passages in this book), can inform us about. The uninitiated might discover, for instance, that `Gospel' was wrought from a concatenation followed by an elision of two words, `God' and `spell,' which together mean "good news" - the good news that sinners were forgiven when Jesus died and we were thenceforth reconciled with God. Miller intended this anthology to celebrate the greatness of Jesus Christ according to the Christian understanding of Him, as do contemporary testimonies even from most unlikely sources. "The Language of God," published in July 2006 by Dr. Francis S. Collins, a physician and, as longtime head of the

I haven't even been able to read everything in this book. It truly lives up to its title as a treasury. Even that doesn't adequately describe the value of this book. As I say, if you think you know Jesus, read this book. If you want to know Him better, read this book. This is a great resource. And it's not slanted toward a particular point of view. There are writings from many men of all different walks of life with various scopes of influence. Napoleon, William Jennings Bryan, CS Lewis and Max Lucado, and 100's of others. It will make you laugh, cry, pray and stand in awe of our Most High Lord and Savior. Even if you read a segament every day, you will be blessed many days, it is just chocked full of the attributes of our Lord. This book is a must for any Christain library, as a devotional or companion for Bible study, or for sermon material. A most handy reference, but if you read it, you'll never let it be reduced to just that. Enjoy.

The most elementary courtesy requires that we accept an author's right to say what he wants to say, not what we want him to (we can always write our own books, after all).Calvin Miller is out to glorify God, and to help others to see His glory. He succeeds brilliantly. There is an immense breadth of material here, all of it excellent, and when brought together in one volume, the effect is overwhelming.

This book is the best collection of what Christians of all ages have said about Jesus Christ that I have ever found. Reading in it is a worship experience that I find causes me to stop and pray often. The poetry is beautiful.It is an excellent resource for material to be quoted by teachers and preachers alike, but it is foremost a window into a more intimate and enlightened view of our Lord.

I am amazed at the discipline of any writer who can come forth with such cosistently good material. Miller writes, teaches, preaches all over America-he is an amazing person. His material is so satisfying. Jess Moody