This learned and insightful approach to talking about God is a theological education in itself. Miles, a former Jesuit and member of the editorial board at the Los Angeles Times, undertakes here the audacious task of weaving the conflicting threads of God's self-revelations in the Hebrew Bible into an often-gripping story. Rather than attempting to synthesize his material, Miles allows his protagonist to develop and change over a millennium of relating to the people of Israel. Miles traces God's metamorphosis from creator to destroyer, friend of the family, liberator, lawgiver, conqueror, Holy One, and so on. Central to the story is Miles's contention that a monotheistic deity can only find self-expression through the mirror of communicating with its creation. Thus, Miles's God can be a loving but stern creator, disappointed enough in humans to regret their creation and seek to end their lives in a great flood, but merciful enough to begin anew with them time and again. In that complex interplay, Miles finds his central theme—God's eventual reconciliation with His creatures. Even when the story is at its nadir, with the people of Israel subjugated by the Babylonians and the Assyrians, God remains faithful and eventually seeks to include other peoples in the fold. The story is a fine one in most respects, but Miles tends to highlight the attractive parts of the portrait that have made their way into the American unconscious (such as the ``peaceable kingdom'' of Isaiah) while neglecting some of the messier ones (e.g., the attempted annihilation of indigenous tribal groups in ancient Israel). Also, structuring the story around the three-part progression of the Hebrew Bible (Law, Prophets, Writings) makes for a strong first two-thirds, but the last part is long and repetitive. A flawed but able telling of a story that's not easy to comprehend, much less articulate. (First printing of 35,000; Book-of-the-Month Club/Quality Paperback Book Club selections; author tour)
Pub Date: April 14, 1995
ISBN: 0-679-41833-4
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1995
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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