Price, a prolific man of letters (A Whole New Life, 1994; The Promise of Rest, 1995, etc.), offers us a fine new translation of the Gospels according to Mark and John, and Price's own account of the life of Jesus, along with four lengthy introductory essays in which he explains his purpose and method. Forget that you ever read a Gospel or heard of Jesus. Read the texts afresh, in a new and relatively literal translation, and listen. This, Price explains, rather than yet another liturgical or ``official'' version, is his hope for his readers. He tells us that his starting point is literary: he sees the Gospels as stories that have exerted an unequaled pull on human minds. His translations are deliberately conservative, in that they stick closely to the original Greek and avoid paraphrase. The Word in John's Prologue ``became flesh and tented among us''; to sin is to ``go wrong''; to have faith is ``to trust.'' Price's English has a rugged, plain quality, lacking either archaism or an affected use of modern idiom, except for contractions: e.g. ``So they're no longer two but one. Thus what God yoked man must not divide.'' Price heightens the stark quality of his prose by a very sparing use of punctuation, arguing that the ancient manuscripts have none at all, although he is clearly motivated by his belief that minimal punctuation makes for a ``clean'' style and elicits attentive reading. His attempt to compose a Gospel of his own is a harmony of the canonical four with additions from unorthodox apocryphal sources. In the essays preceding each section, Price tells us a little about what the Gospels mean to him and how he approaches them. He displays a good working knowledge of Greek and a grasp of the complexities of current New Testament scholarship, much of which, in his capacity as a seasoned critic, he finds absurdly agnostic. Both linguistically and spiritually stimulating. (Author tour)
Pub Date: May 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-684-80336-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1996
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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