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Learn moreIs Jesus relevant to us today?
Few figures have had such an influence on history as Jesus of Nazareth. His teachings have inspired discussion, arguments, even war. Yet few have ever held forth as movingly as Jesus on the need for peace, forgiveness, and mercy.
Paul Johnson offers listeners a lively biography of the man who inspired one of the world’s great religions and whose lessons still guide us in current times. Johnson’s intelligent and conversational style, as well as his ability to distill complex subjects into succinct and highly readable works, makes this book an ideal match of a major historian with a major subject. The result is an accessible biography and an insightful analysis of how Jesus is important in the present era.
Paul Johnson is a historian whose work ranges over the millennia and the whole gamut of human activities. He regularly writes book reviews for several UK magazines and newspapers, such as the Literary Review and the Spectator, and he lectures around the world. He lives in London.
Geoffrey Howard (a.k.a. Ralph Cosham) (1936–2014) was a British journalist who changed careers to become a narrator and screen and stage actor. He performed in more than one hundred professional theatrical roles. His audiobook narrations were named “Audio Best of the Year” by Publishers Weekly, and he won seven AudioFile Earphones Awards, and in 2013 he won the coveted Audie Award for Best Mystery Narration for his reading of Louise Penny’s The Beautiful Mystery.
Reviews
“Truly a distinguished work of history…We can take a great deal of intellectual pleasure in this book.”
“Johnson’s biography is superbly written and deeply knowledgeable of Jesus’ life and times. It is consistently thought-provoking—not in the sense of offering a new image of Jesus, but in its ability to draw the reader inside the world of Jesus’ words and deeds. Despite the plethora of other works in this genre, “Jesus: A Biography From a Believer” is a welcome addition on the life of Jesus Christ.”
“In this eminently readable study of Jesus' life and teachings, Johnson delivers a cogent, conservative view of scripture and the character of the Christian faith. At times, Johnson's political views show through…But there is a compassion toward all people that echoes throughout this work. He concludes that this world, filled with evil, needs a return to the teachings of Jesus in order to right itself. Some will disagree. But none will be surprised at Johnson’s fluid writing and fundamentally conservative views of religion and, indeed, the world at large.”
“Journalist-historian Johnson’s deliberately noncontentious account of history’s most famous man is unapologetically, uncarpingly based on the New Testament…Since the book is longer than all four Gospels put together, it is obviously more than a conflationary synopsis. Johnson weighs what little is said about Jesus’ childhood and youth and why no more is said; discusses Jesus’ personal affect; notes the qualities of his teaching, especially in the parables; emphasizes his reservations about the miracles he performs; and analyzes how he differentially addressed men, women, children, and the aged…Johnson inspects the Passion, the Resurrection, and their aftermath to Pentecost with intelligent faith. An all-but-unalloyed gift to all believing Christians.”
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