The Parables of Joshua
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3.9 • 10 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
In the latest chapter of his bestselling Joshua series, Joseph Girzone offers fresh inspiration in this collection of fifty never-before-published contemporary vignettes that underscore the most important lessons of the gospel.
Joseph Girzone's novels about Joshua, the carpenter who transforms ordinary lives with words of peace and loving actions, have sold more than three million copies and captured the hearts of readers around the world. In The Parables of Joshua, perhaps his most powerful book since the original Joshua, Girzone distills the essence of Christian teaching in entertaining and inspiring "bite-sized" tales set against the background of current society.
For some today, the parables of the New Testament are quaint, old-fashioned stories, with little relevance to everyday life in the twenty-first century. As Girzone writes in his Introduction, "I have heard the most callous people comment with such great piety on the parables that I could not help but wonder if we haven't made parables pleasant-sounding fables about human situations long past, but with no present-day meaning." In order to recapture their original vitality Girzone revives the timeless messages behind the original parables by "dressing them in modern clothes," presenting them through Joshua in a conversational style that will resonate with a modern audience.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Girzone's beloved and bestselling Joshua series continues with Joshua retelling Jesus' parables with a modern twist. Believing that the "zing" that Jesus' parables had in the first century has been lost in the 21st, Girzone, a retired priest, has the Christ figure of Joshua presenting New Testament parables in an up-to-date cultural interpretation. Among other things, Girzone takes on homosexuality, corrupt clergy, materialism, women's roles in the Church, capital punishment, feelings of inadequacy and the censorship of theologians. A few of the parables are indeed "zingy," especially those addressing age-old problems such as racism or more contemporary issues, including movie violence and Christianity's uniqueness among other religions. One of the gems worth digging for is the "Parable of the Self-Righteous Man," in which Girzone tackles our culture's predilection for do-it-yourself religion and insists, "You cannot become truly holy all by yourself. Holiness is love. It is knowing and loving God and his creatures." Other parables fall flat. For example, in the "Parable of the Ark," the Church is rather blandly compared to Noah's Ark--it is often unpleasant, but still the only way out of the storm. Fans of Girzone will be delighted with another Joshua read, although it's not quite up to par. Those who are unfamiliar with the series would be better off reading an earlier installment.
