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Title: Desire of the Everlasting Hills
ISBN: 074595099X
Author:
Thomas Cahill
Publicate Date: 2002-05-24
Publish: 2002-05-24
List Price: $14.41
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $9.02
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $7.98
Amazon Merchant Price: $14.41
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| Customer Review: |
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1: An Interesting if Light Contrast to the Jesus Seminar
Let me just start with the basics. If you believe Jesus to be the son of God, this book will not change your mind about His role in the world and in granting you salvation. If you do not accept Jesus as the son of God, this book is not going to change your mind either. What Thomas Cahill offers is a well written, if not particularly deep, take on Jesus, how the Gospels attempt to portray Him and how the world changed due to His presence. In contrast to some members the Jesus Seminar, Cahill takes the Epistles of Paul and the Acts of the Apostles seriously in portraying Jesus. Cahill also offers fairly good overviews of the styles of the various Gospel authors and how they reflect different aspects of Jesus. Having said that, this book only barely touches the surface of its subject and that is what proves frustrating about it. You simply can not cover Jesus, the Gospels, and the world before and after Jesus in 300 pages no matter how well the book flows.
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2: A five star book with two star detractors
This book is full of quotations from the Bible which is what makes Cahill's theme easy to follow. That is what does it for me, a Christian interested in secular history; putting people, places, cultural norms and language together with verbatim quotations from the Word of God. Cahill knows how to give the average reader flavor in an otherwise dull subject.
Cahill refrains from over intellectualizing on this theme, a grand stroll through history that intersects with a history changing personality. I have been a Christian now 34 years. If I could have read a book like this early in my walk, it would have advanced my understanding of scripture by many years.
Beware of the snobby intellectual detractors of this book. They either are envious of Cahill's success as an author or do not enjoy reading the actual scriptures.
D M Murphy
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3: A new look
This book really casts a new eye on an old story. I think everyone will enjoy this book no matter what your background. Most of the book is pretty much a standard commentary on the gospels. The last part of the book is really outstanding. Cahill here as he does in all of his books provides exciting broad based description of the setting of the gospel story. He interrelates his comments, the scripture, and the historical events going on at that time to create an exciting new story. He also describes events in a very exciting way. He tells the story like you are reading it in a novel or the newspaper. That adds luster to the greatest story.
Cahill also interjects little stories about the power of the gospel in shaping modern values we have today. Any believe will draw strength from that. The only problem with the book is we don't see enough of those stories.
Overall everyone will enjoy this book.
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4: Not A Christian But A Believer In God
Thomas Cahill speaks about the beginnings of the Christian religion with so much passion, it's almost poetry. I was warmed and made better by reading this book.
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5: Desire of the everlasting hills
Not a theological book, this actually is cataloged as "Biography" in the Catloging-In-Publication data on the title verso. The title comes from Jacob's blessing of Joseph in Genesis 49:26.
So don't read for the theology, read for the language. One of my favorites is that the word translated "inn" in Luke's account of the nativity is actually a word that usually refers to a family homestead. The homestead would have been full--of Joseph's relatives, who as Cahill says, could "count to nine" and gladly consigned Mary and Joseph to the stable as punishment for their supposed sin!
Cahill's writing left me feeling that it is impossible to learn more about the historical character Jesus without holding him more and more in awe.
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