{"id":722,"date":"2012-10-02T13:14:21","date_gmt":"2012-10-02T18:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.janicebyrd.com\/?p=722"},"modified":"2012-10-15T13:17:16","modified_gmt":"2012-10-15T18:17:16","slug":"book-astonishing-tales-of-spiritual-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/book-astonishing-tales-of-spiritual-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"BOOK: Astonishing Tales of Spiritual Truth: Gripping Stories Based on the Sayings of Jesus by Steven James"},"content":{"rendered":"

Very few of us can resist a good story, least of all a teen.\u00a0 Jesus was a master storyteller who could surprise, challenge and amaze his listeners.\u00a0 In Astonishing Tales of Spiritual Truth: Gripping Stories Based on the Sayings of Jesus,<\/em> Steven James retells thirty-six of Jesus\u2019 stories in a contemporary youth context.\u00a0 Each chapter is four to six pages long and could easily be used as a Bible study lesson or as a personal, daily devotional.\u00a0 Astonishing Tales <\/em>has a small square format with an \u201cAmazing Comics\u201d cover illustration making it visually appealing to youth.<\/p>\n

Every chapter includes a section entitled \u201cOrigin\u201d which explains where in the Bible that particular tale can be found.\u00a0 The \u201cInquiry\u201d section explains what the original story meant to the first listeners.\u00a0 James doesn\u2019t believe that Scripture can mean something today that it never meant then.<\/p>\n

Chapter 9 \u201cTrouble at the Concession Stand\u201d begins:\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Can you believe this new guy?\u2019 Antoine asked his friend Trevor as they arrived at their hall lockers one Friday after school.\u00a0 \u2018What a wannabe!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Yeah, no kidding\u2026He doesn\u2019t even own a letter jacket and he calls himself a basketball player\u2026He just wears old worn-out sneakers!\u00a0 How can you play basketball with old shoes?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018You know what I heard?\u00a0 I heard he doesn\u2019t even shoot with both feet on the ground.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Who does he think he is, shooting in the air?\u2019 said Trevor. \u2018I\u2019ll bet he can\u2019t even spin a ball on his finger!\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

James makes every Biblical story relevant for his modern-day readers.\u00a0 For instance, in the \u201cRelevance\u201d section of chapter 9, the author asks, \u201cAre you more worried about your clothes than your heart?\u00a0 Are you quick to pile up rule after rule for others, and then quick to find loopholes for yourself?\u201d\u00a0 Finally at the end of each chapter, the \u201cMeditation\u201d section gives teens a short prayer to focus their attention on the original Storyteller.<\/p>\n

A few of the stories are the well-known, expected parables of Jesus like \u201cThe Good Samaritan,\u201d and \u201cThe Wheat and the Tares,\u201d but James retells lesser known events and sayings as well, like the parable of the \u201cTen Virgins,\u201d and Jesus\u2019 encounter with the \u201cTen Lepers.\u201d\u00a0 Readers familiar with the Bible will easily recognize the stories in their new context, but they will be surprised at how the author ends his rendition with a twist of truth that will change their perspective\u2014just like Jesus did with his listeners.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecorating the Hotel Room\u201d was so funny I laughed until I cried which was completely appropriate for what turned out to be a tragic ending.\u00a0 Many of Jesus\u2019 stories don\u2019t have feel-good, happily-ever-after, fairy-tale conclusions.\u00a0 My favorite James tale is called \u201cWanna Know What I Did Last Night?\u201d\u00a0 Its ironic finish reminded me that \u201cJesus talks a lot more about how we should forgive other people than He does about how God forgives us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astonishing Tales <\/em>is technically a non-fiction book, a commentary on New Testament passages which seeks to explain Jesus\u2019 message to young people, but in reality Steven James\u2019 book reads like a short story collection.\u00a0 The theme of the book is God\u2019s story and its intersection with our story.\u00a0 James\u2019 writing style and use of dialog provides a fresh and compelling message for both first time Bible readers, and for those who might be inclined to tune out an oft-told tale from Sunday School.\u00a0 We all need to be reminded that things are not always as they appear to be\u2014including the Kingdom of Heaven.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Very few of us can resist a good story, least of all a teen.\u00a0 Jesus was a master storyteller who could surprise, challenge and amaze his listeners.\u00a0 In Astonishing Tales of Spiritual Truth: Gripping Stories Based on the Sayings of Jesus, Steven James retells thirty-six of Jesus\u2019 stories in a contemporary youth context.\u00a0 Each chapter […] Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":723,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722\/revisions\/723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/janicebyrd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}