Serious Bible students who want to study our Christian Bible as closely as possible to how Jesus did it now have access to new possibilities:
ETZ HAYIM, Torah and Commentary is designed for and by Conservative Jewish congregations printed in both Hebrew and English with commentaries based on modern scholarship as well as much older ones. Reading it from back to front as Jews do one may encounter an entirely new understanding of the Old Testament. (Gift of the Rev. Bill and Marilyn Foley)
New awareness of the past or politically correct feminism running wild? In Beloved Disciple: The Misunderstood Legacy of Mary Magdalene, the Woman Closest to Jesus Robin Griffeth-Jones, New Testament scholar and Master of the Temple in London (famous as the Church of the Knights Templar) explores Biblical, Gnostic, and ancient accounts (sometimes fragmentary) of this enigmatic and seminal figure in Jesus' Life.
Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years is admittedly too long (at over 1000 pages) for most readers. A fine short cut is now available: six DVD's produced by the BBC is engrossing and available now in our library.
Making the Rounds with Oscar by David Dosa, M.D. tells the true tale of the extraordinary cat who comforts the dying and the newly bereaved
in a Rhode Island nursing home. Nurses first observed Oscar's unusual habit and doubters have been convinced as he continues his uncanny death watches.
"Let those who have eyes to see, see." Not all picture books are for children. We have two new ones, part of The Master Illustrator Series, that will change the way you see the Bible passages on which they're based. Russian trained illustrator Gennady Spirin's pictures for Creation are like sublime prayers. Barry Moser's Psalm 23 images are as calming and pastoral as the words and his "house of the Lord" is a religious experience in itself. Don't miss either one. They make fine furniture for the soul.
The Last Station starring Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer is based on the last part of Tolstoy's life. Highly acclaimed by critics, this
film never showed in Savannah but the DVD is now in our library.
Working from both historical and legendary sources Ronald Brownrigg's The Twelve Apostles presents pictures of the chosen twelve, their relationships with each other, their characters, and their possible motives. Enhanced by photos, maps and reproductions of religious art the book is a fascinating read. (Gift of Jan Cavedon)
Gail Godwin's latest novel Unfinished Desires deals with moral choices and their results in the lives of friends - "even unto the third and fourth
generation". As always Godwin's story is engrossing, nuanced and eminently readable.
Where was Jesus from 12 to 30?. Surprisingly to most Western Christians thousands of people in India think he was there - at least some of the time. Researched by questing former fundamentalist Edward T. Martin, Jesus in India is a thought provoking, colorful DVD done originally for the Sundance Channel.
Testament an "investigation into the origins and background of the Bible" first aired on the Discovery Channel and is now available.