Customer Reviews

The Hidden Power of the Gospels: Four Questions, Four Paths, One Journey

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As a pastor, I find Dr. Shaia's book to be enormously practical. My tradition, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, uses a lectionary, which is a three year reading cycle that incorporates each of the four gospels which form the ONE Gospel, the Good News of Jesus the Christ. Dr. Shaia has presented us with a central question for each gospel based on the four communities that struggled with the Living Jesus in their midst. Four historical periods. Four communities with different concerns. Four applicable struggles for our lives today. Four paths, four seasons, a cycle of spirituality and faith. If one were to take the bare bones of Dr. Shaia's work and apply it, it would be very good indeed. It has that kind of practical application that a pastor can employ immediately. If you are at a crossroads in your community, this book will be able to help you map out the next three, if not four, years. Beyond the purely practical, this book also offers a great deal to the deeply spiritual (but sometimes not religious) person. If ANYTHING can bridge the gap between the traditional Christian and the reticent seeker, this can. This is an approach that can appeal to a wide and diverse group. Traditional folks, non-traditional folks. Rich and poor. Privileged and Oppressed. "Temporarily Able" and "Differently Able." Liberal and Conservative. Aged and young. We all struggle with these four questions in our faith journey. See more information about Dr. Shaia and his work at [...]. This book will be my companion as I plan out my goals for the next decade.

This is NOT just another book about the gospels! With a perfect blend of historical context mixed with contemporary insights, Dr. Shaia opens up the gospels in a whole new way. If you are the kind of person who is interested in opening yourself up to a deeper relationship with the Divine, treat yourself to this book. You may even want to find someone to share it with or begin a study group. I am a coordinator of adult faith formation in a Catholic parish, and after being profoundly moved by what I experienced, I have accompanied several others as they journeyed through this material. So many eyes have been opened and it's as if people fall in love again with the gospels. Enjoy the journey...

This book is so beautifully written that it's a pleasure to read. More importantly, however, is the message it shares. It has given me a new understanding of the gospels. I'm fascinated with the information about how the gospels were written and the communities to which they were written. The questions these communities had are the same ones I have today, and now I can see how the gospels can help me each and every day living my life in the twenty-first century. It has made me see the gospels as an even more important guide for my life.

Personal context for what I write: I am actively seeking to become a better Christian--due to tragedies in our family, I have returned to my faith as the basic way forward-to gain strength personally and to understand though service to others how I can once again be fulfilled. I am a life long protestant that has found traditional church involvement unfulfilling!

I saw an rave review of "Hidden Power" and thought why not read? The reviewers promise was inviting, superlative and in the end for me; "transformative"! The luck of reading that review has lead me to a deeper understanding about my four big questions. How do I face change? How do I move through the darkness in my life? How do I receive joy, that is, an epiphany on how to I grow into a new and better state requires doing more that thinking about-it requires action. Finally, how do I mature in service, that is, shelving my ego and methodically improving each and every day.

This book has been good for me on 4 levels. First, the gospel stories are brilliantly told with historical context, comparative differences in treatment of major events and the beautiful metaphors that make them rich. Second, since each of gospels tells Christ's story in a different way, I have learned what I could not have ever understood from just reading the Bible. Third, Dr Shaia is a seasoned counseling psychologist so his writing draws on the fundamentals of "how do I plan work out a transformative journey which improves my life". The four questions, anchored in the beauty of the gospels and psychological change principles could not possibly be richer but it is!

Fourth and most powerfully, he structures the entire book around his insights that lead to "quadratos", a multi-cycle approach to personal (or ogranizational) transformation. As he puts it in his book, "the pattern of quadratos runs through every aspect of existence."

So much more could be said that is positive and compelling. Dr. Shaia is a gifted writer so the book is easy to read. This is a book that can open your mind and heart--I hope it is ultimately read by millions of people, across the globe and within all the established religions. For me, I am on my way to a better Christian life--Thank you Dr. Shaia!

I believe Alexander Shaia may just have written a book which will change the way people look at the gospels entirely, and I'm not just talking about Christians. The gospels, Shaia posits, are not to be taken literally, but rather they create a "Great Map of Transformation" universally relevant, regardless of background or viewpoint, even to those claiming no faith at all. I found this book well written, terrifically researched, full of scholarship and thought-provoking, innovative ideas. In fact, dare I say, it has utterly altered my own perception of the gospels, and the way in which I will approach. Shaia has made them personal and applicable to my own spiritual journey.

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Combining scholarly research, psychological insights and a lifetime of spiritual inquiry, Shaia has unraveled the historical contexts of the gospels, their different audiences and
the big life questions that each addresses. Not just a fresh look but a revolutionary one whether one be clergy or laypersons.
Contrasting the historical Jesus with Jesus the Christ and Holy God brings Shaia's message right into each of our lives, deeply and permanently. How we are finally transformed by our faith after confronting life's changes, pain and joy is boldily and convincingly told by Shaia. It has become a favorite book to give other seekers.

This is a can't put down book!I'm convinced if every new Christian was handed a copy our theology would be very different & the world a different place. Ground-breaking as one would expect as Alexander Shaia has been reflecting on his take on the Gospels for many years.
He possits very persuasively on the positioning of the four Gospels in an order that equates with the Christian journey & life's journey in general, & the cyclical nature of this process.He extends this to all life & all people. Those with a conservative viewpoint may find this disturbing.

This book will knock your spiritual and intellectual socks off if you give it a chance. Read it seriously, think about it, let it enter your soul. It could be the basis for your spiritual development for years. I gave up traditional Christianity decades ago, although I am a regular churchgoer. I'm not a great Bible lover. But the thoughtful and complex view Shaia presents has made me look for the underlying spiritual and developmental truths under the stories told about Jesus.

We are using this book with a discussion group in our church adult study, Its inspiring to study the gospel from the perspecitve of to whom the Evangelists were preaching and where the early Christians were in terms of their own faith journey and belief.

I learned fresh insights about the audience who were the recipients of each of the four Gospels. I was especially excited by some of the fresh insights I received about several of the texts. Shaia makes a compelling case for the intentionality that was involved in the ordering and selection of these four gospels within the canon although many other gospels were written as well.