Customer Reviews

Joshua : A Parable for Today

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I purchased JOSHUA only because I knew Father Girzone many many years ago and I was curious about what he may have written.

JOSHUA is a simple story about Jesus (Joshua) living in modern times. The message Joshua delivers gives comfort to those of us who have been raised with the strict rules of the Catholic church accompanied by the feeling that you can never quite "measure up." THE BOOK CHANGED MY LIFE ! JOSHUA strengthened my faith by giving me a simplistic version of Jesus' message without all of the "excess baggage" that accompanies organized religion.

Many thanks to Father Girzone for the gift he has bestowed on his readers -- a clearer understanding of God's love for us. I read reviews that pointed out "flaws" in the writing. If the message shines through (which it obviously did by reading the reviews) - then the writing was perfect ! ! A must read for EVERYONE ....

The book JOSHUA changed my life. That's a simple but powerful statement and that is exactly what this book is: a simple but powerful book.

It seems to be divinely inspired and written with devotion and love. It was obviously Fr. Girzone's first attempt at writing for it often read like the way a child speaks but I found that to be charming instead of annoying. The book was pure in its voice and pure in its motive to communicate how organized religions can often move away from the true message and character of Christ.

Joshua, like Jesus, is a man with human flaws but who has attained a level of love for God that most of us aspire too but fall far short of achieving. Joshua doesn't go around rigidly preaching the word of God so much as he lives his life according to the word of God--his life is a sermon and example to us all, like Jesus'life was.

Fr. Girzone seems to be trying to show us how Joshua (Jesus) was a simple man who led a compassionate life devoted to a loving God. His life and message were not bogged down with rules and an inhuman ideal of perfection. Joshua could worship in any temple, any church, on any hilltop because God can be found anywhere and, at the same time, his love for God allowed him to worship with Christians, Jews or simply all by himself.

God is too great for any one religion to corner the market on understanding Him and our quest to please Him. We still can't explain the size or the birth of our universe so how can we be expected to be all knowing about God? Joshua attempts to bring that thought to light. Learning and loving God is a journey that spans many lifetimes but Joshua shows us that compassion and love will put us on the right path.

The book MY ISHMAEL rattled my universe and left me feeling like an earthquake had just pulled the ground out from under my feet. My faith was enhanced, but it took me days to calm down from the experience. JOSHUA, on the otherhand, was like being rocked in the arms of heaven with an angel whispering the Secret of Life in my ear.

For several years I have picked up this book for some reason, and then replaced it on the bookstore's shelves. I wrongly judged it to be a "Catholic" book, but I've been drawn to it again and again. One day I decided to purchase it. What I read was an interesting, enjoyable and intriguing story about how Jesus, under the name of Joshua, came into our midst in today's time, and how we treated him. The story started out somewhat slow, but a strange power kept me interested in the story--barely letting me put the book down. Joseph Girzone has done an excellent job of telling the story about a man trying to live in our modern society, and yet be true to his beliefs about God and Jesus' teachings. And he does it without cramming religious beliefs down your throat. It is not a "Catholic" book, but a book for anyone that would want to meet Jesus today as a man with incredible wisdom and compassion for his fellow man. Byron Kirkwood, author of the "Survival Guide for the New Millennium" and coauthor of "Mary's Message to the World."

If Christ's teachings set the practitioner free, why does established religion impose a set of rigid rules and traditions on their followers? In his book, "Joshua", Fr Girzone beautifully reexplores this territory first broached by Dostoevsky in his chapter "The Grand Inquisitor" in "the Brothers Karamazov". Girzone asks the question, "Can mankind shed its true nature, throw away its need for power and truly embrace the simple life that Christ advocates?" In "The Grand Inquisitor", Christ reappears, His love of man evident in the simple miraculous acts he performs when he walks among the sick and poor. These actions cause attention to be drawn to Him, and eventually He is imprisioned by the grand inquisitor who engages Him in a lengthy conversation regarding what the established Church provides the people and exactly what the Church is unwilling to sacrifice in order to truly follow Christ's example. The Grand Inquisitor fully admits the the Church has supplanted the role of Christ in the lives of its congregation and in effect is responsible for the "non-existence" of God.

Similarly, in "Joshua", Christ reappears in a small town in upstate New York. Joshua is a wood carver who lives simply, enjoys the beauty of nature and above all has the ultimate compassion for anyone he encounters who is in physical, spiritual or mental need. Word of Joshua's simple lifestyle sets the town's ears on fire and curiosity drives them to meet Joshua for themselves. No one is disappointed. As Joshua's popularity grows, he is singled out by leaders of the established churches and the synagogue. As in the Grand Inquisitor, Joshua eventually comes head to head with the powerful leaders of the established religion and the egotistical need man has for power. As in the gospels, His words are meant to break down the hierarchical authority that enslaves rather than frees its underlings. His message is heard only by a few and as in the past,it is discussed, mulled over and spread. And when it becomes bureaucratized?

This feel-good book has a simply rendered yet powerful message. I recommend it to anyone who wants a modern version of the impact Christ must have had on anyone he encountered. His humanity and divinity are superbly and finely drawn.

I have read some of the negative reviews of this book above, and have come to the conclusion that those who write in such a negative way do not have the true Spirit of Christ in them. Finding petty things such as Girzone's grammar is just missing the whole point of the book. "Unless you become as little children you will by no means enter the kingdom of God". Girzone approaches this book with a childlike view of Jesus. Not too complex. He only wants peace, and does not like to see all of the bickering that goes on in Christian circles. God is too big for us to argue so much, He does not live in a box. He came to serve us, to die for us, and to give us abundant life. I am not Catholic, and I read this book and know that the Spirit of God is strong in this author. He is my brother in Christ, and we are of the same Body.

I would like to commend this book for its recognition of the Jewish roots of Christianity. I happen to attend a Messianic Synagogue (Jewish Christian congregation), and in my work I was confronted by a Catholic lady who was very, very against me associating with "Jewish people", even if they were Christians. Anytime I mentioned something about the Jewish people, I was verbally attacked by this person, who actually was a friend. Well, she happened to have a child named Joshua, and came across this book in a garage sale. It interested her because it carried the same name of her child. She began to read this book, and slowly began to ask a lot of questions (since the book was written by a former Catholic priest, she was more open-minded to what he had to say). She was amazed to find out that Jesus was Jewish, so were all of the disciples, and as a matter of fact, most of the first believers in the Messiah! Within a month, her attitude totally changed, and she apologized for all of the things she said to me. She realized where her roots were, and that there was an anti-Semitic spirit in her, though she did not see it at the time. Thanks to this book, her ignorance about the Jewish people was done away with, and her relationship with God grew even more. This book is a parable, and Jesus spoke in parables, and they had a profound impact. I know this book has had a profound impact on many people. It is not complex doctrine. It is simple. God loves people, and wants people to love Him, and to love each other. It's that simple. Those who fight against it, my only prayer is that they may one day feel God's love in such a strong way that they will be set free from hatred, anger, and bitterness. As I am sure many of us were before we came to experience God's love and faithfulness. A great book, but you need to become like a child to read it, and hopefully in the process, will enter the kingdom of God and see His righteousness.

This book hooked me. It's simplistic writing wasn't my favorite- it seemed as if it was written for young adults. But by the time I finished the book, I realized that simplicity was the main theme of the book. The writing style was consistent with the entire message. I think it's very hard for modern day Christians to understand Jesus, the man, and how a man today with His values might live/act every day. Even though it is fiction, this book was very helpful in allowing me to understand the intention Jesus has for us in this day and how he expects us to live our lives. The book only failed in that it wasn't realistic at the end where Joshua is called to stand before the Pope. I realize that the author was attempting to make a point and allow Joshua to really test his faith principles with the Earthly pontiff, but it seemed too far fetched. I was right with the story until that last section. I still think it's a worthwhile read. I have personally reflected on it many times since I finished it.

My mother-in-law is the one responsible for getting me to read this book. We were having a discussion nearly a month ago about faith-inspiring books. She handed me a copy of Joshua and insisted that I read it. I did and, although I would not say that it ranks with my favorite books, I did find it a rather enjoyable and moving story.

Joshua is very simply written; the fact that Girzone was a novice author at the time he wrote it definitely shows in the writing style. However, the simplicity of the writing lends itself to a very easy read.

In addition to the writing style being very simplistic, so too is its message. Girzone is very direct and repetitive (almost to the point of being annoying) with the message he is trying to convey. In doing so, he avoids the possibility of misinterpretation but, at the same time, prevents the message from having much depth; very little is left to the imagination.

I found the book enjoyable and worth the time I spent reading it, but I didn't find it as profoundly inspiring as my mother-in-law had (for me, Clowns of God by Morris West had a much deeper impact). However, Joshua does have a good message, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get in touch with their spiritual side.

Joseph's whole goal is much respected. Although rather obvious he was new to the writing world I commend him to try and achieve God's goal to make known Jesus' overall purpose is that we not get stuck on procedure in our pursuit to be what God wants us to be. Jesus used Joseph to write Joshua to show us this.

The distraction may be for a lot of readers is to overlook the flow of the story in which Joshua often just "happens" to be able to speak about the way to Christ. This takes away from the author's need to make this book a reality in so many ways. I often got distracted by this--the author's need to summarize instead of create dialogue. It pulled me out of the story instead of putting me deeper into it.

Another take away is that Joshua often gets a lot of people that just sit back and listen to him in a way which is rather unbelievable. No one ever opposing enough (accept for his direct enemies) and from the world we all live in this is just really unbelievable. People were to easily compliant with Joshua even though he was Jesus. It was not realistic.

During the author's attempt to add to the book a reader often feels TOO preached to. I understand the attempts Joseph was trying to make and the only reason it doesn't work is because he was a novice writer at the time. Or needs some self-editing skills to prune his writing.

Another take away is that the author often duplicates the actions of Jesus within Joshua in present day which is comendable

and understandable since Jesus is always the same but in his pursuit to show the likelihood that history repeats itself and those today would still act toward Jesus the way they did in the past seems to get lost in his efforts due to the diluted writing.

And also you read Joshua roaming off in memory about how people were in the past just a little too much. The purpose was to makes certain points about how things changed or how people did or didn't change but it tends to only make the reader a bit grouchy at the in and out of past and present tense. Something a writer shouldn't do unless really really necesary. Viewers/readers hate that.

Joseph (the author) gives back to the story in many ways though... just to hear how complicated we all make life and all that Joshua (Jesus) has to say about how we could find the essence of joy is worth enduring the take-aways.

I commend Joseph and definitely will not bash him just for trying. His book has done so much good for everyone!!! He may have not written it the best way... but I think he made God proud. It's not the mistakes he made that so much counted, but that he did what God probably wanted him to do regardless of the mistakes involved.

Joseph the author taught me a lesson just as well as Joshua!

I read this book years ago when I was in Catholic high school and at the time I didn't fully understand it. Recently, I came across this book and thought it would be a good read.
The story of Joshua is a wonderful parable about the life of Jesus and how easy it can be for good people to lose track of the meaning of His life, His teachings, and why He died for us. It's easy to be overwhelmed by "religious" people who are closely adhering to rules and regulations. But this book teaches you the true spirit of Jesus... and is an awakening about our current society.
As I read this book, I'm often brought to tears... it's a book that I have recommended to many.

For anyone who has questioned religion and his/her part of it, and for those who think they know it all, this is a "MUST READ".

As a seminarian and a follower of Jesus Christ, I found this book to be one of the most profound and best fictional books I have ever read. I was so impressed with it that I purchased many other copies to give away to others trying to find their faith. I bought copies for my family. I bought a copy for my best friend. He,his wife and two daughters were so taken with Joshua that they went out and bought the whole series.

Ignore the (very few) naysayers and modern day Pharisees that cannot appreciate the profound simplicity.... a trait that is found in our Lord, Jesus!