Customer Reviews

Parables from the Back Side: Bible Stories With a Twist (Behind the Pages)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With so many different books written about the parables, Kalas takes the reader on a lesser travelled route. Have you ever wondered what we can learn from the victim in the story of the Good Samaritan? Have you ever realized how many times the parables end with a joyous celebration? Have you ever asked what if God threw a party and no one came? If you have never considered any of thse questions, but find them to be intriquing, then definitly pick up this book and prepare yourself for a strong, thought-provoking set of studies. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a refreshing take on learning new insights into the parables.

Mr. Kalas has the class yearning for more. Open your eyes to a different angle without losing the original or main message of your favoriate parables.

This gave our study group opportunities to walk in others' shoes, providing good discussion, and forcing us to use "out-of-the-box" thinking. Excellent leader's guide in the back of each study book provided variety of ways to further examine familiar parables in order to relate this re-examination to our daily lives and faith journey.

My favorite Ellsworth Kalas book!! I loaned my first copy to several friends over the years until the last one did not return it. Because reading the "backside" of these parables gave me present-day insight to people, personalities and predicaments, I had to purchase a new copy. Needless to say, this one is not for loan. I direct friends to Amazon where they can purchase a copy of their own.

The "Backside" books give a different persepctive from the one we have always learned. They exemplify that there are two sides to every story; and, I have learned from Ellsworth Kalas to try to see all participants in a parable and consider their feelings. This has also been helpful in my own life.

I recommend all the "Backside" books.

I like the author's ideas. He looks at each parable from a different point of view. I especially liked the first and last chapters.

This book offers an easy read and a great study. The book allows you to think of other perspectives, and is great at breaking the uniformite so many were raised to follow.

After hearing so much about this book, I, frankly, was disappointed.

The concept is good, even grand, and the book follows the idea--looking back at well known parables through the eyes and perspective of a little known person in the story. But it just doesn't deliver the power and impact that its "buzz" said it did.

Like many such books written by ministers, it needed an editor, somebody to keep it sharp and moving. At times it read more like a sermon. Needed to be written tighter and the idea flow moving faster. Needed to be told and written in a more crip manner.

His points, most of them good, all of them good actually, got lost in the words. And that's unfortunate.

Because the parables are stories with the kind of twist that can completely undo our usual ways of living our lives, I appreciated Pastor Kalas' attempt to tell us the story of these stories from a fresh angle. The 12 chapters in this volume are basically sermons. This, in fact, is the value of the book. If you are a pastor who has gotten a little too predictable in the way you create messages, this book will help you climb outside the 3 alliterated points box in a thoughtful, application-focused way.

Though I didn't find it especially helpful when I was writing my own books on the parables (Parablelife: Living the stories Jesus told in real time - FaithWalk, 2005 and Uprooted: Growing a Parablelife from the Inside Out, scheduled for release in late 2006) in terms of information, I did find inspiration in Kalas' pastoral approach and welcoming tone.

The book arrived very quickly after I ordered and is in excellent conditioned, just as advertised.

Nowhere in your description of this book do you state that it ia a video study. This is very misleading.