The same story, told differently

Kenneth, who lived in the middle east for forty years and taught theology, is well versed with the middle eastern traditions and beliefs. He uses that background to understand and articulate the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

Kenneth has been considered as a premier cultural interpreter of the life of Jesus. He uses cultural anthropology, skilled exegesis and personal insights to make the gospel come alive. The western view of spirituality and reflections on the life of Jesus need a supplementation from the original settings, where Jesus lived and served.  That is what  Kenneth brings to us in this book.

Having read and mastered Arabic, Kenneth brings a fresh understanding of the parables, miracles, beatitudes, etc. The gospel needed this expansion of understanding from a well studied original text of the teachings of Jesus in the culture they were spoken.

We are used to literal, metaphorical, social and liberational interpretations of the gospel and the teachings of Jesus.  The teachings of Jesus is all of these. That is what Kenneth suggests. The exposition on the Lord's prayer, dramatic actions of Jesus, and the approach of Jesus to women are masterly presented with clarity and preciseness. I like the way he brings new meanings to words and phrases, that I have not come across elsewhere.

It is a book helping us in meditation of the Scripture and the teachings of Jesus. There is an interactive language which is easy to read and carry in our hearts.

Those of us who have travelled in the middle eastern countries would understand some of the cultural inputs which are seminal to grow in reverence and worship for the love with which we are loved by God.    

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)