Joshua: A Parable for Today is a compelling read, but is not the best written book. Joseph Girzone tells a pretty good story, but parts of this read like stuff coming out of an intro fiction writing class. The conversations are stilted and artificial.
Nevertheless, the conceit of Jesus coming back to Earth under the radar is refreshing. There is a sort of Will Rogers wit to Girzone's observations about religious practice, all the more interesting coming from a retired Catholic priest.
His riff on marriage is passionate, but incomplete. Certainly Catholicism has overregulated this and annulment has been a nightmre, but the character, Joshua, seems to forget his own words about marriage in the Gospels.
How Joshua interacts with Jewish characters is refreshing, but also left underdeveloped. I thought his dialogue with Catholic church officials could have been a bit more biting and incisive, especially the constant references to Joshua not having the authority to comment on Church matters.
Girzone calls this "a modern parable", but I don't see the lesson fleshed out completely, although I suppose one could say the same thing about the scriptural parables.
Czar
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