David Rhodes (3)

There once was something called "liberation theology" which interpreted Jesus' teachings as advocating a "preferential option for the poor." Many of those involved with the liberation theology movement became politically active, and enough apple carts were upset (in Latin America particularly) that the Church under Popes John Paul and Benedict essentially denounced it.

Though David Rhodes, a British journalist, neither mentions liberation theology nor uses the phrase, "preferential option for the poor," his reading of the gospels has him operating on the same wavelength. His approach is colloquial, his writing accessible to all readers--but it's hard to know how most readers would react to his interpretation of various gospel stories which, while quite brilliant, are also quite conventional. I myself found his take on things to be excitingly fresh and stimulating.

The only thing that dulls the book are a few middle chapters on prayer. There's nothing wrong with what he says about prayer, just that these chapters don't match his others in terms of freshness. Most everything he says about prayer I've read in many other places before.

I have already highly recommended this book to many of my friends.… (meer)