Book Review The Shadow of the Galilean Essay - 1535 Words

Monica C. Sangco Due: 4/21/2014 CST130B – Book Review: The Shadow of the Galilean by Gerd Theissen The book The Shadow of the Galilean by Gerd Theissen is a historical fiction, creating a fictitious account of the life of Jesus through a narrative of a third person. This story brings an interesting, more relatable version to the reader as they go through the thoughts and travels of Andreas, a Jewish merchant, the protagonist of the book. Most events of this story are historically accurate which allows readers to better conceptualize the ideas that Theissen brings forward within the story by creatively tying it in to the life of Andreas. Through this book we are able open up another world to a reader, expanding the possibilities†¦show more content†¦They tell him that he is perfect for the job considering he is aware of both Jewish and Roman heritages and comes from a respectable family. Andreas chooses to gather information for the Romans and become the â€Å"adviser in religious affairs† (14) but with the intent of passing on irrelevant information to the Romans as to avoid betraying his own people. As Andreas is released, he meets the roman officer, Metilius, who was assigned to oversee his case. Metilius is first introduced to be very open-minded with the Jewish religions. He frequently debated and questioned the logic of the Jewish faith with Andreas during his briefings. His first task was to investigate the Essenes, a secretive community of people who lives in the wilderness who have hostility towards the Temple. After he was united with his slaves, they journeyed into the desert and met an exiled Essene named Baruch. Andreas hoped to gain information about the Essenes by showing him where to get food and drink so he wouldn’t perish in the wilderness. He learned that they practiced monogamy and criticized civilization’s way of living, especially Herod’s lifestyle. They hated Rome and believed there was going to be a major religious war. Andreas wrote to Pilate and gave his filtered report, which stated that they fo llow a different calendar and still fairly paid taxes to the Temple. They chose to live in the wilderness because they â€Å"cannot fulfill God’s commandments in everyday life† (43). Upon hearingShow MoreRelatedGalileo Galilei, Astronomer/Mathematician5105 Words   |  21 Pagesplanet since they would occasionally disappear; something he attributed to their movement behind Jupiter. He made additional observations of them in 1620. Later astronomers overruled Galileos naming of these objects, changing his Medicean stars to Galilean satellites. The demonstration that a planet had smaller planets orbiting it was problematic for the orderly, comprehensive picture of the geocentric model of the universe, in which everything circled around the Earth. Galileo noted that Venus exhibitedRead MoreAstronomy Question Bank5701 Words   |  23 PagesReview for Astronomy 2 Midterm and Final Midterm covers first 70 questions, Final covers all 105. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. Chapter 1 is covered by Q1-3; Ch. 2 Q4-18; Ch. 3 Q19-27; Ch. 4 Q28-34; Ch. 5 Q35-45; Ch. 6 Q46-51; Ch. 7 Q52-63; Ch. 8 Q64-70; Ch. 9 Q71-77; Ch. 10 Q78-82; Ch. 11 Q83-91; Ch. 12 Q92-96; Ch. 13 Q97-100; Ch. 14 Q101-105 1) Which of the following has your address in the correct order? A) you, Earth