Bill O’reilly

I Actually Finished It!

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I finished “Killing Jesus“, a week later than I planned. I have to say I was much more interested in it once it got to the life of Jesus and his eventual crucifixion.

It was as graphic as I expected it to be, with a few things left out that really surprised me. I don’t think they were left out because they were considered myths, because they are in every single other story or show about Jesus’s life, including the 4 gospels in the Bible.

the first of these was when Jesus was betrayed by Judas, and as he is being captured. Peter takes out his sword and cuts off Malchus’s ear. It is at this point that Jesus tells him to put the sword away, and reattaches Malchus’s ear. On pages 223-224, the chopping off of the ear is mentioned; but not the reattachment.

The other thing that was excluded was when Peter is inside the temple walls and he denies knowing Jesus 3 times, before the rooster crows. I was very surprised that neither of these things were mentioned, when I find them vital to showing not only the loyalty of Jesus’s disciples, but also the fact that they were scared of their own upcoming punishment for following Jesus and believing in his ministry.

A passage that I found very interesting was when Jesus was criticized by the Pharisees for eating with person’s who were considered unclean. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth enters into the stomach and then out of the body. But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All of these evils come from inside and make a man unclean” (O’Reilly, B., Dugard, M., 2013, Killing Jesus, pp -160-161).

So, on a lighter note, I think it’s time to find a more upbeat book to read next 🙂 I have a couple books on my bookshelf that I have not read yet, but I think I am going to bypass those for now,  go to Barnes and Nobles, and pick up a Joanne Fluke book. If you have never read her books, she includes recipes in her book as the main character runs a bakery. After reading several of her books, I think it’s time to try out some of those recipes!

Oh, and they are always based on someone’s murder, and I know that isn’t upbeat, but the stories have a humorous side to them and always ends with the good guy winning. Who can’t like that in a story? 🙂

Slowly but Surely

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I have managed to make it to the second part of “Killing Jesus.” It is holding my attention much better as it is to the parts I am familiar with, as far as the life Jesus led up to his crucifixion. There were some very difficult parts to read that described the torture the Romans used on anyone who did not obey them.

An excerpt: The soldiers of Antipas forced Judas of Gamala to his knees, facing a low post. He was tied to the wooden shaft with his hands above his head. Two soldiers retrieved short-handled whips, whose three leather tendrils were tipped with lead balls and mutton bones….As each lash was inflicted, the leather thongs tore open the skin and muscles, even as the lead and bone created more deep bruising.” (Killing Jesus. O’Reilly, B. Dugard, M. 2013, pg 83)

You get the general idea of the brutality these citizens faced. I cannot even imagine how much more graphic this will get when it gets to how Jesus was crucified, but this section here literally took my breath away. I think the visual picture I have in my head from watching Jesus get lashed in “The Passion of the Christ” is what made it even more real to me. That is what I kept seeing as I read this passage and beyond. (As a note, this is not the infamous Judas who betrayed Jesus, but one of many Judas’s during the time Jesus lived.)

On a lighter note, I plan on having this book finished by Saturday morning, and I have an awesome give-away coming up soon for one lucky person. Details to come!

May you be able to read as long as there are stories to be told 🙂

Epic Fail For Me!

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Well, my goal of finishing “Killing Jesus” by Sunday did not work out well for me. I have managed to make it to chapter 5, as I failed to really pick up the book all weekend. I used my opportunities to read and instead caught up on several TV shows that I did not need to watch but did anyways 🙂 It really wasn’t necessary for me to watch all 4 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy’s new season, but after the 1st nine seasons I guess I am invested in this show. Oh, and Survivor. Same situation. Watched the first 4 episodes that I missed. I am generally not a television watcher, except for The Big Bang Theory. And anyone who enjoys this show doesn’t need me to explain it’s appeal. And then there was Sleepy Hollow. I missed the latest two episodes so I had to watch those as well.

Oh. Back to the story. The 1st four chapters basically deal with the Roman empire, its numerous rulers, and what happened to whom up to the point of Jesus being a young man and staying behind in the temple to discuss religion and Mary and Joseph not realizing he had stayed behind until the next day. I had no interest in the Roman Empire history, which is really strange for me as I am a huge history buff. I have to say, the footnotes have lightened up a bit. This was just a little too far back in time to keep and hold my attention. I have every good intention of getting this book finished ASAP. Now that the story has reached Jesus’ life, I think it will hold my interest more. Even so, I am still trying to figure out what book I will be reading next 🙂 Any suggestions?

I am feeling the need to read C.S. Lewis’s “The Silver Chair” as I have heard they are going to get this movie made, Finally! I also have a couple books on my shelf that I got off the clearance rack at Barnes and Noble. I am also behind on my James Patterson books, as he seems to put out a new book every week 🙂 What are you reading?

What I don’t like about “Killing Jesus”

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Footnotes. Footnotes on every 2 pages. Footnotes that take sometimes up to half of the page. I get that they are trying to make this a factual historical writing. From the introduction:

“In the writing of this fact-based book, Martin Dugard and I do not aim to suggest that we know everything about Jesus. But we know much and will tell you things that you might not have heard. Our research has uncovered a narrative that is both fascinating and frustrating. There are major gaps in the life of Jesus, and at times we can only deduce what happened to him based upon the best available evidence. As often as possible, we relied on classical works.” (O’Reilly, B. 2013, Killing Jesus, pg 2).

I feel like I am reading a college paper (one of many I wrote) that has as many footnotes as story. Which I know is necessary. Give credit where credit is due, right? Maybe I have read so many fiction books based on Jesus that I wasn’t expecting this kind of format.

In all fairness, I am only a couple chapters in, and will continue reading this book. I just don’t like having to stop what I’m reading to read the footnotes and then go back to where I left off at. I am also anal enough that I cannot read this story without reading the footnotes. What if I missed something important? I have to read everything 🙂

So there’s my gripe for the day, and Happy Monday and Happy Reading!

Finished Dr. Sleep, up next for me?

AngelaLeave a comment

I finished up the last couple chapters of Dr. Sleep This morning; I really enjoyed this story. I was surprised I was able to get it read in a week with the schedule I was juggling, but it is amazing how much you can read when you have a 5 minute space of free time 🙂 I still intend on getting The Shining and reading it as well. Have you finished yet?

Up next? Killing Jesus by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. I have never read any of Bill’s books before, but have been wanting to read Killing Lincoln, which he penned as well. I am a huge fan of Abraham Lincoln, reasons unknown 🙂 I have admired him since I was a very young child, and that has never changed. I read everything I can find about him (except apparently, Killing Lincoln LOL). I am not a huge watcher of political shows, so although I am familiar with Bill O’Reilly and where he stands, I am curious as to his writing.

An interesting fact that a friend told me about the cover of Killing Jesus (pictured here) that had a part in me picking up this book with Dr. Sleep? The picture on the front is not of a crucifix, but instead it is a T, which I wondered about when I saw the cover the first time. The reason for this? I was told it is an accurate depiction, and that when persons were crucified, it was on a T, and not a crucifix. If the person did not die as quickly as planned, on the T, they could easily break his neck and kill him; this could not be accomplished on a crucifix.

Although I tend to not talk religion or politics Books and TBBT Toys 026) I will be posting some updates on this book, how I think it is written, and the things that are covered.

Is this book on your bookshelf, and if it is, have you started it yet? My goal; finish this by next weekend. It is about a 1/3 of the size of the last book, so that shouldn’t be an issue.