Criminals of the Bible: Twenty-Five Case Studies of Biblical Crimes and Outlaws Rating :
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Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
A Thought Provoking Read
By Sammy Eerdmans
I expected a book similar to Bad Girls of the Bible and was pleasantly surprised to find out it is a far more serious study which has deeper and more thought provoking content. The author is a criminal justice professor at a major university and, coupled with his biblical research, has uncovered twenty five criminals and their crimes. Some famous (Jesus is identified as a criminal because he was considered guilty of blasphemy) and the infamous (Cain obviously committed premeditated murdur). Then the author goes a step further by writing about what crime each would be today and then challenging the reader to determine for him or her self what lessons we in the twenty-first century can learn from these crimes. A riveting read. As good if not better than most novels. Highly recommended.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.For 17 years old an up
By Christian Book Previews
The Bible can be a shocking book. It contains enough stories to keep you busy for months and is full of intriguing and complex characters. Mark Jones' new book, Criminals of the Bible, follows 25 such stories and breaks them down into easy to understand formats. Each chapter focuses on a different scenario and follows the following outline (as stated by Jones):
1. The scriptural reference for the crime,
2. A short biography of the principle character or characters,
3. The legal, social, and political definition and context of the crime for that era,
4. The same crime viewed through a modern legal, social, and political lens, and
5. The lessons that can be learned from the crime, on a societal or individual level.
The writing is to-the-point and easy to understand. Jones explains legal jargon in laymen's language and teaches the reader something about biblical history along the way. Criminals of the Bible looks at the chosen individuals and their accompanying crimes in a way that sheds modern light on each situation. These include Cain for murder, Pharaoh for genocide, Amnon for rape, and Jeremiah for sedition, among 21 others.
This book has been carefully written and researched, but I would recommend using discretion for any readers under the age of 17. Although Jones does not glorify the crimes committed, nor does he describe them in too much detail, the modern day comparisons are not light reading. His book will make a wonderful aide for students seeking a degree in law or criminal justice or for any young adult who desires a deeper understanding of these accounts. Considering the serious content, this book must be taken as a reference tool and used as such. - Lauren Steigerwald, Christian Book [...]
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Interesting concept
By Janlynn
The author provides an interesting way of looking at Biblical people and comparing their punishments to punishments given today for the same crimes. Thought provoking and great conversation starter.
Product Description
An historical account of twenty-five biblical crimes, the people involved, the consequences of their actions and the lessons they learned.
The bible is filled with crimes committed by the famous and infamous. This books studies twenty-five crimes and provides the biblical context, what the crime was at the time, what crime it would be now, the punishment as told in the Bible and what would be a typical punishment today. With a plot line that can be truer then fiction, Criminals of the Bible is entertaining, informative, accurate and throught provoking. A must read for anyone interested in crime, current events, social issues and history, as well as college students, pastors, Bible study leaders, biblical students and seminarians.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #990749 in Books
- Published on: 2006-10-01
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.78" h x5.96" w x.66" l,.77 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 256 pages
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