Prayer : Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the Original Meaning of Jesus s Words: Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus

Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the Original Meaning of Jesus s Words: Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus

EUR 4,83


Little Real Insight - Few Apply to Jesus or Christianity - At one time in my *very* early studies of the Aramaic Jesus, I thought a lot of this book. However, the more I learned, the less value I saw in this book. It s a shallow, experiential (i.e. breathing, dancing and drumming) approach to Jesus, Aramaic and Christianity, all run through the rather thick filter of the author s own Sufi leanings. As such, it is highly suspect, except to the non-discerning student of Aramaic and Christianity. If you like inane New Age fluff like Celestine Prophecy or Conversations with God, you ll no doubt find this book very deep and meaningful. But if you are a student of early Christianity, the historical Jesus work, and the Bible, or even if you consider yourself a serious Christian mystic, this book will be of little more value to you than a bad comic book. Look instead to the old, out-of-print Lamsa books for somewhat better (and more Christian-oriented) Aramaic insights, or if you want something really meaty and scholarly, try ordering Matthew Black s _Aramaic Approach to the Gospels and the Acts_ if Amazon has it. But worst of all, the Aramaic lettering on the cover of the paperback edition pictured here - was printed BACKWARDS by the book s publisher! Nice going, Harper San Francisco...

Klotz novell interpritation opens up new doorways ... - Unlike possibly many other readers of this book, I was not expecting a scholarly exegesis - just an interpritation based upon a heart-based and spiritually attuned frame of mind.Spirituality cannot be distilled into an academic formula - to do so is to rob it of the mystery it contains. In this light, I find that Klotz insights provide a welcome, new, and fresh view on some of the *many* potential meanings which can be found within the original Aramaic.One has to wonder if the original versions of the christian scriptures were re-examined within this light and from the original Aramaic (and not from second or third hand Greek or Latin texts), how much the interpritation as well as the application of the principles espoused by the religion of christianity might change. Could it be possible that what we think the man known as Jesus said, could, in fact, be a distorted interpritation based upon a particular paradigm which does not necessarily reflect reality? My feeling is that this is a question we should all be asking ourselves. This book by Klotz can provide some insights, but ones journey to find such answers should only begin here - there is much more to learn and discover. In this light, Klotz opens up a new doorway to possibilities that our traditions and established ways of approaching the teachings of Jesus may have certainly overlooked.Yah

Author s insights into Jesus words help us find our own - Enjoyable, valuable and fascinating but I agree with other reviewers that the translation technique is flawed. In the author s own explanations of his technique, he reveals unsupportable leaps of logic. He infers too much and turns a word or two into multiple lines. He goes beyond translation and extrapolates according to his own values and philosophy. Still, he allows us to hear Jesus words in a way that breaks through the icy formalism of King James English. He helps us hear a voice that was much more powerful and emotionally rich than the one revealed in the version with which we are so familiar. I think that the value of this work comes in condensing it s emotional, non-verbal essence for use as a background for the words. Then, recognizing that there are some specific inaccurate shades of meaning in some of the words, we can continue to use the traditional translations in a new context: with a new depth of feeling and with joy and respect for the nuances of the original meaning.

A Present Day View of the Language of Jesus - The Lord s Prayer and the Beatitudes (from the Sermon on the Mount) are retranslated using imagery that evokes new ways of looking at an ancient prayer. It s a blueprint for living in harmony with our universal destiny. If you have been raised Christian and have recited this prayer many times in your life, it will never sound the same - It has changed my life and I predict will change yours too. There are many study circles throughout the world devoted to the study of this book. The entire prayer and most of the beatitudes are also set to music and can be chanted as well as danced in the form of group sacred circle dances. Check out Desert Flowers web page.

Fresh views but not a translation - Klotz brings a fresh view of the words of Jesus based on Aramaic. However, his translation technique is to translate not word to word, but syllable to word. One sentence in Aramaic becomes four lines of imaginative and overly-liberal English prose. The translation technique is non-standard and unfortunately, cannot be considered accurate. You would not have heard Jesus speaking verbatim what this book has written in English.This book is worth reading to gain another insight into the Beautitudes (The Sermon on the Mount) and the Lord s Prayer. Those who want additional writings such as this will be disappointed. The author has not translated other portions of the bible in this way. His other works are not up to the same imaginative caliber. A decent read but leaves you unfulfilled when wanting more beyond a very few New Testament verses. The book will not revolutionize Christianity as the cover claims (for marketing reasons).




Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the Original Meaning of Jesus s Words: Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus