Gabriele C. (theoldbookshelf) reviewed on 8/10/2012 + 43 more book reviews

i have read most of thois book , and yes , it is funny . it pokes fun at most of what is happening , it seems like everything is being turned into a joke . even tho i like to laugh as much as the next person , i can not go along with some of these "funnies" . to begin with , i am a christian , and for a while have had the opportunity to visit a messianic synagogue , which is somewhat different from a traditional and orthodox synagogue . nevertheless , the authors attempt at "living according to the bible " and bringing some of old jewish rules to light for the sake of making fun of them , just isnt very respectful . somehow , i can not embrace the idea of taking one religion under scrutiny and then getting all other religious tenacles of similar faiths and use their different views as a basis to question and point out what one doesnt understand . in some respect this book is disrespectful as it pokes fun at guidelines G-d has put down for His people to live by in relationship with HIM . and the people chosen as spiritual advisors dont seem to have a relationship with G=d . yes , his advisors come from a broad spectrum of beliefs , but i didnt seem to see one person who was a born again christian , a follower of Christ . or a messianic jew for that matter .

i had wanted for this book to "work', i went outside my box and thought i'll give it a try , i was disappointed . yes , the book is well written and very funny in places , but overall disappointing . maybe i should have finished the book and seen how he addresses the new testamanet , but i did read the last few chapters to find out how it ended . i found , that to the end the author kept up his disconnected view of G-d . in his words , " the bible project changed my life in ways both big and small [ pg appendix] " ... and says it has made him more grateful and further down , he says he doesnt care if his sons become atheists or believers , as long as they are good people . the world is full of people who think they are "good " but being good does not get anyone in the right relationship with G-d . according to Jesus , only one is good , and that is G-d [ matthew 19:17 ] Jesus himself did not call himself good .

in other words , the author started his year disconnected from G-d and ended it the same way he started . what changed was his outlook and formality how things are "done". the outward person did and worked at participating , but the inner being and heart where unchanged . if you follow G-d , you have to let Him change your heart and all those outward appearances will also become more "bibical".

would i recommend this book ? not nessessarily . it can be springboard to discussions how outward compliance does not prove the heart is also right . G-d is not interested in outward appearance and how right we look to others or how good we feel about getting it right ,but HE looks at the heart and if IT is right .
matthew 10:17-22 shows one young man , who accknowledged to have followed all the rules , but yet Jesus found him lacking . beyond that ,, i can not find redeeming value in a book that pokes fun at what G-d considered important enough to communicate so that we might have a guideline to live righteously .

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