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Rating: 
Summary: Talking about Genesis
Review: A group of contemporary intellectuals, under the leadership of Bill Moyers, gathers to exchange views concerning main issues from the stories of Genesis. Matters such as creation, God's relationship to man and vice-versa, evil, family relations, faith, temptation, murder, and moral values are discussed among the participants. It represents a friendly and inspirational exchange of ideas, with mutual respect for each others religious background, be it Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. The book is based on the televised PBS series which unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to watch and which certainly must have been quite interesting. The input given by each participant proves once more that no matter how much has been written and said about the stories in Genesis, there is always further room for interpretation and spiritual nourishment.
Rating:
Summary: Talking about Genesis
Review: A group of contemporary intellectuals, under the leadership of Bill Moyers, gathers to exchange views concerning main issues from the stories of Genesis. Matters such as creation, God's relationship to man and vice-versa, evil, family relations, faith, temptation, murder, and moral values are discussed among the participants. It represents a friendly and inspirational exchange of ideas, with mutual respect for each others religious background, be it Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. The book is based on the televised PBS series which unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to watch and which certainly must have been quite interesting. The input given by each participant proves once more that no matter how much has been written and said about the stories in Genesis, there is always further room for interpretation and spiritual nourishment.
Rating: 
Summary: Response to complaint about book being to liberal
Review: I don't agree...I found this book exciting. Most books today considering the question of Genesis are generally written by conservative believers and marketed to the faithful. We've been fed the conservative point of view fairly consistantly since the founding of this country. In my experience, I find that the conservative rarely reach out to conduct this kind of inquiry, instead focusing on "spreading the word" they personally endorse with very little time for others' interpretations of the bible's message. They rarely reccomend such books as this to their peers, for fear of the questions which may arise from the text. (this is, as I've said, based upon my own experiences, and doesn't apply to conservatives as a whole, I should hope.) I read and consider both camps, but have always seen the field as unbalanced in the conservative direction, especially here in the south. Welcome this book, read this book, and consider this book. It's a rare thing thoughtfully constructed.
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Summary: Myths Come Alive
Review: Joseph Campbell, reknowned professor of world mythology, has said that the three great religions--Judaism, Islam, and Christianity--are at loggerheads with one another while forgetting their common roots. The Book of Genesis is that common ground. And in this dialogue hosted by television journalist Bill Moyers representatives from these three traditions join each other in illuminating their audience as to the nature of God, of man, ethics, worship, and religion. Rabbis, ministers, Muslims, writers, artists, scholars, and educators discuss the stories of Genesis and to provide us with a myriad of perspectives and interpretations. With such a cornucopia of viewpoints it is easy to side with one and reject the others. Yet in the end, the question to ask is not 'Who is right?,' rather 'What can we learn from the other?' Truth, as the participants urge us, has many faces. Although the printed (book) edition offers some parts unavailable in the audio format, the cassette version is the better choice since it certainly captures the full flavor of this unmoderated and lively discussion. Package includes ten cassettes, and a leaflet containing photos and biographies of the participants. [...]
Rating:
Summary: God wrestling with God
Review: Perhaps if you haven't read these since childhood Sunday school, you still think these are simple stories. These compact stories all have deep issues about life and what it means to be human. I was surprised by the feeling that God may be wresting with what it means to be God and allow humans freedom. There almost seems to be a trial and error approach to creation. The people in Genesis are all exposed as being very human, with fractured families. The people on the video are also very human, and at time the discussions are very personal, like sitting in with an old friend. This book and videos offered an amazing number of views, and one shouldn't view them as dogma. I was particularly surprised by feminist and Koran views. I hope to read further by Burton Visotzky who was a participant. For an example of unique reading of Abraham and Isaac see Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling".
Rating:
Summary: God wrestling with God
Review: Perhaps if you haven't read these since childhood Sunday school, you still think these are simple stories. These compact stories all have deep issues about life and what it means to be human. I was surprised by the feeling that God may be wresting with what it means to be God and allow humans freedom. There almost seems to be a trial and error approach to creation. The people in Genesis are all exposed as being very human, with fractured families. The people on the video are also very human, and at time the discussions are very personal, like sitting in with an old friend. This book and videos offered an amazing number of views, and one shouldn't view them as dogma. I was particularly surprised by feminist and Koran views. I hope to read further by Burton Visotzky who was a participant. For an example of unique reading of Abraham and Isaac see Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling".
Rating: 
Summary: So liberal in its slant, totally unbalanced
Review: This would have been an outstanding environment to have a great discussion over this "Beginnings" of Scripture. I say this because what is missing is a clear "conservative" voice. Certainly there are several whom one might label as providing this side's views. There are many such Old Testament stalwarts who could have did this admirably, e.g. Walter Kaiser to mention but one. Thus, this book is very unbalanced as the liberal element is so prone to do: ignore the traditional, conservative opinion as well. You find it in all their works. While the conservative side most always reacts and interacts with the liberals, you rarely see it in the reverse. Thus, the poor unknowing layperson sees this as the total picture. Or hopefully not. "Oh, Lord, open thou our eyes."
Rating:
Summary: So liberal in its slant, totally unbalanced
Review: This would have been an outstanding environment to have a great discussion over this "Beginnings" of Scripture. I say this because what is missing is a clear "conservative" voice. Certainly there are several whom one might label as providing this side's views. There are many such Old Testament stalwarts who could have did this admirably, e.g. Walter Kaiser to mention but one. Thus, this book is very unbalanced as the liberal element is so prone to do: ignore the traditional, conservative opinion as well. You find it in all their works. While the conservative side most always reacts and interacts with the liberals, you rarely see it in the reverse. Thus, the poor unknowing layperson sees this as the total picture. Or hopefully not. "Oh, Lord, open thou our eyes."
Rating:
Summary: So liberal in its slant, totally unbalanced
Review: This would have been an outstanding environment to have a great discussion over this "Beginnings" of Scripture. I say this because what is missing is a clear "conservative" voice. Certainly there are several whom one might label as providing this side's views. There are many such Old Testament stalwarts who could have did this admirably, e.g. Walter Kaiser to mention but one. Thus, this book is very unbalanced as the liberal element is so prone to do: ignore the traditional, conservative opinion as well. You find it in all their works. While the conservative side most always reacts and interacts with the liberals, you rarely see it in the reverse. Thus, the poor unknowing layperson sees this as the total picture. Or hopefully not. "Oh, Lord, open thou our eyes."
Rating:
Summary: Illuminating conversation
Review: When I watched the PBS series, I locked myself in the room each week so I wouldn't be disturbed. Imagine several bright, articulate folks who weren't arguing over the historicity of the Gensis accounts, but simply looking for their meaning. Moreover, all weren't Biblical scholars. Their ranks included novelists and playwrights who understand the narrative elements far better than I. As I watched I developed favorites who I looked forward to hearing from again and others who drove me batty.
When I bought the book, I found it to be incredibly helpful for me as a preacher to identify the questions that might be asked of the Genesis text that I would fail to ask because of my own biases or my own fear of asking a sacreligious question. The book is especially good in it's examination of the image of God and the wrestling Jacob stories, but perhaps my favorite is the discussion of call and promise, particularly because of strength of the scholars-Robert Alter, Burt Visotzky and my favorite, Lew Smedes.
This book can help us answer the questions people are really asking, instead of the ones we want them to ask. Highly recomended
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