BOOK REVIEW: Jesus' Parables in Today's Language

Joseph E. Faulkner may be a name familiar to some of you. Dr. Faulkner lives in State College, taught at Penn State for 33 years, and has filled the pulpit in various churches in the area. His recent book, JESUS' PARABLES IN TODAY'S LANGUAGE came to my attention recently and I thought that I would share some of it with you.

Dr. Faulkner has retold the stories from the parables in modern settings making this an ideal book for a study with young people.

One of the best known parables is probably The Good Samaritan. In Dr. Faulkner’s book, a man who works at Wal-Mart is traveling to Washington, D.C. when his car starts to sputter. Pulling over to the side of the road, he is trying to fix the problem when a group of young men come up to him, offering to help. Instead of helping, they beat him and take his wallet and watch. They drive off, leaving the man too injured to stand.

Soon a car stops; the driver is a doctor but he is afraid to get involved. The publicity may hurt his career and there is always the fear of a law suit, so he drives on. Moments pass and another car slows down, but drives on because he thinks that it might be a trap, plus he is scheduled to teach a class on criminal law at John Hopkins that evening.

The third car stops, calls 911 for an ambulance, and follows to the nearby hospital. He tells the receptionist to see that the man gets the best of care and if there is no insurance, he would be back to pay all bills. The young man was a Muslim immigrant.  He was a student and had no extra money, but when he told his fellow students the situation, they helped.

The stories in this book are simple, much as the original stories were, and carry the same message as the originals. This makes the book particularly suitable for a study group. JESUS' PARABLES IN TODAY'S LANGUAGE is available as an electronic book only. Copies can be obtained by emailing Dr. Faulkner or through iTunes.