Beyond the Biography of Jesus: The Journey of Quadratos
by Alexander J. Shaia
Book II
July 2008
Study Guide
for Book II
August 2008
Fr. Paul Keenan
1946-2008
Fr. Paul died suddenly and unexpectedly on Tuesday June 10th. He was a man and a priest of great wisdom, care and humility - and a dear friend to Quadratos.
Listen to the final interview between Fr. Paul and Dr. Shaia.
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Live Webcast from Grace Cathedral in San Francisco
Listen to Alexander Shaia at The Forum in conversation with Alan Jones
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Beyond the Biography of Jesus: The Journey of Quadratos, Books I and II
FROM THE FLYLEAF
There is an immense dilemma, even a crisis, in Christian churches today - and it is shared by most other spiritual traditions - Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. It is a dilemma of belief, and of trust. Lack of enthusiasm and dissatisfaction in congregations is pervasive, hyper-rigidity abounds, and many have completely closed their minds and hearts to any form of religion at all because they have been injured or angered by what they perceive as a lack of logic, or charity-or both.
This book reveals a revolutionary biblical discovery that directly addresses this critical dilemma. During the first years of the Christian church, early followers not only elevated the traditional four gospels above all the other gospels and writings available - they placed them in a mysterious, non-chronological reading sequence and read them that way for hundreds of years. Why? Because the four Christian gospels tell a much greater story than the biography of Jesus!
Dr. Shaia unravels the divine inspiration of this mysterious sequence, and links it to universal, spiritual and anthropological as well as modern psychological understandings.
He demonstrates the value of this perspective to create faith-filled lives that are relevant and useful in a time that is much more complex than village life millennia ago. He shows how we can trust in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, John and Luke, the core documents of the Christian faith, as revelations of divine truth, despite all of their discrepancies, mistranslations and centuries of abuse and misuse. In the sequence Dr. Shaia discloses, the gospels are the map of our never-ending spiritual journey.
Book I contains the fascinating history and overview of the ancient reading sequence of the four traditional gospels, and takes the reader through the first half of the quadratos journey, the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Book II carries the reader through the second half of the journey, the Gospels of John and Luke/Acts, and into a summary and challenge for contemporary life and Christianity.
Cover Photo © Jack Hollingsworth/Corbis
Author Photo by JR Lancaster