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Adobe DRM
Product Details
Free Press, November 2009
eBook, 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1439117594
ISBN-13: 9781439117590
Description
In this vivid, original interpretation of Genesis, former Episcopal priest John R. Coats takes readers on a journey through the ancient text, inviting them to see its characters in a new light, not as religious icons, but as people whose day-to-day concerns, triumphs, and failures are like our own.
In Coats’s telling, the relationships of Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Rachel and Leah, and Joseph and his brothers take on stunning contemporary relevance as these characters find themselves confronted with extraordinary situations and circumstances that they’d neither asked for nor had anything to say about. Using stories from his life as well as the lives of people he’s known, Coats creates a rubric you can use to examine your own life and to discover aspects of yourself in the characters whose lives unfold in these primordial stories. How has Eve’s story shaped yours? Is your life reflected in Jacob’s evolution to wisdom? In Joseph’s youthful arrogance? Coats explores the strengths and weaknesses of the men and women in Genesis, pulling back the wrappings that have hidden their humanity to reveal the vibrant drama of these foundational narratives. "Different clothing, yes, and language, and customs, yet at the human level," he writes, "they were just as greedy and generous as we are, as gullible and crafty, as moronic and brilliant, as cowardly and brave. They are us, their stories, our stories, mirrors in which to see our best and worst selves."
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"This engaging, well-written retelling of the Genesis story...uses conclusions of modern biblical criticism to emphasize the human story of the biblical narrative as myth from which nonreligious and religious alike can gain psychological insight and wisdom… His contemporary life comparisons [are] enlightening... Readers…will revel in his insights."
-- Library Journal
"John Coats writes with insight, passion, humor, and wisdom about the core human narratives. Original Sinners reminds us that the archetypes of Genesis are alive in each of us, and artfully braids in key episodes from his own life to make the point. There is a verifying resonance in these pages -- a sense that one's deepest questions have been anticipated and addressed."
-- Sven Birkerts, author of The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age
"This immensely readable book blends biblical exegesis and personal memoir in a wonderfully engaging synthesis. The spiritual quest is humanized by a taste for nitty-gritty honesty and humor. Coats's casual conversational style becomes the perfect vehicle for his impressive erudition, psychological insight, and wisdom."
-- Phillip Lopate, author of The Art of the Personal Essay
"A unique, powerful way of looking at Genesis, Original Sinners is actually a book of revelations -- about John Coats's riveting life and all of the characters we thought we knew from the book of Genesis. From the moment Adam finds 'a new creature in the garden who makes him feel all funny,' Coats makes Genesis come alive in a sparkling, imaginative, gutsy new way, pulling powerful new lessons out of ancient texts." -- Priscilla Warner, coauthor of The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew
-- Three Women Search for Understanding
"John Coats is a damn good storyteller, and Original Sinners will help you examine what you know or think you know about both religion and the world. It matters not if you are versed in religion or just discovering how it fits your life -- an entirely new understanding of these people, places, and times unfolds beautifully."
-- Michael Goins, professor of writing, University of Texas at San AntonioOriginal
"An entertaining narrative voice, personal reflections from the author's life and insightful interpretations combine to produce this accessible and lively new addition to Genesis scholarship.... the author makes complex biblical scholarship comprehensible, while challenging the reader to examine the actual text. His reflections on his own aging and his analysis of the stories of Noah and Abraham prove compelling and thought provoking."
-- Publishers Weekly
Houston Chronicle, November 22, 2009
...• John Coats will read and sign his new book, Original Sinners: A New Interpretation of Genesis, 4 p.m. today at Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet. Information: 713-523-0701. • Hank Stuever will ...
