Story Recapture the Mystery Author:Steven James Storyteller Recaptures the Mystery of the Ancient Scriptures, Launches Innovative Webcast — Only God could tell a story this ludicrous and then claim that it’s true," says Steven James, who penned Story: Recapture the Mystery (Revell, Feb. 2006), which makes the Bible come alive in provocative ways, encapsulating the mystery of the Chr... more »istian story.
James, a professional storyteller from eastern Tennessee, grew up in a Christian home—but fell in love with Jesus at age 21 on Easter Sunday.
Through 30 short chapters, James revisits key scenes from the Christian story: from the Garden of Eden to the Israelites’ plea for freedom and the love/hate struggles between people and God in the Old Testament. Story illuminates Jesus’s miraculous birth and daring ministry on earth, building to the "rising terror" of the crucifixion and rediscovery of freedom following the resurrection.
At one point, James paints the brutal murder of Abel in the Old Testament through the eyes of his brother Cain. He views Jesus dancing and turning water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana through the testimony of the bewildered bride. At another, he writes as a frightened onlooker as Jesus struggles to carry his cross to Golgotha, and captures the chaos sweeping through the Holy Land following the resurrection. All the while, James relates the events of the Bible to life on earth today.
"I’m thankful Jesus didn’t come to start another religion. Jesus didn’t arrive on earth to debate theology but to propose marriage. In a very real spiritual sense, God is courting us. Christianity is wild. It’s intimate. It’s heartbreaking and soul-mending," writes James.
However, James believes the real meaning of Christianity, especially Easter, has been lost in the last 2,000 years. "Easter has evolved into just another nice, harmless, spineless, little holiday . . . when it’s supposed to be about a wrestling match between life and death, a cosmic struggle between good and evil." James invites readers to meet Jesus again—or for the very first time.« less