The Truth and Beauty
a New way to make sense of the Gospels.
How the lives and works of England's greatest poets point the way to a deeper understanding of the words of Jesus and what He really meant.
An intimate account of one man's struggle to understand the Gospels in all their strangeness, and so find his way to a life that is, as he says, "the most creative, the most joyful, and surely the most true."
In The Truth and Beauty, Klavan combines a decades-long writing career with a lifetime of reading to discover a fresh understanding of the Gospels. By reading the words of Jesus through the life and work of writers such as William Wordsworth and John Keats, Mary Shelley and Samuel Taylor Coleridge--the English romantics--Klavan discovered a way to encounter Jesus in a deeper and more profound way than ever before.
A stunningly original work . . . fascinating and informative . . . Not since reading C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce in college has a single book induced such deep and constructive theological reflection in me, as I suspect it will for many other readers.
—Stephen C. Meyer, PhD, author, Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Discoveries That Reveal the Mind behind the Universe; director, Center for Science and Culture, Discovery Institute, Seattle
Note from the author
In a way, the most remarkable thing about writing this book has been the aftermath. I started out with a genuine spiritual problem: It wasn’t clear to me what Jesus was actually saying, what he wanted specifically from my life. Church doctrines and cosmic theology, traditional rules and culture war stances — whether I agreed with them or not, whether they were useful or not — did not advance my heart’s journey toward God. But writing “The Truth and Beauty” has completely changed that. I feel I’ve rediscovered Christ’s voice. I hear his words in a new way. My heart is on the move again. If any of these reflections have that same effect on the reader, I’ll consider it a job well done.
-Andrew Klavan
The Truth and Beauty PART I: Understanding The Words of Jesus Christ
The Truth and Beauty PART II: The Birth of Science Fiction and The War on Women
The Truth and Beauty PART III: The Secret Knowledge of the Incarnate Christ
The Beautiful and often strange words of Jesus
“I’m perplexed by so much of what Jesus says in the Bible. I believe it, but I don’t completely understand it, despite listening to many sermons and reading lots of books.
Can someone help me find a new way to make sense of the Gospels?”
Andrew Klavan knows what it’s like to be puzzled by the Gospels—and how to wrestle with understanding difficult texts. A lifetime of reading prepared him to take a step back and approach the words of Jesus in an entirely new way—through the lens of a group of poets and artists who grappled with questions we face. That process helped him unlock the meaning and power of the Gospels in an entirely new way.
He learned Greek in order to read the Gospels in their original languages, and he vowed to set aside any preconceptions about what the Scriptures say. But it wasn't until he began exploring how some of history's greatest writers wrestled with the same issues we confront today--political upheaval, rejection of social norms, growing disbelief in God--that he found a new way of understanding what Jesus meant.
Poetry and literature point to the sacred. Andrew Klavan reminds us how.
—Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, author, international bestselling Maps of Meaning, Twelve Rules for Life, and Beyond Order
Learn what some of the greatest poetry ever written has to say about God, eternity, and humanity
For readers seeking to find renewed meaning in the words of Jesus--and for those who are striving for belief in a materialistic world--The Truth and Beauty offers an intimate account of one man's struggle to understand the Gospels in all their strangeness, and so find his way to a life that is, as he says, "the most creative, the most joyful, and surely the most true."
“I read the Gospels again, in Greek and, following my son’s advice, I stopped trying to understand Jesus’s philosophy and instead tried to get to know him: who he was inside, how he saw the world, how he tried to make us see it.
And that is ultimately what this book is about: … my meditation on the Gospels as they spoke to me when I approached them in this way.”
—Andrew Klavan, author of The Truth and Beauty
Endorsements & Reader Reviews
For those who love both Christ and great literature, as Andrew Klavan clearly does, this book is a delight and a means to that most important of things: the reenchantment of our world.
—Carl R. Trueman, professor, biblical and religious studies, Grove City College; fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center, D.C.
Andrew Klavan has long since secured his spot as one of the most brilliant writers of our age. In The Truth and Beauty, Klavan’s cultural insight and eloquence shine as never before.
—Michael Knowles, author, no. 1 national bestselling Speechless; host, The Michael Knowles Show
A stunningly original work . . . fascinating and informative . . . Not since reading C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce in college has a single book induced such deep and constructive theological reflection in me, as I suspect it will for many other readers.
—Stephen C. Meyer, PhD, author, Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Discoveries That Reveal the Mind behind the Universe; director, Center for Science and Culture, Discovery Institute, Seattle
Klavan is a magnificent writer, a person of wisdom, and a man of compassion—all of which shine through here.
—Ben Shapiro, editor emeritus, Daily Wire; host, The Ben Shapiro Show
Poetry and literature point to the sacred. Andrew Klavan reminds us how.
—Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, author, international bestselling Maps of Meaning, Twelve Rules for Life, and Beyond Order
Order Now From Your Trusted Bookseller
A New way to make sense of the Gospels.
How the lives and works of England's greatest poets point the way to a deeper understanding of the words of Jesus and what He really meant
Note from the author
In a way, the most remarkable thing about writing this book has been the aftermath. I started out with a genuine spiritual problem: It wasn’t clear to me what Jesus was actually saying, what he wanted specifically from my life. Church doctrines and cosmic theology, traditional rules and culture war stances — whether I agreed with them or not, whether they were useful or not — did not advance my heart’s journey toward God.
But writing “The Truth and Beauty” has completely changed that. I feel I’ve rediscovered Christ’s voice. I hear his words in a new way. My heart is on the move again. If any of these reflections have that same effect on the reader, I’ll consider it a job well done.
-Andrew Klavan
The Truth and Beauty PART I: Understanding The Words of Jesus Christ
The Truth and Beauty PART II: The Birth of Science Fiction and The War on Women
The Truth and Beauty PART III: The Secret Knowledge of the Incarnate Christ
A stunningly original work . . . fascinating and informative . . . Not since reading C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce in college has a single book induced such deep and constructive theological reflection in me, as I suspect it will for many other readers.
—Stephen C. Meyer, PhD, author, Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Discoveries That Reveal the Mind behind the Universe; director, Center for Science and Culture, Discovery Institute, Seattle
Beautiful and often strange words of Jesus
“I’m perplexed by so much of what Jesus says in the Bible. I believe it, but I don’t completely understand it, despite listening to many sermons and reading lots of books.
Can someone help me find a new way to make sense of the Gospels?”
Andrew Klavan knows what it’s like to be puzzled by the Gospels—and how to wrestle with understanding difficult texts. A lifetime of reading prepared him to take a step back and approach the words of Jesus in an entirely new way—through the lens of a group of poets and artists who grappled with questions we face. That process helped him unlock the meaning and power of the Gospels in an entirely new way.
He learned Greek in order to read the Gospels in their original languages, and he vowed to set aside any preconceptions about what the Scriptures say. But it wasn't until he began exploring how some of history's greatest writers wrestled with the same issues we confront today--political upheaval, rejection of social norms, growing disbelief in God--that he found a new way of understanding what Jesus meant.
Poetry and literature point to the sacred. Andrew Klavan reminds us how.
—Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, author, international bestselling Maps of Meaning, Twelve Rules for Life, and Beyond Order
Learn what some of the greatest poetry ever written has to say about God, eternity, and humanity
In The Truth and Beauty, Klavan combines a decades-long writing career with a lifetime of reading to discover a fresh understanding of the Gospels. By reading the words of Jesus through the life and work of writers such as William Wordsworth and John Keats, Mary Shelley and Samuel Taylor Coleridge--the English romantics--Klavan discovered a way to encounter Jesus in a deeper and more profound way than ever before.
For readers seeking to find renewed meaning in the words of Jesus--and for those who are striving for belief in a materialistic world--The Truth and Beauty offers an intimate account of one man's struggle to understand the Gospels in all their strangeness, and so find his way to a life that is, as he says, "the most creative, the most joyful, and surely the most true."
Available in audiobook
Listen to The Truth and Beauty, narrated by author Andrew Klavan, for the full experience of Andrew's insight as an intimate account of one man's struggle to understand the Gospels in all their strangeness, and so find his way to a life that is, as he says, "the most creative, the most joyful, and surely the most true".
Listening length
6 hours and 37 minutes
Narrator
Andrew Klavan
Version
Unabridged
“I read the Gospels again, in Greek and, following my son’s advice, I stopped trying to understand Jesus’s philosophy and instead tried to get to know him: who he was inside, how he saw the world, how he tried to make us see it. And that is ultimately what this book is about: … my meditation on the Gospels as they spoke to me when I approached them in this way.”
—Andrew Klavan, author of The Truth and Beauty
Endorsements & Reader Reviews
For those who love both Christ and great literature, as Andrew Klavan clearly does, this book is a delight and a means to that most important of things: the reenchantment of our world.
—Carl R. Trueman, professor, biblical and religious studies, Grove City College; fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center, D.C.
A stunningly original work . . . fascinating and informative . . . Not since reading C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce in college has a single book induced such deep and constructive theological reflection in me, as I suspect it will for many other readers.
—Stephen C. Meyer, PhD, author, Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Discoveries That Reveal the Mind behind the Universe; director, Center for Science and Culture, Discovery Institute, Seattle
Klavan is a magnificent writer, a person of wisdom, and a man of compassion—all of which shine through here.
—Ben Shapiro, editor emeritus, Daily Wire; host, The Ben Shapiro Show
Andrew Klavan has long since secured his spot as one of the most brilliant writers of our age. In The Truth and Beauty, Klavan’s cultural insight and eloquence shine as never before.
—Michael Knowles, author, no. 1 national bestselling Speechless; host, The Michael Knowles Show
Poetry and literature point to the sacred. Andrew Klavan reminds us how.
—Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, author, international bestselling Maps of Meaning, Twelve Rules for Life, and Beyond Order
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