∎ PDF Free The Breath of God A Novel of Suspense Jeffrey Small 9781933512860 Books

The Breath of God A Novel of Suspense Jeffrey Small 9781933512860 Books

Download As PDF : The Breath of God A Novel of Suspense Jeffrey Small 9781933512860 Books

The Breath of God A Novel of Suspense Jeffrey Small 9781933512860 Books

To be honest, I stumbled upon this book in search of something to satisfy my desire for another Dan Brown type novel. I don't remember if I found it on my own or if someone recommended it, but nonetheless I'm glad I found it. I'm not an extensive reader, but I definitely enjoy a good book. I was raised Catholic, but no longer have a real Christian (or other religion) or scientific allegiance. I am open minded about all avenues of spirituality, and I simply desire knowledge and truth. Jeffrey Smalls writing emits a down-to-earth resonance with me. The combination of suspense and underlying meaning made this book difficult to put down. Instead of uncovering a secret dark truth I was enlightened to the possibilty of a legitimate way that humanity could be united, which is something that seems impossible in this day and age. I am anxious to expand my personal knowledge and understanding of many things after reading this. It was a pleasurable and educational read, and easily a book than people from any walk of life can enjoy.


Tags : The Breath of God: A Novel of Suspense [Jeffrey Small] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div>A murder at the Taj Mahal. A kidnapping in a sacred city. A desperate chase through a cliffside monastery. All in the pursuit of a legend that could link the world’s great religious faiths.<BR><BR>In 1887,Jeffrey Small,The Breath of God: A Novel of Suspense,West Hills Press,1933512865,Mystery & Detective - General,Thrillers - General,Thrillers - Suspense,Graduate students,Graduate students;Fiction.,Himalaya Mountains,Himalaya Mountains;Fiction.,Religions,Religions;Fiction.,Suspense fiction,American Mystery & Suspense Fiction,FICTION Political,FICTION Thrillers General,FICTION Thrillers Suspense,Fiction,Fiction - Espionage Thriller,Fiction Mystery & Detective General,FictionLiterary,FictionPolitical,FictionThrillers - General,MysterySuspense,Political,RELIGION Comparative Religion,Thriller suspense

The Breath of God A Novel of Suspense Jeffrey Small 9781933512860 Books Reviews

This is one case where one of those ads that Facebook serves up to me everyday got it right. I saw an ad for this book one day when I was on Facebook and after reading the reviews on decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did as I found The Breath of God by Jeffrey Small to be quite refreshing.

The book is a novel by a first time author who is really into comparative religion and gives credit for his inspiration to people like Marcus Borg, John Spong and Thich Nhat Hanh- some of my favorite writers. The book is reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code as it a thriller with the hero- Grant, a graduate student is taken on a trip around the world trying to find texts that reveal something about the "lost" years of Jesus's life. The story is based on true events. There was a claim made by a Russian- Nicholas Notovitch in the late 1800s. He said he discovered texts in a monastery in India that documented the legend that Jesus traveled to India and studied Hinduism and Buddhism during the years the Bible is silent about His life. He wrote a book about those texts. But, they could never be located and his book was largely declared a fraud. What is true though is in the gospels, we have baby Jesus, teenage Jesus (one scene where He stays behind in the Temple while His parents take a couple of days to notice He's missing) and then suddenly Jesus is 30 years old. The gospels say nothing about 90% of Jesus' life. There are legends in India about an Issa (very similar to the Muslim name for Jesus- Isa) who traveled there as a teen to learn meditation techniques. The book quotes passages from the Buddha's writings (The Dhammapada) and parallels them with things Jesus said. It also draws many parallels between the lives and legends of Jesus, The Buddha and Muhammad.

"I am the source of all things, and all things emerge from me ... Infinite are the forms in which I appear. I am the self, seated in the heart of all beings; I am the beginning and the life span of beings, and their end as well . . . I am the source of all things to come." The Bhagavad Gita, 5th century BC

"I am the Alpha and the Omega who is and who was and who is to come." The Book of Revelation, AD 1st

While Grant is working to find the lost texts, he is, of course, dogged at every opportunity by a fundamentalist pastor and his church who insist that it's sheer heresy to think that Jesus might have been influenced by any faith other than Christianity and that the discovery of these texts would destroy the faith of millions.

The book is very well written and suspenseful. It's set mostly in India and Bhutan where Grant is on his quest for the texts. Grant is taught by an Bhutanese Buddhist monk, Kinley who was educated in the West. For me, being interested in the similarities between religions rather than focusing on the differences, I enjoyed the way Jeffrey Small pointed out not only how similar the faiths of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are but how similar the stories about our "prophets" are and how the faiths themselves (and the prophets) are- using a Buddhist saying are like the finger pointing at the moon. The faiths all point to the same underlying eternal universal truths. None of the comparative religion material was really new to me. But, I think it would be new to a lot of Christians who haven't read about the lives of Muhammad, Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) and studied about their faiths. The educational material is slipped into the book in such a way that you don't feel you are being lectured, but you are educated while being entertained.

Grant, like many is caught up in whether the events recorded in the Bible are historically true or not. One of the many lessons he learns on his quest is summed up in the following quote.

Jigme shook his head. "Why must religion be a history lesson? How the Buddha, Jesus, or Muhammad learned these techniques is irrelevant. Why not focus on what their common experiences teach us about our own lives?"

Whether Jesus actually traveled to India or not is largely not important- except that so many Christians are caught up in constantly pointing out just how different Christianity is from any other faith and ignoring the fact that many of Jesus' teachings are the same as the teachings of the Buddha or Muhammad or the teachings of Hinduism. This book could give many a new found appreciation for the beauty and truth found in all of the major faiths of the world, if they're open to the possibility that Jesus Himself might have learned from them.
This book, based on actual historical documents, sets its roots in the untold life of Saint Isa, uncovered within a Hemis Monastery in India by Nikolai Aleksandrovich Notovich, aka Nicholas Notovitch, in 1887. These documents, according to Notovich, link together all religious beliefs, and parallels the life of Isa (`Isa' being the Arabic name of Jesus in Islam - referred to as Issa in the Western world) to that of Buddha, Mohammed and Siddhartha. In 1890, Notovich wrote a translation, and published his findings as The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ. Condemned and silenced for heresy, Notovich's discovery vanished shortly thereafter.

While the Bible tells us about the beginning and end of the life of Jesus, it is conspicuously silent about his middle years. The missing texts memorialize the journey taken by Jesus during those Biblical `silent' years, and is documented, with undisputed clarity, by the Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists.

The Breath of God centers around a graduate student who travels to the Himalayas in search of the sacred texts. What he uncovers is a conspiracy of zealots who will stop at nothing to protect these documents and the knowledge that will change how we view religion. I believe Small's story is loosely based on the life of Notovich (though never stated) and his discovery of the missing Gospel. Is the Gospel true? Depends on whom you ask. As is the case with all theological matters, nothing is ever what it seems.

Small's telling of this story seems to mimic that of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, but, in my opinion, falls short of Brown's genius. Having said this, however, The Breath of God is very well researched and is an excellent jumping-off point from which to get into the thick of it with regard to the histories of Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mohammed and Siddhartha. I'm actually looking forward to reading Jeffrey Small's second book, The Jericho Deception, which is in the same theological vein as this one.

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As a student of Buddhism, who has always considered the interconnection of all major world religions, I truly love the idea behind this book. The author paints a very accurate portrait of how religion can tear mankind apart or pull us together, depending upon the mindset of the faithful. The portrayal of religious fanaticism and the extent to which some will go to protect fundamentalist ideology was right on! The author creates an exciting thriller while delving into some deep social issues. I was impressed by the author's ability to tackle very touchy topics without attacking any one particular religion or faith. This is a must read for anyone who does not blindly follow a religious doctrine, but instead studies & questions in search of a personal truth, the light inside us all.....the breath of God.
To be honest, I stumbled upon this book in search of something to satisfy my desire for another Dan Brown type novel. I don't remember if I found it on my own or if someone recommended it, but nonetheless I'm glad I found it. I'm not an extensive reader, but I definitely enjoy a good book. I was raised Catholic, but no longer have a real Christian (or other religion) or scientific allegiance. I am open minded about all avenues of spirituality, and I simply desire knowledge and truth. Jeffrey Smalls writing emits a down-to-earth resonance with me. The combination of suspense and underlying meaning made this book difficult to put down. Instead of uncovering a secret dark truth I was enlightened to the possibilty of a legitimate way that humanity could be united, which is something that seems impossible in this day and age. I am anxious to expand my personal knowledge and understanding of many things after reading this. It was a pleasurable and educational read, and easily a book than people from any walk of life can enjoy.