I am honored to present this book review of the book below by
Mr. Yesudasan Nedumoncove whom we would know through his writings on ICON.
Warm regards,
Mathew Samuel,
Albany, NY
----------------------------------------------------------
Book Review - 'Divine Knowledge'
(Holy Scripture, Ecclesia, Faith, Liturgy and Tradition)
by Mr. Yesudasan Jacob Nedumancove.
A very well written comprehensive study guide for the
Bible, at the same time concise enough to be carried
around and referred to. Has details about the history
and background of each book starting from Genesis till
Revelations.
Chronology:
-----------
The special effort to date the time of the writing of
the book helps put it in the historical context of
things.It has been a very good learning tool for me. For
example, I never knew that the entire book of
Deutronomy was probably written in the plains of Moab,
when the new generation of Israel was on the verge of
entering Canaan. Special effort has been taken to give
precise information about arriving at conclusions
about the dates which adds to the credibility.
Theme:
------
Each book has details about the major theme it deals
with. This has been very helpful in my study. What is
the overall idea being conveyed in the book? For
example: The major theme in the Epistle to the
Colossians is Christ, the Head of the Body the Church.
I never realized this overall picture distinctly till
I read the book and then read the Epistle once again.
QA Format:
---------
The book is arranged in a question answer format. This
makes it very readable and interesting. Several
interesting and hidden facts about the authors and the
content becomes easily conspicous in this format. For
example - what is the birthplace of Paul?
The Christ
----------
There is a special focus on trying to show the Christ,
the type of Christ revealed in each book of the Old
Testament. This is very important and supports the
theme that the Old Testament is the shadow of the
things revealed in the New Testament. We see how the
prophesies are arranged in the Old Testament as the
Lord prepares the people for the Birth of Immanuel at
the set time according to His will in the set place.
For exampe - point out the Christ in Micah? And the
answer shows how the prophet prophesies the birthplace
of the Lord 700 years before the occurance.
References:
----------
Almost every sentence in the book is marked by
Biblical references to support it, so that a student
of the Bible can easily cross verify. Very accurate
references devoid of errors points as much to the
knowledge of the author as to the very good editing
and proof reading.
The faith of the Holy Church
----------------------------
With clear Biblical references, the author makes
strong statements in support of the Faith practised by
the Holy Church and its doctrines about several
aspects of Church life. For example -The Chapter on St. Matthew's Gospel has a
question-answer set refuting the teaching of
sectarians that Christ was against child baptism.
Biblical Traditions
------------------
I always felt that hanging of lamps in Churches must
have been an adaptation of the Indian Culture till I
read in the book that there were such examples in the
Old Testament in the Jewish tradition too (Chapter on
Leviticus), making it a Biblical tradition. Also I never realised that the
tradition of using offertory chests in our churches had Biblical roots till I
read the Chapter on King 2 (Question 24).
No typos and grammattical errors
--------------------------------
I did not find any major typos or grammatical errors
that caused hindrance in my reading of the book. This
is a good relief from other poorly written books in
English where the content is really lost to the reader
because of typos and errors in grammar.
TJ Joshua achen's introduction
------------------------------
The book has been introduced by none other than our
beloved and most knowledgable T J Joshua achen who
finds it 'highly useful to anyone who wants to make a
serious study of the Bible'.
Errata in the Malayalam-English versions
---------------------------------------
Part III includes general questions about the Bible including the
history and chronology of the Bible till its contemporary forms.
Especially interesting is the section on Errata of the Malayalam and
English versions of the Bible which runs into several pages - this brings to the
fore the limitations in words and human expressions to describe the divine. Also
there is a section listing the number of chapters and verses in each
book.Finally there is a section for 'Ecclesia' which has information about the
Holy Church, God's role in the Church,Sacraments, services, Yama Prarthanagal,
perunnals, Fasts, liturgical year, Creed, vestments - all replete with Biblical
references for support. Also it has meanings of several Syriac words used in our
service.
Suggestion: Index
-------------------
I make only one suggestion to the author for future
editions. It will be very helpful if there is an index
of key words so that one can get back to a page of
interest based on the key word in memory.
We used it!
------------
Our little Sunday school here in Albany used it for
the Annual Diocesian Competitions. We, the teachers
prepared questions from the book and gave it to the
students for preparation of the Bible Quiz. We were
able to create a very good question bank which the
students used this year and which will surely be
useful for us to use in future years.
All in all, a very handy book to have for Bible study.
I am finding the book very interesting to read and
useful in my learning and understanding the Bible as a
book of the Holy Church and I am sure many others will
have great experiences themselves using the book.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Copies are available at:
M.O.C. Book Stall at Devalokam Aramana & Parumala.
St. Thomas Book Depot, Pathanamthitta.
St. Paul's Book Depot, Mavelikkara.
C.S.S. Book Shop Tiruvalla.
Peedikayil Book house, Parumala.
Other contacts for information:
-------------------------------
For North India: santha_varghese@ hotmail.com Phone No.9890978112
(Cel);025454589 (Mr. C.J.Varghese, Nasik).
Global Contact:
--------------
jacobyesudasan@ hotmail.com [Jacob Yesudasan - Author]
184 CrestField Avenue, Troy, MI 48085
OR
royy26@ comcast.net Phone215 677 9637; cell 215 920 6403
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/18673
Mr. Yesudasan Nedumoncove whom we would know through his writings on ICON.
Warm regards,
Mathew Samuel,
Albany, NY
----------------------------------------------------------
Book Review - 'Divine Knowledge'
(Holy Scripture, Ecclesia, Faith, Liturgy and Tradition)
by Mr. Yesudasan Jacob Nedumancove.
A very well written comprehensive study guide for the
Bible, at the same time concise enough to be carried
around and referred to. Has details about the history
and background of each book starting from Genesis till
Revelations.
Chronology:
-----------
The special effort to date the time of the writing of
the book helps put it in the historical context of
things.It has been a very good learning tool for me. For
example, I never knew that the entire book of
Deutronomy was probably written in the plains of Moab,
when the new generation of Israel was on the verge of
entering Canaan. Special effort has been taken to give
precise information about arriving at conclusions
about the dates which adds to the credibility.
Theme:
------
Each book has details about the major theme it deals
with. This has been very helpful in my study. What is
the overall idea being conveyed in the book? For
example: The major theme in the Epistle to the
Colossians is Christ, the Head of the Body the Church.
I never realized this overall picture distinctly till
I read the book and then read the Epistle once again.
QA Format:
---------
The book is arranged in a question answer format. This
makes it very readable and interesting. Several
interesting and hidden facts about the authors and the
content becomes easily conspicous in this format. For
example - what is the birthplace of Paul?
The Christ
----------
There is a special focus on trying to show the Christ,
the type of Christ revealed in each book of the Old
Testament. This is very important and supports the
theme that the Old Testament is the shadow of the
things revealed in the New Testament. We see how the
prophesies are arranged in the Old Testament as the
Lord prepares the people for the Birth of Immanuel at
the set time according to His will in the set place.
For exampe - point out the Christ in Micah? And the
answer shows how the prophet prophesies the birthplace
of the Lord 700 years before the occurance.
References:
----------
Almost every sentence in the book is marked by
Biblical references to support it, so that a student
of the Bible can easily cross verify. Very accurate
references devoid of errors points as much to the
knowledge of the author as to the very good editing
and proof reading.
The faith of the Holy Church
----------------------------
With clear Biblical references, the author makes
strong statements in support of the Faith practised by
the Holy Church and its doctrines about several
aspects of Church life. For example -The Chapter on St. Matthew's Gospel has a
question-answer set refuting the teaching of
sectarians that Christ was against child baptism.
Biblical Traditions
------------------
I always felt that hanging of lamps in Churches must
have been an adaptation of the Indian Culture till I
read in the book that there were such examples in the
Old Testament in the Jewish tradition too (Chapter on
Leviticus), making it a Biblical tradition. Also I never realised that the
tradition of using offertory chests in our churches had Biblical roots till I
read the Chapter on King 2 (Question 24).
No typos and grammattical errors
--------------------------------
I did not find any major typos or grammatical errors
that caused hindrance in my reading of the book. This
is a good relief from other poorly written books in
English where the content is really lost to the reader
because of typos and errors in grammar.
TJ Joshua achen's introduction
------------------------------
The book has been introduced by none other than our
beloved and most knowledgable T J Joshua achen who
finds it 'highly useful to anyone who wants to make a
serious study of the Bible'.
Errata in the Malayalam-English versions
---------------------------------------
Part III includes general questions about the Bible including the
history and chronology of the Bible till its contemporary forms.
Especially interesting is the section on Errata of the Malayalam and
English versions of the Bible which runs into several pages - this brings to the
fore the limitations in words and human expressions to describe the divine. Also
there is a section listing the number of chapters and verses in each
book.Finally there is a section for 'Ecclesia' which has information about the
Holy Church, God's role in the Church,Sacraments, services, Yama Prarthanagal,
perunnals, Fasts, liturgical year, Creed, vestments - all replete with Biblical
references for support. Also it has meanings of several Syriac words used in our
service.
Suggestion: Index
-------------------
I make only one suggestion to the author for future
editions. It will be very helpful if there is an index
of key words so that one can get back to a page of
interest based on the key word in memory.
We used it!
------------
Our little Sunday school here in Albany used it for
the Annual Diocesian Competitions. We, the teachers
prepared questions from the book and gave it to the
students for preparation of the Bible Quiz. We were
able to create a very good question bank which the
students used this year and which will surely be
useful for us to use in future years.
All in all, a very handy book to have for Bible study.
I am finding the book very interesting to read and
useful in my learning and understanding the Bible as a
book of the Holy Church and I am sure many others will
have great experiences themselves using the book.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Copies are available at:
M.O.C. Book Stall at Devalokam Aramana & Parumala.
St. Thomas Book Depot, Pathanamthitta.
St. Paul's Book Depot, Mavelikkara.
C.S.S. Book Shop Tiruvalla.
Peedikayil Book house, Parumala.
Other contacts for information:
-------------------------------
For North India: santha_varghese@ hotmail.com Phone No.9890978112
(Cel);025454589 (Mr. C.J.Varghese, Nasik).
Global Contact:
--------------
jacobyesudasan@ hotmail.com [Jacob Yesudasan - Author]
184 CrestField Avenue, Troy, MI 48085
OR
royy26@ comcast.net Phone215 677 9637; cell 215 920 6403
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/18673
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