I was not disappointed, to say the least. The fable unfolds by weaving poignant messages with powerful character development in a seamless storyline. Each character has his/her own unique story within the bigger story, and learns more about him/herself and the world during their integrated journey together on a quest to find a timeless truth (i.e. the prayer that changed the world). I found myself going on the journey with them and pondering what self-discovery I was making, or how I could relate to each character. Slipping in and out of the story, I kept trying to figure out what I was going to figure out at the end of the book. I wish I hadn’t approached the book like this, it was not a good method. Reflecting back, I can now see that, as usual, its more about the story and the process of getting the answers than the actual end point itself.

I recommend this book if you need a break from didactical books, etc. It is entertaining. You will find yourself engaged in the characters and their stories and the bigger story that encompasses the entire fable. And in the end you will finally find out which prayer changed the whole world….

Sorry to be so negative, but I just didn’t get it.

Each person we encounter has a tale of his or her own, so the short novel becomes a series of interwoven stories, each with its own bit of wisdom to impart. The author of the book, Joann Davis (who “discovered” the manuscript “By the Scribe”), acknowledges in her Afterword the sources for the stories’ insights, which range from Elaine Pagels’ The Gnostic Gospels to M. Scott Peck and even Charlotte’s Web.

The “prayer that changed the world” is the classic Prayer of St. Francis, which in this story becomes the hidden treasure found by the shepherd and his companions on a parchment scroll in a dark and perilous cave. The prayer has been shortened and bowdlerized, perhaps to suit the “spiritual but not religious” audience to whom this book is being marketed. “Lord” and “O Divine Master” have been deleted (perhaps too “patriarchal” or “religious”?), so the prayer is addressed to no one in particular. But most annoyingly, a line has been added at the end of the prayer: “For this is the Law of Substitution.” This added line has the effect of making a beautiful prayer that has inspired millions over the centuries sound like a PowerPoint presentation at a Deepak Chopra seminar.

This short novel does not rise to the level of excellence found in Master of the Jinn by Irving Karchmar, which is (by far) the best book I’ve read in the “spiritual novel” genre. But The Book of the Shepherd also avoids the preachiness and wooden dialogue found in other “spiritual novels” like The Celestine Prophecy and The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. Apart from its tampering with the Prayer of St. Francis, The Book of the Shepherd is indeed “an inspiring and moving fable,” as the cover blurb from Paulo Coelho claims.

This small story of fiction exceeded my expectations. It’s very short, is set in times of antiquity and yet reveals marvelous nuggets of truth that are very relative in today’s world.

The tale begins with a small fellowship consisting of a young shepherd, a boy and a young servant girl. They have grown up in an abusive world where there is a religious fervor to uphold the letter of the law but little compassion for those caught in it’s web. They yearn for a new way one that they heard exists but have yet to see. On their journey they encounter many difficulties. The shepherd longs to see this new life of love and grace yet gets drafted in a carnal war. What seems tragic turns into an opportunity to demonstrate what loving your enemy may look like, loved it! Along the way there is the blind man that sees with his heart, and the storyteller that helps the characters share their story and discover who they really are. It really is a great read and one that you can read over and over and discover new truths and hope that is practical and encouraging.

There is some good truths to the book, but they are what I consider to be surface level truths. They are things that many of us know to be true and probably believe, but that we do not always act out.

I wanted to like the book. I wanted it to be something that I could read with a group and start serious discussion with, and I believe that it could do that, I just do not think that it would lead to the sort of discussion the author intended.

I honestly think that the fact that the author wanted me to believe that this was some story that was found and recently translated, I immediately distrusted the tale itself. It allowed me to read it and feel that the author did not believe the very words that were penned.

All in all, I cannot say that I disliked the book, but it is hard to openly and honestly say that I enjoyed it as well.

So to fulfill the old professor’s dream, Joann Davis found a way to have the story translated and now published. I think that the message attempting to be delivered through this fable is a wonderful one–one of love and forgiveness and mercy. However, the synopsis on the book’s jacket is what helped me really understand what the story was about. Then again, I’ve never been a great lover of fables.

I was truly hoping to like this book. I am a fan of the business parable genre as well as using modern day parables to teach. The Book of the Shepherd sounded like it might deliver a parable that would affect the way we live.

I quickly glanced at the book and checked out the jacket credits and thought, “hmm.” Paulo Coelho, author of “The Alchemist” endorsed it as did James Redfield (author of The Celestine Prophecy) and even Meredith Vieira (co-host of the Today Show).

The jacket credits, interestingly enough, had no Christian endorsement. I am not a person who limits his reading, believing there is something I can learn from everyone, so I sat down and began reading the smallish book published by Harper Collins.

In a nutshell…an ancient book is discovered in the house of deceased Professor Orlando Roberts. The new owner of his house, Joan Davis, finds the ancient scroll and has it translated. The vellum describes a “New Way” of living, and the journey begins.

The story begins in a small village where three events transpire that set the book in motion. A young boy is abused by his father; a shepherd decides to intervene in the domestic situation, and the young boys sister becomes guardian and is removed from her home with her little brother. The set-up is a world without grace.

The book moves quickly through very short chapters as the three travelers are introduced to various people who have a truth to instill and directions for the next leg of their journey to help them find a scroll that will reveal this new way of life.

There was never a moment for me in this fabolic-quest book that I said, “Wow, that was powerful.” The character development was shallow at best and never really drew me into the story. At times I thought, “Okay, now maybe we will strike some gold, but alas, it was always fools gold.

With each new chapter there was hope for something profound to be spoken or said or revealed, but it never happened. I felt like the author was trying to write an Alchemistic-esk book, but fell far short of it on both the content, and the writing.

“The book has no teeth” was the phrase that keep going through my mind…and then I noted that most of the spiritual maxims that the author brought in were from Gnostic sources (The Gospel of Thomas), or other New Age writers. The author wove the Golden Rule (treating others the way you would want to be treated, reciprocity), with Gandhi’s, “Be the change you want to see”. With these tow thoughts combined, the author creates a “New Way” for us to journey on and calls this new way “The Law of Sacrifice.”

The Law of Sacrifice moves us from the mantra of the Old Testament: An eye for an eye: to the new path of loving our neighbor as our self. The author garners her concept for the new way by adapting St. Francis of Assisi’s’ “Peace Prayer” and calls that the Law of Substitution.

I love that prayer, my only wish is that the author would not have changed it, and then given Francis credit for writing it.

So, save your money. This is a weak book. Better yet, go and buy a book about St. Francis of Assisi and be challenged to live a life devoted to the betterment of each other…I’m sure that will have more teeth than this book!

~M.C Wright

http://www.montywright.com
http://www.plantechanger.com
http://www.remorph.wordpress.com
http://www.svaonline.org

It’s a small and simple book — but one that reminded me of some of the feeling I had when reading the works mentioned above.

Later than night, Joshua prayed to God. “Why didn’t you send help for that child?” God replied, “I did send help. I sent you.”

In this profound and heartwarming parable, we follow Joshua as he embarks on the quest for “the better way.”

Accompanied by his newfound friends, Elizabeth (a former slave) and David (the castaway child), Joshua searches for an ancient text that has been hidden in a distant cave near the Great Inland Sea

Along their journey to uncover long buried secrets, they meet an unusual assortment of characters — The Storyteller, The Apothecary, The Bind Man, and the Stranger, who teach them valuable lessons to aid them in the pilgrimage.

This little book, written by JoAnn Davis, is like a blend of Pilgrim’s Progress, Aesop’s Fables, The Shack, and The Hobbit.

It’s packed with pithy, thought-provoking statements. Here are a couple of my favorites:

“Speak the truth in love and love the truth in each, saying strong things gently and gentle things strongly.”

“Each morning, when you awaken, promise the dawn that you’ll keep your heart as light as a feather.”

This book is written like a fable and is a very quick read. It may have over 180 pages but because of the way it is laid out, it can be read in 1-2 sittings. It chronicles the tale of a shepherd named Joshua. Joshua is troubled by the harsh code of “an eye for an eye” that governs his world. He has a dream in which he is called to find a “new way”, so he sets off on a journey to learn the new way. Along the way, Joshua picks up two others who travel with him and together they encounter an interesting cast of characters. With each encounter along the journey, they learn a valuable lesson. Finally, they reach the end of the journey, find the “new way” and take their changed lives back to their world.

This book is based on The Prayer of Saint Francis and the good learned from that prayer is worth the read. But, I will say that the story is quite simple and lacks a “fullness” that you find in most books. I wouldn’t pay the $19.99 list price…but used copies are now available on amazon.com for $2-3 and for that price, it is worth the read.

I am reviewing this book for The Ooze Viral Bloggers and give “The Book of the Shepherd” 3 stars out of 5.

The old way was what a Dispensationalist would call the way of the Old Testament–an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth kind of philosophy. The three journeyers all know better somewhere in their heart and so they go on a quest to a cave they’ve heard about to find out what the better way is. It ends up being the St. Francis prayer, “Make me a channel of your peace/Where there is hatred, let me sow love…” etc. This new way is called “The Law of Substitution.”

Now all this seems nice and fits well into a (not very well thought out) Christian worldview. But there are problems and these problems insure I would never would this fable to my children.

1) Though the Bible is clear that Jesus set up a new covenant and that the Law would no longer be written on stone, but rather, on our hearts, it is clear that the same God who visited Mt. Sinai is the same God who visited Golgotha. Jesus fulfilled the Law, He did not abolish it. All humans at all times have been saved my grace through faith (even Abraham). This fable prevents God’s salvation as otherwise (or even worse, that the first thousands of years of human history were mistaken and God finally got it right on AD 29.)

2) The author presents this new way–The Law of Substitution–as a way of monks that got the kaboosh by “The Powers That Be.” How? She says that a document called “The Destruction and Overthrow of Falsely So-called Knowledge” barred these monks from having meetings and propagating their texts. Oh-so-not-ironically, “The Destruction and Overthrow…” is the title of a five-volume text by Irenaeus that argues against Gnostic thinking. It would seem that the author of this fable is a proponent of Gnostic thinking, proven by her malaligning the church father Irenaeus.

3) It is briefly mentioned that “The One” will be the person by which this new Law takes hold of the world. But then it is revealed that “The One” is each of us, each person who simply does the right thing and shows compassion. This sounds nice, but it is incredibly humanistic and ignores humanities need for a Redeemer. If each one of us could just follow the Law, then what need do we have for a Savior (particularly a risen one)? This seems to be Ms. Davis’s point. There is no “One”; it’s all of us.

For these reasons, I cannot suggest this book to anyone except as a academic study into how a modern day Gnostic (read: heretic) might think about salvation and redemption. In a word, its humanistic. Not to mention abiblical and illogical.

For many, the way is no secret. Yet, just because it is not a secret does not mean it is simple. To master it, one must be like a child, open to only goodness, forgiveness, grace, and mercy.

This book takes an ancient prayer and makes it fresh and relevant. To do this is no simple task, and this book is a wonderful example of how it can be done.

I received a book in the mail to review for The OOZE. I didn’t know anything about the book beforehand, so I read free of predilection. The Book of the Shepherd is actually a short, poignant fairy tale/fable telling of a shepherd whom the reader follows on the journey for a better way.

I found the story to be compelling, though not overwhelmingly complicated – it is, however, a parable. The story is engaging enough to draw the reader in from the beginning, and the story reads quickly enough that I read in one sitting.

I read another reviewer who suggested the story is best suited for an audience of children. I think teenagers may especially find the shepherd’s tale inspiring. It is a fable encouraging the reader to challenge the moors dominant in society, to go against the flow, and to, well, seek a better way.

I appreciate the author’s and publisher’s efforts in cover design, book design, and chapter design to maintain the fable or storybook feel. I did have a strange Oprah Winfrey feel when I was done reading it. I thought, “Oprah Winfrey would really like this book.” I’m not saying that’s good or bad . . . I guess it just depends on how you feel about Oprah (perhaps I was jaded that way since one of the “Extraordinary Advance Praise” for the book on the back cover came from Meredith Vieira cohost of the Today Show).

Overall, The Shepherd’s Tale is a unique story relaying a timeless and oft-told message that is refreshing to hear in a unique way.

The journey leads the reader down a road less traveled. A road of simplicity and connection.

Simplicity that our journey is made easier when are seeking the One. Simplicity that this journey does not require the weight of extra bags that slows us down.

The reminder of connection is both external and internal. The importance of having relational connections with others on this journey. And the reminder that we must continually examine our connection to the One and the way of simplicity.

This could be a good book to read to children with the guidance of their parents. This would make a good book for those who like to be reminded of simple truth that we forget to often. This is not a book of theology nor is it intended to be a book of theology. It is a fable weaved with remnants and teaching about following “the Way.”

Is it my own callous and jaded outlook that makes me look askance at Joann Davis’s allegorical fable? Here is a story so familiar that to call it cliche would be misleading. It is closer to Uncle Merv’s story about the time he forgot to replace the gasoline pump hose and drove away with the nozzle. Everyone in the family has heard the story. Everyone knows where the story is going. But it’s still somehow irresistable. This is, perhaps, because the Fable as a form is really a story about the readers.

There are no surprises in The Book of the Shepherd. Any veteran of fairy tales, fables, and allegories can see each familiar element: the compassionate hero, the duplicitous villain, the quest, the ancient mystery, the secondary characters whoembody various aspects of wisdom and guidance. Even the cave and the snake are familiar allegorical symbols. But there is something encouraging and something pure about the simple way The Book of the Shepherd connects readers to the simple truths that compassion, love, and hope can overcome cruelty, selfishness, and despair.

If there are no surprises of plot or metaphor in The Book of the Shepherd, Davis can be forgiven: it is the genre within which she writes that has determined this. The payoff this fable comes with knowing that here lies a story about the reader. I am a character in The Book of the Shepherd and so are you. We see ourselves more clearly in the action of this fable because the Davis has cleared away the detritus of the superficial trappings with which people cover themselves. Each character is all soul and very little else. The compassionate woman is all compassion. The wise blind man is all wisdom. The brave shepherd is all valour. Although the genre determines that these are, of course, simplifications, Davis does shows us ourselves through them. The scary thing is to figure out which ones we are. Or, since this is really a fable of the soul, which character is victorious in me?

It is in this context that we meet Joshua, a gentle, strong, compassionate shepherd who believes that there has to be a better way. And he sets out to find it.

Before he sets out, he is joined in his quest by a young boy, David, disowned by his father, and Elizabeth, a freed slave girl who cares for David. On their journey, they come across a cast of characters including a storyteller, an apothecary, and a scribe who all impart wisdom needed for their journey.

I won’t ruin the ending for you- it’s a quick, delightful read that’s perfect to share as a family. I will say that the book has a powerful message within it’s simple structure and fairytale setting, and is rich in meaning from beginning to end.