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Preview — Joshua by Joseph F. Girzone
(Joshua)
Sometimes it happens. After two thousand years, the human race may be given a second chance.
When Joshua moves to a small cabin on the edge of town, the local people are mystified by his presence. A quiet and simple man, Joshua appears..more
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Everyone loves Joshua but people are mystified by him, wanting to learn more but reluctant to pry. Joshua, fortunately, makes himself easily accessible and becomes v..more
Nevertheless, the conceit of Jesus coming back to Earth under the radar is refreshing. There is a sort of Will Rogers wit to Girzone's observations about religious practice, all the more interesting coming from a retired Catholic priest.
His riff on marriage is passionate, but in..more
The modern..more
As Girzone says 'The Bible is not Christianity . Christianity is the Apostles (those LIVING HUMANS wh0 are guided by the holy spirit) '..more
I guess I just have to go with how this book moved me. I read it twice which says a lot. Each time I got something out of it. I didnt agree with all of it, but I did agree with most of it.
Girzones style is kind of simplistic - or is it? The conversations amon..more
I have suffered through two-thirds of this book and now I'm calling it quits.
Joseph Girzone has done an excellent job of telling the story about a man trying to live in our modern society, and yet be true to his beliefs about God and Jesus' teachings.
JOSEPH F. GIRZONE retired from the active priesthood in 1981 due to health reasons, and embarked on a second career as a writer and speaker.
In 1995 he established the Joshua Foundation, an organization dedicated to making Jesus better known throughout the world.
His bestselling books include Joshua, A Portrait of Jesus, and Never Alone. He lives in Altamont, New York.
God Commissions Joshua To Be Awesome
- As the Book of Joshua opens, Moses is dead and God gets it in His mind that the Israelites need a new leader.
- Enter: Joshua, son of Nun.
- For clarification, when we say Nun, we mean Joshua's father, not a lady in a headpiece. Or, for that matter, without a headpiece. Capisce?
- Joshua's first duty is to have the Israelites cross the River Jordan.
- It is unclear if Joshua wonders why they have to do this, but God clarifies anyway by saying that 'every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory' (1:1-4). Oh, okay. Thanks, God.
- Now that Joshua has his mission, he's ready to begin. Or his he? Apparently, God isn't done talking. He seems to want to be sure Joshua knows He's got his back (1:5-7). Let's just say God might be a little wordy, too. We guess when you're an omnipotent being and you control all time and space, though, there's really no reason not to take up a few extra seconds.
- Now that Joshua is assured, he's ready to hit the road.
- Except he doesn't.
- Joshua goes through the camp commanding the people to pack up because in three days it's gonna be river crossing time.
- Remember three things: (1) the number three is important in the Bible, (2) the Israelites are nomads so they have very little possessions to get ready, and (3) there is no number three. We're just emphasizing that the number three is important. See number one for clarification.
- After Joshua is done telling everyone what to do, the people of Israel decide to say in perfect unison (as is the biblical way), 'Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may The Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses' (1:17).
- That quote right there is irony, ladies and gentleman. If you remember from Exodus and Deuteronomy, the Israelites were notoriously bad at following Moses's directions. To be fair, Moses was pretty bad at following his own directions too, though.
- The Israelites finish their speech to Joshua by saying 'Only be strong and courageous' (1:18).
- This phrase comes up a lot in the first chapter of Joshua. We think it's safe to bet that 'strong and courageous' might be a central theme of this story.
- Remember, the Israelites at this point in their history are a warrior nation, and warriors pride themselves on being strong and courageous.
Born | Joseph Francis Girzone May 15, 1930 |
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Died | November 29, 2015 (aged 85) Albany, New York, U.S. |
Residence | Altamont, New York, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Writer, Catholic priest |
Parent(s) | Peter & Margaret Girzone |
Website | http://www.joshuamountainministries.org |
Joseph Francis Girzone (May 15, 1930 – November 29, 2015), sometimes known as the 'Joshua Priest', was an American Catholic priest and writer, most notably as the author of the Joshua series of novels.
- 1Life
- 1.2Successful author
Life[edit]
Early life[edit]
Girzone was born in Albany, New York, to Peter, a butcher, and Margaret Girzone, the oldest of their twelve children. It was a struggling family, which experienced the shame of eviction during his childhood.[1]
Girzone entered the Carmelite Order as a young man and was ordained as a priest in 1955. A few years later he chose to leave the order in favor of life as a secular priest and was accepted by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. He then served at various parishes of the diocese, in the course of which he became active in advocating for the elderly. He was a driving force in the formation of the Office for the Aging of Montgomery County.[2]
Father Girzone had an auto-immune system disease that was destroying his red blood cells as they were being introduced into the blood stream. In 1981, however, Girzone was diagnosed with a heart condition and hypertension which was judged to be fatal, leading him to retire from active ministry.[3][4] He accepted the forfeiture of any pension or medical benefits from the diocese as part of an agreement for his early retirement.[5]
Successful author[edit]
Following his retirement, Girzone embarked on a second career as a full-time writer and speaker. He published his first novel, Joshua How to remove solidworks installation manager not working. , in 1983, which was the first of a whole series of books which had the premise of Jesus Christ returning to earth and living as an itinerant carpenter. After being rejected by all the publishing houses he had approached, he founded his own publishing company, Richelieu Court Publications, to release the novel.[6] He carried boxes of the book in his trunk of his car, making modest sales at different locales.[2]
The story, written in a simple language, of a carpenter and Christ-like figure who arrives in a small town and transforms peoples' lives with random acts of kindness and messages of peace struck a chord in readers and was brought to the attention of an editor at Macmillan Publishers. This major publisher bought the rights to the novel and a paperback version was released in August 1987,[7] and with its national distribution and marketing might, published five more titles in the 'Joshua' series. The books reached an unexpected level of popularity. After Girzone's initial success, he was offered a contract by Image Books, a Catholic-oriented imprint of Doubleday.[2]
The Joshua novels eventually numbered ten. They were translated into a dozen languages, selling more than three million copies and became known among publishing executives as 'the Joshua phenomenon'.[2]
Film[edit]
The first book of the series was made into a movie with the same name, released in 2002, which was financed by the wealthy entrepreneur Philip Anschutz, who was a fan of the novel. The cast includes the noted actors F. Murray Abraham and Tony Goldwyn in the lead.[1]
Philanthropist and spiritual guide[edit]
Having sold over a million copies of his books within some ten years, the earnings were so great that in 1995 Girzone was able to acquire a 100-acre estate, with a 21-room Victorian mansion on it, in Altamont, New York,[3] which he named Joshua Mountain. He founded there the Joshua Foundation, an organization dedicated to making Jesus better known throughout the world.[8] Sacks of mail arrived for Girzone weekly from lapsed Catholics and spiritual seekers of all stripes showed up at his home to share how his books had affected their lives,[2] and he would hold classes on spirituality there.[9]
Girzone gave spiritual talks and led retreats, both around the nation and internationally. He purchased a retreat center that he ran in Lothian, Maryland.[10]
Through his foundation, Girzone personally funded various projects to answer the needs of the people in need in the region. In Schoharie County, the foundation operated a food pantry, delivered meals and helped to pay heating bills of the rural poor. He also covered the tuition of needy high school students.[2]
Decline[edit]
After that long period of success, due to changes in the publishing industry and the loss of his aging readership, Doubleday dropped Girzone without any warning after the lackluster release in 2007 of Joshua's Family. He then donated the 21-room house he had been living in, with its huge annual tax and heating bills, to his foundation and moved to an apartment above the estate's garage.[5] He eventually sold the Maryland facility.[2]
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Death[edit]
In 2015 Girzone entered hospice care at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany, where he died on November 29 of that year from complications due to his long-standing heart disease.[5]
Writings[edit]
- Joshua (1983)
- Kara : The Lonely Falcon (1985)
- Joshua and the Children (1989)
- Joshua and the Shepherd (1990)
- Joshua in the Holy Land (1993)
- Never Alone (1994)
- Joshua and the City (1995)
- What is God? (1996)[11]
- Joey: An inspiring true story of faith and forgiveness (1997)
- A Portrait of Jesus (1998)
- Joshua : The Homecoming (1999)
- Jesus, His Life and Teachings: As Recorded by His Friends Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (2000)
- The Parables of Joshua (2001)
- The Messenger (2002)
- Trinity: A New Living Spirituality (2002)
- Joshua in a Troubled World : A Story for Our Time (2005)
- My Struggle with Faith (2006)
- Joshua's Family (2007)
- The Homeless Bishop (2011) (Orbis Books)
- (Introduction by Joseph F. Girzone) Colors of the Spirit by Dorothy K. Ederer, Doubleday, 1998. ISBN978-0-385-48848-8
- Joshua's Reflections - Volumes 1-6 of 10 (Beginning in 2017)
- Free to Live (2017)
References[edit]
- ^ abGrondahl, Paul (April 1, 2011). 'At 80, former priest, author turns another page'. Times Union.
- ^ abcdefgGrondahl, Paul (December 1, 2015). 'Rev. Joseph Girzone of Altamont, who sold millions of 'Joshua' books, dies at 85'. Times Union.
- ^ ab'Joseph F. Girzone: About the Author'. Random House, Inc. 2005. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
- ^Girzone, Joseph F. (2006). 'My Struggle with Faith'. Wellsprings Catholic Books. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
- ^ abc'Father Joseph Girzone, author of 'Joshua' novels, dies at 85'. National Catholic Reporter. December 1, 2015.
- ^'Richelieu Court Publications'. Jacketflap.
- ^'Joshua'. GoodReads.com.
- ^'Our Story'. Joshua Mountain Ministries. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015.
- ^'My Visit with Fr. Joseph Girzone on Joshua Mountain'. John H. Armstrong. August 6, 2011.
- ^'Presentations'. Joshua Mountain Ministries. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^'Joseph F. Girzone'. Penguin Random House. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
A Parable for Today
By Joseph F. Girzone
- How does Joshua prove the difficulty in living a true Christian life in the present?
At first, I would like to point out that it is quite obvious that Joshua is in fact the 20th century version of Jesus Christ. It is most obvious from early on, when he first introduces himself as a carpenter. Next, he heals that little girl, and then walks through town with that large log on his shoulder, which I guess could be symbolic of the cross Jesus carried. Then there was the man who came to help Joshua, but could not for it was too heavy. That seems awfully symbolic of Simon trying to help Jesus carry the cross.
Then, later in the novel, the miracles began to pile up. Joshua healed a blind girl and enabled her to see, as Jesus did. Joshua also revived the dead boy, Michael, after he had taken a deadly fall down a flight of stairs on the ship Joshua was on. Not only that, but Joshua also de-paralyzed the Cardinal after he had a stroke during Joshua's 'trial' in Vatican City in Rome, Italy. I must say, the symbolisms were clear and strong.
Getting down to business, it was quite clear that the simplicity of Joshua's lifestyle, and not the complexity of others', was the factor that confused many in the small town of Auburn. We as people of modern times consider simplicity to be much better than bigger, and more complex, problems, lifestyles, etc., but in this case, it ends up hurting Joshua. Because Joshua does not have a nice fancy house, expensive cars and furniture, a television, or electricity for that matter..because Joshua does not posses all of these modern luxuries, he is automatically crowned a 'weirdo' and 'strange' by many--but not all (modern day apostles?). The clergyman of the Catholic Church and its divisions (i.e. the Protestant church) become automatically suspicious of the way Joshua thinks. It seems awfully symbolic of the Romans suspicions of Jesus, as the Son of God.
Just like how Jesus got into trouble for speaking his mind, Joshua also gets in trouble in the same, exact way. People ask for his advice about things, and he gives his answer, passionately. He tells them that he thinks the church as an organization and an institution is in fact scaring its followers, instead of nurturing them. In the end, Joshua is 'tried' for his outrageous beliefs by Cardinal Riccardo and the Pope at the Vatican in Rome. Although the Cardinal defends him, all of the other cardinals, as well as the Pope, do not. This seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout the novel--few in a large group of disbelievers and skeptics change sides.
All of the facts I have presented above bring me down to my last statement: It is virtually impossible to live following Jesus' words without running into constant and powerful opposition. Joshua lives Jesus' words to the fullest extent and still is not considered a normal man. The same thing happens to Jesus. Hopefully through my analysis of the novel and its extremely familiar plot, you can see what I saw in Joshua and in the novel as a whole.
In conclusion, I think Girzone is trying to teach us that extremely religious people, such as Joshua (and Jesus, too), are not exactly strangely different, but are merely misunderstood in their own time.
Joshua felt strongly about religion. Mark 14:34 – 36; 39 -41Then they came to place named Gethsemane,i and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while pray.” 34 Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch.” 35 He advanced a little and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass by him; 36 He said, “Abba, Father,* all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will.” 38 Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” 39 Withdrawing again, he prayed, saying the same thing.
40 Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open and did not know what to answer him. 41 He returned a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough. The hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. ('Scripture.' Scripture. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.)
Joshua A Parable For Today Study Guide
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