A continuation of the author's project of taking the Bible rigorously as literature. In his first book, God: A Biography, he treated the God of the Hebrew scriptures as the protagonist of a single account. This book is in a way a sequel, recounting how one group, who came to be known as Christians, responded to the crisis referred to in the subtitle: the seeming non-fulfillment of God's promise to deliver Israel. They did so by acclaiming Jesus as the Son of God and viewing the crucifixion as a divine suicide, in Miles's opinion.
Miles presents his work as a response to a second crisis, that of modern biblical studies. It is one of two possible responses, the other being the attempt to uncover the history behind the story. Since the results of higher criticism leave the scholar with ever-less that can confidently be called historical, many universities have reconfigured their programs from "New Testament" to Christian Origins. In this way, all texts become once again relevant, since all, even those that might not reflect historical events, have what scholars call "Wirkungsgeschichte". But Miles's sympathies are not with this approach, but with the other possible response, which might be called "Bible as Literature". His image for contrasting the two is that one approach strains to see through the stained-glass window to see what's on the other side, while the other approach seeks to appreciate the glass itself. There have been several proponents of this second approach, but none before Miles to apply it not to individual books of the Bible, or even smaller units, but to read the entirety as a vast novel.
The result might offend those committed to a more traditional reading of scripture, while at the same time seeming uninteresting to those who have concluded that scripture is somehow irrelevant. But for those willing to engage the author on his own terms, the result is worthwhile. ( )

In "Christ: Crisis in the Life of Christ", author Jack Miles examines how Christ completed the transition from the God of the Old Testament to the God of the New Testament.

He examines selected scriptures in the Bible, and tries to show how Jesus fulfilled those prophesies. The impression I was left with was that God changed his mind, and decided that the forgiving and loving way of Jesus was a better approach in dealing with humanity than the strict and demanding god of the Old Testament.

Personally, I found the book neither engaging, moving, nor convincing, and I'd be surprised if leaders of religious groups around the world are echoing Miles' thoughts. ( )

Being the author's follow-up to his magnificent "God : A Biography". He similarly approaches his subject as a literary character, but this book is quite a bit less successful. It's interesting that in this book, as with its predecessor, it is difficult to determine whether the author is a believer. ( )

A witty follow up to Miles's earlier "God: A Biography" which lacks the charm of the original. Here, Miles takes God from his early literary career in the Old Testament to follow him through the Gospels, and discover what sort of changes fatherhood has made in him. Although the author's conclusions are interesting, the book feels somewhat flat next to the original work. ( )

Easy to read and breezy approach for a popular book on Christ. It is most helpful to a secular audience being introduced to the Christ.