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 The Gospel According to Griffen:

These are not your usual Bible Stories …not the way you may have heard them growing up.  They are a little raw at points and depart sometimes from what we are accustomed to thinking about Jesus and his Gang of Twelve.  Click on an image and you will be taken to Amazon where you can read excerpts for free.  If you like what you see, you can get them for Kindle and in Paperback.

 

The Gospel According to Griffen: The Woman at the Well
by Rev Robert G. Griffen
Powells.com

 

The Gospel According to Griffen:

…Is a controversial series of short stories by the Rev. Robert G. Griffen based predominantly on the four Gospel narratives in the Protestant Bible. Griffen also draws on various other traditions, some non-canonical writings, and sometimes just makes stuff up.

His goal is to offer a gospel for a twenty-first century audience. Just as each of the first century Gospel writers worked with a variety of sources and exercised editorial license to present different visions of Jesus and his ministry, so has Griffen liberally applied creative license to present his own unique vision of Jesus, his teachings, and the legendary events of his life. The stories range from sober to silly: from redeeming the life of an outcast woman to a conversation with God on a red telephone. Some readers will be amused and thankful for new insights. Others… not so much.

“In 2,000 years we have cleaned up, sanitized, sanded smooth and painted over the people and events of the Bible to make them politically correct and palatable for young children and nice Church People. The net effect has been to soften the impact of things said and things done. Their significance has been watered down or lost altogether, making it very difficult for them to resonate with modern people – Christians and non-Christians alike.

“For most of the people about whom I write, I must extrapolate from very little real information and from contradictory traditions which may or may not have any basis in fact. I was free to pick and choose and to interpret… like the original gospel writers.

“We know how people are and how we find ourselves in the broad variety of situations that make up the human condition. I simply applied my understanding of how we are to those people, filled in the gaps and hopefully helped make Jesus and his teachings make sense to a modern world. When they open the canon again, I’ll submit it for consideration.”

 

About the Author:

Griffen was born and raised in Portland, OR. He graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland and received his BA in Sociology from Columbia University in New York. He is the only White student to receive a Master of Divinity from Johnson C. Smith Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center of Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. He was ordained to the ministry in 1977 by the Presbytery of the Cascades (Western Oregon) in the United Presbyterian Church, USA.

 Griff is the eldest of three siblings with a severe case of Eldest Son Syndrome, making him personally responsible for things over which he has no power (World Peace, Hunger in Somalia, The War in the Middle East, Global Warming…).  While he does not walk on water, he does swim well and periodically performs minor miracles (not enough to qualify for Sainthood). Griff has eclectic tastes in food, music and friends; and has an appreciation for new and different things and ideas. He has a low tolerance for intolerance and deliberate ignorance. He cannot abide a bully and has been known to wade into some dicey situations. He has an odd sense of humor (just nod and smile when he tells a joke and make no sudden moves), enjoys the outdoors (who doesn’t?!), and is a skilled photographer (just ask him).

 

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