Messiah Interviews; Jerry Pollock
Messiah Interviews written by Jerry J Pollock was published by Shechinah Third Temple this month. I received an ARC of this book for the purposes of this review. I will say upfront I don’t believe I am versed enough in Judaism, Jewish Messianism and Third Temple lore to comment on the religious basis of Mr. Pollock’s beliefs as stated in this book. The back cover states that Messiah Interviews should be shelved in the religion & spirituality reference area, but I had been under the impression this was fiction. Due to my professed ignorance I will direct my thoughts to other aspects of this book.
I believe that Mr. Pollock’s book can be attributed to the maxim “An unexamined life isn’t worth living.” The first section of the book is essentially Mr. Pollack’s autobiography. Mr. Pollock discusses his in detail going through Primal Therapy, a la Arthur Janov. He relates and expounds on the profound damage early traumatic experiences may have on infants and children and how these ripples can be felt many years later as crippling mental illness. I was confused and distanced by Mr. Pollock’s references to himself in the plural even after it became clear via the text that in fact there was no twin, only himself. This was summarily dealt with in a single paragraph in the second section- which I found abrupt. I wanted more of an explanation of what the author’s purpose in creating this “twin” was.
The remainder of the book further expounds on Mr. Pollock being interviewed by various and sundry figures out of the Old Testament. The aim of the questions, both mundane and profound, is to determine Mr. Pollock’s potential in becoming the Messiah of the Third Age. As I stated above, I’ve no deep learning in Judaism, the Third Temple or Old Testament readings regarding the same. It isn’t my place to judge the accuracy or truthfulness of Mr. Pollock’s narrative. Messiah Interviews proved to be informative and interesting reading. I would recommend at least rudimentary familiarity with Judaism, beliefs concerning the Third Temple and Old Testament reading concerning the same. Some familiarity with Primal Therapy might help as well.
Edited, Jan. 31, 2009: To correct spelling of Mr. Pollock's name and offer my apologies for the error. To add image credit to Mobipocket.
3 comments:
Thanks for your review of Jerry's book. Jerry is on vacation this week, so I don't know if he'll pop in.
My understanding of the book is that it is a "not-so-fictional" book that is meant to be helpful to the reader as he follows along Yoseph's journey.
I was a bit overwhelmed by the scientific and religious aspects of the book as well, but I enjoyed the moments between Yoseph and Marcia.
If anyone is interested in learning more about Jerry and his work, you can visit his website at http://www.shechinahthirdtemple.org/
Thanks again for the review.
Cheryl
To the Bookwormom
Writing you from New Orleans where Marcia and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. New Orleans was our very first trip together.
I hope you don't mind my being honest in my response. First, I wanted to thank you for your Review even though it is less than glowing. God gave everyone free will and the nice thing about the negative is that it offers you an opportunity to learn something and come away feeling positive. I think, however, it is important that your readers should be aware that few people came away feeling like you did about the Messiah Interviews. The great majority found the book to be a good read. Also in the interests of fairness, readers should read the book and judge for themselves. If they visit my Blog on the website, www.shechinahthirdtemple.org readers can find information about me, my books and our nonprofit.
What I attempted to do in the Messiah Interviews was to provide knowledge about the Messiah and the Messianic Age from a Jewish perspective. I pulled information together from about ten years of research, so I'm not sure the reader will find all of this elsewhere in one place. Of course, everthing in life is opinion and the interview part of the book is completely fictional since the biblical sages lived so long ago.
I tried to be objective in this story but even the most objective people (including you and me) have blind spots where there own interests are concerned. The main premise of the book is to empower readers to improve their character in this lifetime to be part of the Messianic Age. I am a totally flawed individual and that's how I made the main character Yoseph. Of course, authors put themselves into the characters in their books.
I think the danger of all these Reviews is that most people follow a persuasive argument. It's very important that the Reviewer provide balance in addition to his or her opinion. That's why I am suggesting to your readers to go to our website for additional information. Ultimately, the reader should decide on their own, as their opinion is as valid as yours or mine.
Shechinah means Divine Presence. May the Shechinah be with you and your readers.
Best
jerry
Cheryl- You're welcome
Mr & Mrs Pollock- Belated congratulations on your 25th anniversary. Secondly, apologies for misspelling your name. Third, alternate viewpoints are always welcome. Best wishes in your future endeavors.
~Amanda
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