THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD:
An Eyewitness Account
By Bear Grylls
Hodder & Stoughton. 277pages. £14.99
ISBN 978 1 399 820 141
I am a Bear Grylls fan yet read this sceptically. Why do we need Grylls’ version of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus when we have four reliable apostolic eyewitness accounts in the Gospels? Any addition or subtraction surely rings alarm bells.
That said, I was encouraged by how closely Grylls stuck to the Gospel accounts, and particularly the words of Jesus (p.273). Whilst there is gap-filling and embellishing to support context and flow, this is not excessive and does not detract from the central message about Jesus. Expect something akin to a well-written child’s storybook Bible about Jesus, but for adults or teens. For someone who may be reluctant to pick up a Bible or read a Gospel, this is a faithful and compelling introduction.
