I was reading one review after another in order to pick an audio book for my vacation, when I noticed something mystifying. After reading several very positive reviews, I would always come across others that made the same book sound like the worst thing that had ever been written. To give you an idea of what I\u2019m talking about, here\u2019s an example of the reviews I found on the same book:
\n \u201cWow! I couldn\u2019t stop reading … 5 stars for sure!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAmazing writing. I highly recommend to anyone who loves suspense and mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe story is fresh, suspenseful, interesting, and very realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was disappointed when I got to the end, I wanted the story to go on. To me, that is the true test of a good story.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExcellent! The best book of the year by far!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis book was a spellbinder from the minute the first musical cord was heard. A delicious thriller ….\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best mystery book I have read!\u201d
\nAnd then there were others who offered a very different take:
\n \u201cI had to read the entire thing twice, the plot was so thick, so filled with seemingly unrelated things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many bad things happen in this book … pointlessly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so bad that it becomes almost comical…\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll need a scorecard to keep track of the story lines in this book.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo boring it\u2019s painful. Don\u2019t waste your time!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the author wrote this book as a form of self-therapy to help him deal with his issues, rather than as entertainment for us.\u201d
\nSame story, two very different responses. I couldn\u2019t believe these two groups of people had read the same book. This wasn\u2019t unique to this one title. I found similar disagreement on every book on the best seller list! To whom was I to listen?<\/p>\n
Why does the same piece of literature illicit such varied responses? The same question could be asked of the best selling book of all time, the Bible. It\u2019s a book that sets forth what is arguably the greatest story ever told.<\/p>\n
It tells the compelling story of how the worst thing that has ever happened, the brutal crucifixion of God\u2019s only Son, was turned it into best thing that has ever happened, the resurrection of God\u2019s Son for the redemption of mankind. It\u2019s the story of supreme love, of ultimate courage and of universal hope. It\u2019s a story with the power to bring eternal life to every hearer who will but receive it.<\/p>\n
But the greatest story ever told is panned by countless critics the world over — not because the story line isn\u2019t interesting or compelling enough, but because it\u2019s not the story they want to hear. Same story, two very different responses.
\n \u201cHe came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God\u201d (John 1:11-12).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was reading one review after another in order to pick an audio book for my vacation, when I noticed something mystifying. After reading several very positive reviews, I would always come across others that made the same book sound like the worst thing that had ever been written. To give you an idea of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3736,3735,3737,121],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6156"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6156\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}