A quick scan through the bookshelf at your local seller reveals innumerable choices when it comes to how to interpret the Bible. There are traditional commentaries that tackle individual books and offer insight into context, original meaning, and practical application. Then there are others that look for secret codes or other supernatural meanings behind the books of the Bible.
The Bible Code was one such book. Written by Michael Drosnin in 1997, this tome asserted that veiled messages exist in the Hebrew Bible. The messages, according to Drosnin, can be interpreted by placing the letters of different Torah passages at equivalent intervals in a text that has been formatted to fit inside a graph. Drosnin also asserted that the Code was written by extraterrestrial life. He elaborated further of his ideas in a follow-up, The Bible Code II, which also reached best-seller status.
Countless other books follow similar patterns, as authors, scholars, and everyday people comb the Bible for clues, patterns, and hidden messages. But for the most part, just like finding Jesus in a pancake in New Mexico, these sorts of experiments wind up being a little less than convincing.
Alexander J. Shaia might be on to something with Beyond the Biography of Jesus: The Journey of Quadratos Book I, but I was hard-pressed to locate any dependable attestation of his sentiments.
Dr. Shaia is an educator, psychotherapist, liturgist, writer, and professional speaker. He is a very spiritual man, by all accounts, and leads retreats on quadratos, Jungian sand-play therapy, rites of passage, and Christian spirituality. For all intents and purposes, Dr. Shaia is an intelligent, kind-hearted individual.
The structure of his book is built around the notion of quadratos, which Dr. Shaia has invented based on the fashion in which the gospels were read and taught. “Quadratos is my invented word for the sequential and unvarying four-fold pattern of spiritual and psychological growth found across all eras of human history, geography, and cultures – and in the four gospels,” Dr. Shaia tells us.
Beyond the Biography of Jesus attempts to employ the four gospels found in the New Testament to flesh out the theory of quadratos and the connotation of the number four. Dr. Shaia believes that the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) were chosen by the teachers of the time for a reason. While he admits that there is no exact way to know for sure, Dr. Shaia speculates that the scholars at Nicaea selected the four because they follow the unique quadratos equation.
Article comments
1 - mary
I enjoy good in depth studies of the word of God. I have found the King James version has a few errors in the translation but not in the earlier translations. I am writing another book on the role of women in scriptures which is not the practice of many churches to give women equality. I feel God has given me this assignment also after writing about his angels in a book called On the Glory Road with God and His Angels. We must seek out the truth of scriptures and not just man made doctrines. God bless, Mary M. Brown
2 - Jordan Richardson
Thanks for the comment, Mary. I couldn't agree more with that last statement.
3 - Jennifer @ Quiverfull Family
We have a copy of, ahem, the Bible Code on our bookshelf. Afraid I have to agree with your conclusions on that title. Even if there is such a code, surely God Himself is capable of working out the details without needing to resort to an alien theory.
4 - Darcy Wharton
My own experience with the book has been phenomenal. Life changing, in fact. I was compelled to co-author a study guide (available through the author's website) in order to lead groups through a thorough study of this book. While I would agree with the reviewer that this is not a 'scholarly' book per se, it is indeed a deeply spiritual book and unlike any I've read. The author offers a new paradigm which is sorely needed today. It is useful to begin to see the pattern of Quadratos in one's own life as well as in the life of a faith community and rather than engaging in scholarly debates, we are now focusing on how can we LIVE the four questions. As a deeply committed Catholic, I see nothing "New age" about the author's insights and nothing is contrary to any serious scholarship which I have encountered in my own studies.
Most of the readers in my book studies appreciated the book's readability and were not particularly interested in "yet another scholarly book". I highly recommend this book. Grab some friends or suggest this book for a study in your faith community. Then read it and share it. I think you'll be amazed at the depth of discussion that will result.
5 - Jean Holsten
About 4 years ago I attended a 4-5 day retreat offered by Alexander Shaia through the Bread of Life Spiritual Formation Center in California. In this retreat Alexander opened up his understanding of the Gospels as part of the four phase journey you described in your review. As I listened to him I felt as though the study, prayer, meditation, lectio and other work I had done around the Gospels integrated in me an incredibly powerful way.
I had always wondered why are there only 4 main Gospels with the rest of the New Testament either described as letters or only used by the Catholics in a "second-class" manner. Why are the stories in these 4 Gospels somewhat different and at times offering seemingly contradictory messages or teachings? Why is it so important to have a universal lectionary using only three Gospels with John verses only or primarily appearing during advent and lent? I have centered much of my prayer life on the Gospels--always drawn to them more than the rest of the bible--they seem to have a special energy and emphasis for me. I have read commentaries, but they do not seem to answer the deeper why questions for me. Always I come back to the test of time. Through all the councils and creeds and centuries--these 4 Gospel keep their place in the beginning of the New Testament and as the core of the universal lectionary. And they have been a crucial center point for my spiritual journey. Why?
As I listened to Alexander and engaged the activities of this retreat using Soul Collage, music, labyrinth, Contemplative Dialogue and movement exercises I had the experience of my insides lining up. It was as if a door opened that promised to answer my questions and give new meaning to the Gospels. Since that time I have worked with the material. I have read other sources dealing with culture, history and anthropology related to that time. So far they seem to support Alexander's theory. I have been surprised and relieved.
I am aware I long for more depth to this work. I want to keep looking at the phases of the journey, integrating the different questions and experiences of the four-fold journey: facing change, struggling through suffering, receiving joy and maturing in service. This makes sense to me. I have seen these movements in myself and in others. I have seen the dangers and threats of misunderstanding what phase of the journey I am on and the results of poor choices. The Quadratos journey helps me put this in context and gives me a map and a process to work through the journey. It brings the Gospels alive to me and makes them relevant in a way I always knew was there but had remained just out of grasp.
For me this work is something I get to wrestle and learn with for quite a while. I am deeply grateful for the insight and the courage it takes to openly offer such a different paradigm especially in such polarizing times. I trust open reviews like yours and this blog will simply serve to strengthen the teaching or point to a new way of understanding. Thanks.
6 - William Kees
I would like to thank you for reviewing Dr Shaia's book. Like you I wanted attestations to the material I was reading even as I was participating in the pilot project of introducing me to Quadratos. I was not interested in one more program that helped me understand how I might understand God's activity in this universe. At the same time I wanted the material to be credible.
As I was engaged by the journey, I came to realize that the primary sources were the New Testament, with reference to the Old Testament, and specifically the four Gospels as you have shared. What Dr Shaia invites us to be engaged with is a pattern that has been present since the early church, the reading of scripture in community in such a way that believers might be encountered by the living and present Christ. This pattern in my particular tradition is called a lectionary cycle. This lectionary cycle follows what in mainline denominations would call the church year, which begins with Advent and ends with a very long season of Pentecost or as others say Ordinary time. In a more free church context there is a pattern but not as structured, for example the celebration of Christmas, Holy Week and Easter.
So when one talks about attestations, I found that because I have been part of a tradition that reads scripture in worship in this way I was provided immense attestation.
Secondly in commenting on the use of the word Quadratos, I wanted to share from my understanding that the genesis came from Dr. Shaia's framing of what he was being encountered by in his journey with the 3 year lectionary cycle. He did not create the word to fit something that might be. And in sharing it with us he has invited us to reflect on whether we are engaged by God's presence in life in a similar way. It felt more like a description than a definition. In order to wonder about this I found that I needed to do more than read the book. I needed to and need to continue to practice the book. I would suggest that to any who chooses to step into this journey.
7 - Daniel Fahs
I keep returning to “Beyond the Biography of Jesus” because I find great wisdom here. Here I find a fundamentally different perspective on why discrepancies exist between the Gospel accounts. Instead of entering into the academic debate over what Jesus said or did not say; or discussing the expected differences in eye-witness accounts, Dr. Shaia offers a fresh perspective…one that I find compelling to both heart and head.
Dr. Shaia proposes that when the Gospels were first “read aloud…people listening could discern patterns and then understand that Jesus Christ was not simply a historical figure, but an ongoing experience in each person…” (page 15). In Quadratos, I hear the Gospels (with their discrepancies) calling us individually and communally to experience the presence of God, then and now. In this light, I turn to the Bible to hear (again) how the life of Christ has made a difference in the past, and, in so doing, I find hope for today that I, and we, may also experience Christ.
I am impressed by Dr. Shaia’s ability to weave together history, psychological principles, and Christianity/spirituality in a new way. I do not so much see him as bringing newly unearthed discoveries, rather, I find that he has rewoven what is into a new form. It is as if he has rearranged the existing puzzle pieces to show us a new picture…one that makes room for many more pieces to be included in this new image.
Thank you Dr. Shaia.
8 - Louise Sloan Goben
I was introduced to Dr. Shaia's work about 2 years ago by a mutual friend, who said, "I think you might be interested in this Louise." I have been more than interested; I have been captivated.
As a local church pastor, and one who studied under some the most well-known "Jesus Seminar" scholars, I found Dr. Shaia's book refreshing. The Historical Jesus work has been influential in the stream of progressive Christianity, and certainly influenced my theology and preaching. However Dr. Shaia's work has taken the best parts of the Historical Jesus work and brought it back to a spiritual center. This is perhaps what I am most grateful for.
I also had the privilege of studying under Dr. John Cobb (Process Theology) and I find in Dr. Shaia's material a very practical blending of theology and Biblical study. I agree with the reviewer that more citations re: scholarly references, etc would be useful. I also found myself asking, "Where did this information come from?" On the other hand, it was also pretty consistent with my seminary education.
On a final note, I have lead a five-week Bible study in our congregation based on Quadratos. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with comments such as, "This makes so much sense," and "How refreshing that I don't need to reconcile all the differences in the Gospels." This work has impacted my theology, preaching, liturgy and personal prayer. I recommend Dr. Shaia's work.