Day I Was Crucified Book

My previous review I admit was a bit precocious, and maybe even inflammatory, so I retract and apologize for the tone in which it was presented, but I'm afraid the content and it's foundation must remain. I have serious concerns of a doctrinal nature based on my own understanding of the scriptures from 20 years of study and instruction which I will detail below in a series of challenges for you to use in your own evaluation. I present them in this way because I believe Edward's account has the potential to seriously skew your understanding of Jesus' death and resurrection as they are presented in the scriptures, which: 1) Has tremendous implications for the eternal state of your soul, and 2) Need to be brought up in a critical manner, since this book is supposed to be based on the Biblical accounts of these events. Let's begin.


1) The book description's assertions
I have un-related issues with the hyperbole used in the description and what they say about Edward's motives for writing the book in the first place, but I'll stick to the actual doctrinal critiques for now.
a) "See that infamous day not through the eyes, nor the voice of other men, but rather through the eyes and voice of the Lord Jesus Christ himself."
According to the Bible, who is it's author? (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21) Evaluate this statement in light of these Scriptures.
b) "Because it is His account of His own death, you will discover little known aspects of Christ's death."
Read Revelation 22:16-19. What does Jesus say about the completion of the Scriptures? Considering this, can there be any "little known aspects of Christ's death"? Consider the implications of Edward's assertion that this is "[Jesus'] account of His own death" in the light of this scripture. Are there any such accounts in the Bible? No. What, then, is he basing this account on?
c) Considering the above, what gives Edwards the authority to make these assertions about his book? How should these things affect your approach to it?


2) The Cup(s?)
a) In the whole of the Scriptures, what is the metaphor of the cup most often used to depict? (Search for "The cup of" and "poured out"). According to this, you could call it the cup of ___________.
b) In Edward's depiction of Jesus' visions in the Garden of Gethsemane, you could call the cups the cups of ___________.
c) Support with the Scriptures the doctrine of angelic atonement, which Edwards represents with the vision of the third cup.
d) Are there any Scriptural references to "cups" that Jesus may have asked to be passed from him individually? Evaluate Edward's use of the three cups in this light. I understand that Jesus was "made to be sin" for our sakes, but given the biblical use of the cup, does Edwards' merging of these ideas stand?
How could these differences between the Scriptures and Edward's depictions affect your understanding of the Gospel?

I had more, but will stop there. Having now finished the book, I think it suffices to say that I cannot recommend it based on it's doctrinal flaws and uselesness as a means of knowing the Jesus presented in Scriptures. If you're interested in Edward's personal doctrinal postulations, this book is for you, but I strongly recommend continuing in your own Biblical analysis of his ideas. Even things as simple as the thief being in paradise without Jesus, when Jesus had said "Today, you will be WITH ME in paradise" should cause you to question them. The most troublesome to me is that the law was killed, as it were, with Christ and no longer has power over man. Search the Scriptures and see if this is true, and what the difference means. While his depictions of the "other world" are interesting, I find them questionable and would like to see Edward's biblical support for all that occurred on the cross and in the tomb. Without it, why am I reading this?

I can say I appreciated his connecting Jesus' wounded side to the creation of Eve, though I don't think Jesus would have thought of himself as being "alone". This idea really helps me understand what it means for the Church to be his bride and thus his helper. This one thought is hardly enough to redeem Edwards' muddling of Jesus' death and resurrection in this work.