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WORK TITLE: I Am
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.jonathanruopp.com/
CITY: New York
STATE: NY
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married: wife’s name Gail; children: two.
EDUCATION:Philadelphia Biblical University, B.S.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Christian writer and speaker.
RELIGION: Christian.WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Jonathan Ruopp has studied the Bible since he was twenty-one, and has been ordained an Elder of an independent Spirit-filled church. He also writes about the value of understanding the Bible and has written two biblical plays. At age fifty-seven he attended Philadelphia Biblical University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in the Bible. After having spent twenty-six years compiling a spiritual concordance, in 2005, Ruopp published A Table Prepared. Written to encourage the unbeliever as well as to help reinforce the faith of the believer, the spiritual concordance is a list of definitions that the Spirit of God uses to reveal God’s spiritual message and give people messages of faith. This revelation of scripture gives all people the same knowledge thereby creating unity of understanding and unity in judgment.
In 2017, Ruopp published I Am: A Novel Approach to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Aimed at readers who are reluctant or uneducated in scripture, the book is written in the form of a novel, presenting a chronological account Jesus’ life and teachings, and combining information from the four Gospels. The novel follows the feasts of the Jewish calendar and is set within the historical context of the time. Ruopp begins in the Old Testament with stories that foretold the arrival of the Messiah, then describes Jesus’ birth, imagines his childhood years of spiritual awakening, and covers his ministry, death, and resurrection. Ruopp accompanies the text with scripture references that direct the reader to biblical passages in the original King James Version. He also adds his spiritual insights in Jesus’ words.
In an article on the Patch website, Ruopp told Cheryl Squadrito that Biblical literacy is in decline, and that the spiritual significance of the Bible is often misunderstood, feared, and undervalued. Ruopp said: “The Bible is a difficult read for most of us, and too often it is read in bits and pieces without an overall understanding of its profound significance.” Therefore, he wrote the book to provide a big-picture view of the Gospel. “The simplicity of the prose and the chronological rendering, which details Jesus’ life up until the Resurrection, should make it a particularly helpful guide for parents and teachers introducing younger readers to Scripture,” explained a contributor to Kirkus Reviews. The contributor also noted how Ruopp uses a formal tone for the dialogue yet modernizes it just enough to make it approachable.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2018, review of I Am: A Novel Approach to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
ONLINE
Patch, https://patch.com/ (February 26, 2018), Cheryl Squadrito, “NJ Author Jonathan E. Ruopp Sr Novelizes the Gospel in New Book.”
Jonathan Ruopp has been passionate about the Bible for over 35 years. At age 21, he spent seven months alone doing nothing but studying the Bible. At age 22, because of his extensive knowledge of God’s Word, he was ordained an Elder of an independent Spirit-filled church. He spent 26 years compiling a spiritual concordance, and writing a book describing its value for understanding the Bible. At age 57, he went back to college, graduating summa cum laude from the Philadelphia Biblical University with a Bachelor of Science degree in the Bible. He has written two biblical plays, and has spent the last two years on this, his second book, which focuses on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
NJ author Jonathan E. Ruopp Sr novelizes the Gospel in new book
"I AM - A Novel Approach to the Gospel of Jesus Christ," based on the Bible's Gospel accounts.
By Cheryl Squadrito, Patch Poster | Feb 26, 2018 10:03 am ET
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This post was contributed by a community member.
New Jersey author novelizes the Gospels, bringing new understanding of Christ's teachings to a national audience
Christian writer Jonathan E. Ruopp Sr. offers an entertaining, encouraging, and challenging retelling, "I AM – A Novel Approach to the Gospel of Jesus Christ," based on the Bible's Gospel accounts.
Ewing, N.J.,'s Jonathan E. Ruopp Sr. has integrated more than 35 years of Bible study and service to the church in writing "I AM – A Novel Approach to the Gospel of Jesus Christ," realizing that many are interested in learning more about the Gospel but may not be comfortable reading the Bible. Biblical literacy is in decline, he has observed, and the spiritual significance of the Bible is often misunderstood, feared, and undervalued.
In presenting a logical chronology of the four Gospel accounts, "I AM" follows the feasts of the Jewish calendar and is set within the historical context of the time. In his book, Ruopp offers his own spiritual insight into Jesus's words and works.
"The Bible is a difficult read for most of us, and too often it is read in bits and pieces without an overall understanding of its profound significance," said Ruopp. "It is for this reason that I endeavored to write this book: to provide a big-picture view of the Gospel; one that would read more like a novel, yet include all the content from each of the four Gospels; one that would adequately address the spiritual implications of these historical events; one appropriately set in the context of Jewish culture and Roman politics."
Subscribe
Here is a link to a video of Ruopp talking about I AM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPB4wLQgHzs&feature=youtu.be
For the seeker, "I AM" provides a good place to start. For the novice, it will help fill gaps in understanding the Biblical narrative. And its spiritual message will challenge even the most learned biblical scholars. To learn more, visit: jonathanruopp.com.
About the author
Jonathan E. Ruopp Sr. , a devout Christian, has been passionate about God's Word since he was 21 years old, when he spent seven months alone doing nothing but studying the Bible. At age 22, because of his extensive knowledge, he was ordained an elder of an independen Spirit-filled church. Over 26 years, Ruopp compiled a spiritual concordance and an earlier book describing its value for understanding the Bible. At age 57, he went back to college, graduating from Philadelphia Biblical University summa cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in the Bible. Ruopp, who is also the author of two biblical plays, has been married to his wife, Gail, for 29 years; they have two grown children.
Jonathan Ruopp has been passionate about the Bible for over 35 years. At age 21, he spent seven months alone doing nothing but studying the Bible. At age 22, because of his extensive knowledge of God’s Word, he was ordained an Elder of an independent Spirit-filled church. He spent 26 years compiling a spiritual concordance, and writing a book describing its value for understanding the Bible. At age 57, he went back to college, graduating summa cum laude from the Philadelphia Biblical University with a Bachelor of Science degree in the Bible. He has written two biblical plays, and has spent the last two years on this, his second book, which focuses on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ruopp, Jonathan E.: I AM
Kirkus Reviews. (Jan. 1, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Ruopp, Jonathan E. I AM Westbow Press (Indie Fiction) $42.95 7, 6 ISBN: 978-1-5127-7421-4
A dramatic novelization of the life and gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Bible is a dense, challenging read written in a historically unfamiliar idiom and with a legion of characters. Debut author Ruopp set out to compose a more readable version that largely focuses on Jesus' life and ministry, as chronicled in the New Testament Gospels. Using a novelistic style, the author begins with Old Testament stories, mostly from the books of Genesis and Exodus; even in these cases, he approaches the material with a view to prophecies that foretold the arrival of the Messiah. For the most part, Ruopp's account closely hews to the substance of the original texts, only slightly departing to fill in some lacunae; for example, there's a thoughtful imagining of Jesus' childhood years and the early signs of his spiritual precociousness. Also, the author unobtrusively includes commentary throughout the narrative, as when he helpfully illuminates the anxiety that Joseph experienced at the prospect of a virgin birth, given strict societal rules regarding marriage and pregnancy. Ruopp maintains a tone of formality when it comes to dialogue, but he modernizes it just enough to make it more approachable, as in this slightly reworked quote from the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are you, therefore, when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets, who were before you." At the close of each chapter, the author furnishes a catalog of textual references for readers interested in the original King James Version language, but this book is more a work for beginners than it is a scholarly resource. The simplicity of the prose and the chronological rendering, which details Jesus' life up until the Resurrection, should make it a particularly helpful guide for parents and teachers introducing younger readers to Scripture.
A literary rendering of Bible tales that skillfully balances accessibility and fidelity.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Ruopp, Jonathan E.: I AM." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A520735679/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ea1407bc. Accessed 16 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A520735679