We live in a culture of noise. There are voices rising in pitch, timbre and degrees of emotion everywhere we turn. We carry on our lives in a dizzying, blisteringly paced time, where the themes surrounding our very existence have become a sonic blur, where reflections on truth are shoved to the margin and regarded simply as more information by the feedback mediated in images, words, sounds, and animations about every topic under the sun. Seeking a quiet place to reflect and question what one actually believes, or even more importantly, to ask the sincere questions that lead to a search for truth, has become an increasingly rare commodity. Our cultural institutions, from religion to politics, from entertainment to finance, discuss often extreme positions on hunger and poverty, love, morality, and war; they dictate loudly opinionated (and often commodity based) notions of creating community, that do little more than become fodder for the battlegrounds that contribute to increased isolationism, alienation, and divisiveness. Institutional religion, as merely another human construct, has certainly contributed its share of noise pollution, no matter how well intentioned. It reflects its time, culture and lace and leaves many disillusioned, disinherited, confused, angry, and disinterested in its premises—and well-intentioned and sincerely believed in promises-- because it is seen increasingly as yet another weapon in the culture wars thanks to the noise pollution that surrounds us. The words in this little book are a real alternative. They have never been seen in this way before; and to my knowledge they have never been presented as whole, outside their narrative structure in the New Testament in this manner either. As arguably the most controversial and misunderstood figure in the history of civilization, the words of Jesus of Nazareth have been twisted, stretched, perverted and, at times, all but drowned out in official proclamations, inspired speeches, and seemingly contradictory narratives by those who claim to know for certain what they mean. Yet, The Words presents them in a much quieter manner, as simply for what they are in themselves with no attenuated viewpoint, no propaganda or altar call in sight or in intention. There is no invitation to join a church or go to church. There is nothing attached to the Words, but the voice of the man who uttered them some two thousand years ago and recorded by his followers without their own spin on his story. The Words offers us a view of a teacher who saw God as his own father, one who offered love, hope, and acceptance. Jesus' words, in this beautifully and hiply designed (in the visual vernacular of the new millennium) volume are, in effect, wonderfully simple, and simply confounding in their directness, in their understanding of a different reality than most of us dwell in, and in suggesting a way through the confusion and suspicion by their very quietness and unadorned speech. The Words are presented by those who compiled it, as a way of hearing, as a quiet remix single voice in heart of the feedback zone. They are here to accept, ignore or reject at will. If they are to be considered, it is not because they have been shouted through a bullhorn or from some lofty platform, or for the dazzle of their verbal presentation; but simply as an introduction, a conversation starter, offered person to person, the most intimate form of communication there is-- one that despite our best efforts as a culture, we've been unable to drown out completely. Here is a place outside the din, a place to wallow, to chill or simply rest while encountering something very old and covered over, stripped clean of their usual trappings and presented nakedly for your perusal, consideration, and perhaps even delight.

Thom Jurek
senior Writer
All-Music Guide
April 5, 2006
Ann Arbor , Michigan

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