John Queripel is a Uniting Church minister who has ministered in a wide range of contexts: city centre, urban and rural congregations, initiated community-based ministries, and worked in university and prison chaplaincies. He has always had a concern of speaking and living faith in authentic dialogue with scholarship and the modern context. John has a strong interest in the arts and literature being a published author and playwright, has organised numerous cultural events and festivals, is a recorded singer-songwriter and performer, and has even dabbled in the visual arts.
""John Queripel has done it again. As concerned as he is about our unthinking absorption of a shopping-mall Christmas mentality, in this timely book he calls us to go back to the original stories about the birth of Jesus and consider them more maturely. While for him the two Gospel narratives about the first Christmas present historical problems, they still get us thinking about absolutely crucial human questions and carry an uncanny power of Myth - in the positive sense, and not as false. I recommend John Queripel's work because it is provocative, gets us on our toes and sharpens our critical acumen, but more to disturb our shallow comfortableness than to dishonour the magic and marvel of the Biblical message."" ---Garry Trompf, Emeritus Professor in the History of Ideas, Department of Studies in Religion, University of Sydney ""A myth is not a lie.' With that introduction, John Queripel captured my interest and held it to his last words. John's forensic skills have produced a classic critical analysis of the Christmas narratives, unpacking the true meaning of Christmas, and bringing into focus the powerful symbolic and metaphorical teaching. Highly recommended. Very transformative and loaded with brain stimulation and fabulous thinking."" ---Paul Inglis, Progressive Voices Reviewer