{"id":47249,"date":"2025-10-28T16:18:54","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T20:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=47249"},"modified":"2025-10-28T16:18:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T20:18:54","slug":"writing-about-jesus-was-harder-than-climbing-mount-everest-according-to-bear-grylls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/10\/writing-about-jesus-was-harder-than-climbing-mount-everest-according-to-bear-grylls.html","title":{"rendered":"Writing About Jesus Was Harder Than Climbing Mount Everest According to Bear Grylls"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The-National-Churches-Trust-flickr.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bear Grylls\u2019s new book, The Greatest Story Ever Told: An Eyewitness Account<\/em> hit the shelves in June and his sharing about the process of writing about Jesus. \u201cIt’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but also the best thing I have ever done. My faith has always been like a quiet, empowering presence through so many adventures,\u201d he said on \u201cMy View with Lara Trump.\u201d He called it the \u201chardest thing\u201d he had ever done, even comparing it to climbing Mount Everest.<\/p>\n

Grylls shared that while the story may be familiar, he wanted to share it in a new way. \u201cThe real story of Jesus is so mind-blowing. It’s a story of true courage, true friendship, true love, and I just thought nobody’s ever written this as a thriller, I’m just going to write this story,\u201d he said. He wanted something different than the \u201csanitized\u201d version he\u2019d grown up with. And while he\u2019s done some pretty incredible things in his life, including climbing Mount Everest, he said the book has had the biggest impact on his life. \u201cI think I’ve had more response from this book than anything else I’ve ever done, any TV show,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The book offers the biblical account through the eyes of several key witnesses, such Myriam of Magdala, better known as Mary Magdalene. Reviews of the book have noted that overall it keeps close to the Gospel narratives, offering an accessible version of biblical stories that could have a number of applications. \u201cMany of these short narratives would be ideal as readings in church at key moments in the Christian year \u2014 particularly services for schools and uniformed organizations, where the Grylls branding might add a little frisson,\u201d noted Church Times<\/em><\/a>. \u201cThe text is close enough to the original to feel respectful, and different enough to make listeners sit up and take notice. The account of the Magi, for example, is rich in imaginative detail \u2014 such as the gift of gold being in the form of an armlet decorated with winged creatures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grylls, who came to fame for his survival skills, has been speaking more candidly about his faith in recent years. He spoke to Premier Christianity<\/em><\/a> about how The Greatest Story Ever Told <\/em>is different than anything he\u2019s ever done. \u201cIt\u2019s the proudest thing in my work world I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d he said. \u201cI would give up everything \u2013 every summit, every Emmy \u2013 it pales into insignificance compared to this, because it\u2019s history, it\u2019s his-story, it\u2019s the story of Christ, written in a way that is accessible. If I could only be remembered for one thing, this would be it,\u201d he emphasized. \u201cI really want people to experience this story. Because the story changes us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bear Grylls\u2019s new book, The Greatest Story Ever Told: An Eyewitness Account hit the shelves in June and his sharing about the process of writing about Jesus. \u201cIt’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but also the best thing I have ever done. My faith has always been like a quiet, empowering presence through…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":47252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nWriting About Jesus Was Harder Than Climbing Mount Everest According to Bear Grylls<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bear Grylls calls his new book on Jesus, "The Greatest Story Ever Told," his \u201chardest but best\u201d work\u2014sharing faith through adventure.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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