He is regarded by most christians as the incarnation of god. Jesus simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. What it means to take upon the name of jesus christ. Christians follow the example of jesus, accept his words to be true, and worship him as the jewish messiah and incarnation of god. The book that changed reza aslans mind about jesus the. The path from jesus to christianity is not as straight as we might think. Resources to help you immerse yourself in the restoration. These books address a variety of faiths, including islam, buddhism, judaism, and christianity. The books title and content are inspired by his spokenword video, why i hate religion, but love jesus, which has been viewed 26 million times. Hedrick, teacher of new testament at berkeley divinity school, and frederick c.
I am going to point out 10 serious problems with jesus calling in the hope that you will consider and heed these warnings 1. The message blew up on socialmedia, triggering an avalanche of responses. He is one of the most famous, most recognized, and most influential persons in the. An excerpt from jefferson bethkes jesusreligion an excerpt from jefferson bethkes jesusreligion. Jesus of nazareth, also known as jesus christ, was a jewish teacher and reformer of religion who has become the main and central figure of christianity. Ehrmans previous book misquoting jesus, is clearly mentioned on the front cover of ehrmans latest book heres two scholarly explanations of ehrmans mistakes. These books are far too late to count as historical. In his first book, jesus religion, jefferson bethke helps us understand that there is a big different between the rulekeeping of religion and the freedom in obedience we should have in the saving grace of jesus christ. Jesus had just finished feeding thousands of people near the sea of galilee by. At once an ironic rendering of the life of christ and a beautiful novel, saramagos tale has sparked intense discussion about the meaning of christianity and the church as an institution. Doing this, he reconstructs the life and teachings of jesus, showing the real content and significance of what jesus said and.
Jesus, also called jesus christ, jesus of galilee, or jesus of nazareth, born c. The expresident bent over the book, using a razor and scissors to carefully cut out small squares of text. Grant was edwin robinson professor of biblical theology at union theological seminary, new york. Yes, 26 million filled with jeffersons own story, the book is raw and authentic. Rns one of my favorite stories in the gospels is about a storm. Jesus never mentioned gays or abortion but focused on the sick and the poor, yet some christian leaders have prospered by demonizing gays. There are books set in religious communities and churches or in futuristic societies built on religious principles. Christocentric commentary series a commentary on the revelation of john jesus christ. Why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being good enough. Throughout jesusreligion, jefferson does a great job of pointing the reader to a true picture of who jesus by referring to biblical texts unfortunately he does close the book with the messages version of matthew 11. What are the top ten religions and what is the holy book. Jesusreligion will help readers abandon dead, dry, rulekeeping and embrace the. Muhammad raised the status of women in his time, yet.
Jefferson bethke has recently published jesus religion. Christianity is about a person, and his name is jesus. Far and away the most troubling aspect of the book is its very premisethat sarah young hears from jesus and then dutifully brings his messages to her readers. Ad 30 33, also referred to as jesus of nazareth or jesus christ, was a firstcentury jewish preacher and religious leader. This poem was the official winner of jeff bethkes jesus is greater than religion video contest and was selected as an official trailer to.
Jesus, son of mary, or jesus, is the penultimate prophet and messenger of god and the messiah, sent to guide the children of israel with a new revelation. It is not a book about religion, but relationshipsfrom the creation of a man and a woman and their intimate relationship with god in the garden through the tragic break in that relationship at the fall and the eventual restoration of that relationship through jesus christ and his death on the cross of calvary. Why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being. As in the christian new testament, the quran the central religious text of islam describes jesus as the messiah. In the years subsequent to his life, crucifixion, and resurrection, this religion of jesus was transformed into the religion about jesus, i. In jesus religion, bethke unpacks contrasts similar to those he drew in the poem highlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. Primary sources gospel of thomas from jesus to christ. Heaven and hell are not what jesus preached, religion. This is a bibliography of works with information or interpretations of the life and teachings of jesus. The video immediately went viral, amassing millions of views in less than a month. For those not familiar with jeff bethke, the introduction of his book, jesus religion begins with a portion of the poem that made him so well known, why i hate religion but love jesus. In the scriptures jesus received the most opposition from the most religious people of his day.
The story of the storytellers the gospel of john from. Jeffs book will make you stop and listen to a voice in your heart that may have been drowned out by the noise of religion. In jesus religion, bethke unpacks the stark contrasts that he drew in the poemcontrasts between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. The books title and content are inspired by his spokenword video. This secret sayings gospel does not tell the story of jesus life, but rather is a list of over 100 of his sayings, some of which are familiar to readers of the new testament. Jefferson bethkes new book jesusreligion will be released on october 7. The book uses the contrast between jesus and religion to accomplish the dual goal of addressing false perceptions of christianity while presenting a true picture of what followers of jesus look like.
On january 10, 2012, jefferson bethke uploaded why i hate religion but love jesus, a spoken word youtube video. Now aslans controversial new book about jesus is about to make him a bestselling author. Most christians believe he is the incarnation of god the son and the awaited messiah the christ prophesied in the old testament virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that jesus. Bethke is quick to acknowledge that hes not a pastor or theologian, but simply a regular, twentysomething. The study unpacks and highlights the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. Jesusreligion will help readers abandon dead, dry, rulekeeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved. In order to flesh out his views on jesus, christianity, and religion, jefferson has written the book jesus religion which launches today.
Jesus, paul, food, charity, and prayer were just some of the areas examined in this years crop of books under the broad heading of religion. Beautiful, i personally would love to thank jefferson for this i found the glory of the lord through seeing his videos. A poem i wrote to highlight the difference between jesus and false religion. Why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being good enough kindle edition by bethke, jefferson, lecrae. The religion of jesus is the religion that jesus himself practiced, and the religion that he preached to his followers. In the scriptures jesus received the most opposition from the most. The first probes beyond modern historical criticism to establish the facts and importance of jesus human career. He later studied jesus of nazareth in college, which led aslan to a doctorate in the sociology of religion. When jefferson bethkes video went viral in early 2012, what impressed me even more than his spoken word poetry was how he responded to his critics. It pops up in the writings of the secondcentury roman philosopher celsus and in the babylonian talmud compiled by the jews in seventhcentury iraq.
Along his journey, bethke discovered the real jesus, who beckoned him beyond the props of false religion. Youth invited to join face to face event with president and sister oaks. Buddhism 376 million followers tripitaka pali canon 5. Jesus christ is revered by christians as the son of god and come dec. In his first book, jesus religion, jefferson bethke helps us understand that. Jesus is greater than religion jefferson bethke book. Paul many biblical scholars have noted that jesus preached almost exclusively about the kingdom of heaven, while paul highlighted justification by faithand not vice versa. An excerpt from jefferson bethkes jesusreligion msnbc. Why thomas jefferson rewrote the bible without jesus. One of the earliest smears against christians was that jesus was a bastard.
During his time on earth, however, jesus followed a much older religion and based his beliefs on its teachings. Jesus religion by jefferson bethke audiobook download. Jeff bethkes poem jesus religion was written, and introduced, in 2012 through a 4minute video titled, why i hate religion, but love jesus. How you can join in the largest family history conference in the world. Bart ehrman says the ideas of eternal rewards and punishments arent found in the old testament or in the teachings of jesus. This is why another post about religion versus jesus is necessary. As he acknowledges in the books preface, all definitive statements about jesus are subjective and based on faithon religious faith about the nature of the universe, or on intellectual faith. After viewing this video when it came out on youtube. All through the book, then, bethke contrasts this counterfeit christianity with the real deal. This revolutionary religion is based on the reality of personal spiritual experience. The history of christian reflection on the teachings and nature of jesus is examined in the article christology.
He said, i told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book history of the church, 4. Why i hate religion, but love jesus spoken word youtube. With refreshing candor, he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a worksbased, fakesmile existence. Times religion writer russell chandler, in his 1988 book understanding the new age, over 42% of americans believe that they have been in touch with someone who has died. You soon realize jeffs entire life isnt filled with sainthood. In january of 2012, jefferson bethke debuted his youtube video, why i hate religion, but love jesus, a poetry recitation which sought to highlight the difference between the true ministry of jesus christ and socalled false religion. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Summary entire book this is a combination of three books. The list is grouped by date, and sorted within each group except for the very earliest works alphabetically by name of author. Rather, they represent a kind of counterthrust to longstanding. Jefferson bethke why i hate religion, but love jesus.
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