Monday, August 24, 2015

Book Review: Original Jesus

The Original Jesus: Trading The Myths We Create For The Savior Who Is. Daniel Darling. 2015. Baker Books. 160 pages. [Source: Review copy]

The Original Jesus has a great premise, one I can definitely appreciate. Daniel Darling closely examines a handful of mythical Jesus' that we have created in our own image. He compares these mythical Jesus' to Scripture, to the actual Son of God. How do they compare? For the most part, these mythical Jesus' we've created contain small nuggets of truth, but, never the whole truth. All of our creations of Jesus--all of our re-creations--are weak, lacking, and incapable. It simply will not do. The REAL Jesus is needed. Do you know Jesus? Or are you worshipping a "Jesus" of your own creation? Darling's book challenges readers to consider who it is they worship and why.

In the introduction, he writes:
My only goal is to help knock down some Jesus myths, our ideas about Jesus that are either incomplete or totally false.
I loved the premise of this one. And it did not disappoint. It lived up to the premise. The real Jesus--the Jesus of Scripture--is to be found in each and every chapter. Readers can learn so much by reading this one. Especially if readers aren't in the habit of reading the Bible for themselves, and their gospel is one that they've pieced together over the years based on various sermons and songs and the like. The message of this book is needed, in my opinion.

So what are some of the mythical Jesus' discussed in The Original Jesus?

  • Guru Jesus
  • Red-Letter Jesus
  • Braveheart Jesus
  • American Jesus
  • Left-Wing Jesus
  • Dr. Phil Jesus
  • Prosperity Jesus
  • Post-Church Jesus
  • BFF Jesus
  • Legalist Jesus


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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