Why thomas jefferson rewrote the bible without jesus. Why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being good enough. Dibelius describes the new testament as the humanly conditioned deposit of an historical event, and considers that the crucial question in the struggle over christianity is whether god made his will manifest in this event. Beautiful, i personally would love to thank jefferson for this i found the glory of the lord through seeing his videos. You soon realize jeffs entire life isnt filled with sainthood. 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. Ad 30 33, also referred to as jesus of nazareth or jesus christ, was a firstcentury jewish preacher and religious leader. Bart ehrman says the ideas of eternal rewards and punishments arent found in the old testament or in the teachings of jesus. Heaven and hell are not what jesus preached, religion. The expresident bent over the book, using a razor and scissors to carefully cut out small squares of text. An excerpt from jefferson bethkes jesusreligion an excerpt from jefferson bethkes jesusreligion.
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. This is a bibliography of works with information or interpretations of the life and teachings of jesus. Jeff bethkes poem jesus religion was written, and introduced, in 2012 through a 4minute video titled, why i hate religion, but love jesus. Jesus religion by jefferson bethke audiobook download. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Youth invited to join face to face event with president and sister oaks. He is regarded by most christians as the incarnation of god. In his first book, jesus religion, jefferson bethke helps us understand that. He later studied jesus of nazareth in college, which led aslan to a doctorate in the sociology of religion. The message blew up on socialmedia, triggering an avalanche of responses.
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. This revolutionary religion is based on the reality of personal spiritual experience. A poem i wrote to highlight the difference between jesus and false religion. 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. 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. The list is grouped by date, and sorted within each group except for the very earliest works alphabetically by name of author. On january 10, 2012, jefferson bethke uploaded why i hate religion but love jesus, a spoken word youtube video. The study unpacks and highlights the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. These books address a variety of faiths, including islam, buddhism, judaism, and christianity. Christianity is about a person, and his name is jesus. Jesus, also called jesus christ, jesus of galilee, or jesus of nazareth, born c.
Why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being good enough kindle edition by bethke, jefferson, lecrae. 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. 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. Why i hate religion, but love jesus spoken word youtube. 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. 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. The story of the storytellers the gospel of john from.
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. Hedrick, teacher of new testament at berkeley divinity school, and frederick c. 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. Some are critical of religion, and others treat it as essential to life. 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. All through the book, then, bethke contrasts this counterfeit christianity with the real deal. Along his journey, bethke discovered the real jesus, who beckoned him beyond the props of false religion. This poem was the official winner of jeff bethkes jesus is greater than religion video contest and was selected as an official trailer to. 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. Now aslans controversial new book about jesus is about to make him a bestselling author. 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. The video immediately went viral, amassing millions of views in less than a month.
Bethke is quick to acknowledge that hes not a pastor or theologian, but simply a regular, twentysomething. Yes, 26 million filled with jeffersons own story, the book is raw and authentic. What it means to take upon the name of jesus christ. The gospel of john embedded in the socalled spiritual gospel is an architectural hostility toward judaism. In order to flesh out his views on jesus, christianity, and religion, jefferson has written the book jesus religion which launches today. It pops up in the writings of the secondcentury roman philosopher celsus and in the babylonian talmud compiled by the jews in seventhcentury iraq. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading jesus religion. 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. Muhammad raised the status of women in his time, yet. Why jesus is greater than religion spoken word youtube. 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. As in the christian new testament, the quran the central religious text of islam describes jesus as the messiah. Jefferson bethke has recently published jesus religion. The first probes beyond modern historical criticism to establish the facts and importance of jesus human career.
The books title and content are inspired by his spokenword video. Jesus christ is revered by christians as the son of god and come dec. Grant was edwin robinson professor of biblical theology at union theological seminary, new york. 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. An excerpt from jefferson bethkes jesusreligion msnbc. Christians follow the example of jesus, accept his words to be true, and worship him as the jewish messiah and incarnation of god. 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. The book that changed reza aslans mind about jesus the. After viewing this video when it came out on youtube. Jesus had just finished feeding thousands of people near the sea of galilee by. The path from jesus to christianity is not as straight as we might think. I am going to point out 10 serious problems with jesus calling in the hope that you will consider and heed these warnings 1.
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. Rather, they represent a kind of counterthrust to longstanding. Why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being. In the years subsequent to his life, crucifixion, and resurrection, this religion of jesus was transformed into the religion about jesus, i. There are books set in religious communities and churches or in futuristic societies built on religious principles. How you can join in the largest family history conference in the world. In the scriptures jesus received the most opposition from the most.
During his time on earth, however, jesus followed a much older religion and based his beliefs on its teachings. What are the top ten religions and what is the holy book. 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. Rns one of my favorite stories in the gospels is about a storm. Resources to help you immerse yourself in the restoration. One of the earliest smears against christians was that jesus was a bastard. Jefferson bethkes new book jesusreligion will be released on october 7.
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. Summary entire book this is a combination of three books. In the scriptures jesus received the most opposition from the most religious people of his day. This is why another post about religion versus jesus is necessary. The history of christian reflection on the teachings and nature of jesus is examined in the article christology. Jesus simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jefferson bethke why i hate religion, but love jesus. The religion of jesus is the religion that jesus himself practiced, and the religion that he preached to his followers. Jesusreligion will help readers abandon dead, dry, rulekeeping and embrace the.
He is one of the most famous, most recognized, and most influential persons in the. These books are far too late to count as historical. Christocentric commentary series a commentary on the revelation of john jesus christ. Jesus is greater than religion jefferson bethke book. Jesus never mentioned gays or abortion but focused on the sick and the poor, yet some christian leaders have prospered by demonizing gays. Ehrmans previous book misquoting jesus, is clearly mentioned on the front cover of ehrmans latest book heres two scholarly explanations of ehrmans mistakes.
Buddhism 376 million followers tripitaka pali canon 5. Primary sources gospel of thomas from jesus to christ. Doing this, he reconstructs the life and teachings of jesus, showing the real content and significance of what jesus said and. 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.
153 1341 224 600 1401 800 199 759 480 981 473 388 572 316 841 401 125 325 1118 1144 915 404 1332 985 845 326 1543 984 1173 77 1216 11 1255 345 429 655 664 411