Bibliographic information:
Stelter, Mark A. The Gospel According to Christ: The Message of Jesus and How We Missed It. Eugene, OR: Resource, 2011.
Description:
Description:
The Gospel According to Christ: The Message of Jesus and How We Missed It, is an exegesis of the words of Jesus as those words are reported in the New Testament Gospels. The work is an attempt to reveal the central message of Jesus by engaging the reader in a complete and contextual exegesis of the words of Jesus as those words have been recorded in the canon.
The book carefully reviews the parables, the non-parabolic statements, and the miracles of Jesus in search of his message. It then compares this message with what the author calls, “secular Christianity.” Secular Christianity is described as the view that Jesus was a wise moral teacher who taught us how to live better lives, live peacefully with our fellow man, and generally improve the social and material condition of mankind. The author argues that the words of Jesus reveal that secular Christianity, while accepted as the message of Jesus by millions of Christians is historically inaccurate and theologically unsound.
The book shows, through a thorough examination of the words of Christ, that Jesus spoke almost exclusively of the kingdom of God, not of the social and material concerns of man. While some have attempted to replace the concepts of sin, redemption, and salvation with the more culturally popular virtues of tolerance, compassion, and social progress, an objective study of the words of Jesus reveals that such a revision is inconsistent with the teachings of Christ.
Publisher:
Resource (Eugene, OR) (website: http://wipfandstock.com/store/The_Gospel_According_to_Christ_The_Message_of_Jesus_and_How_We_Missed_It/)