Oh Shit! It’s Jesus!
the relevance of Jesus without all the religious crap
by Steve Hughes
Is it ok to deconstruct Jesus? Maybe not, but Hughes definitely works to deconstruct the telling of Jesus which I think is a worthy endeavor.
In chapters with titles like Street Preachers, Jesus Freaks, Bible Thumpers, & Other Annoying People; There’s Nothing Holy about This Book, the Bible and The Church Sucks, Hughes definitely pushes against the comfortable caution tape of “polite religious society”…. but then again, so did Jesus… and that’s precisely the point.
Far from an angry, rebellious toddler tantrum however, this book is beautiful in its simplicity, shocking in its profundity and refreshing in its perspective.
Using challenging imagery, stories, insight and paraphrased versions of “Jesus stories”, this quick little read might surprise you with the level of challenge that is offered if you choose to accept it. By looking at the LIVING of Jesus through a lense that attempts to remove the ‘religious crap’, I believe we can arrive at a more complete understanding of Jesus’ atonement (more on that another day) and this little book is a great resource for that exercise.
I think this would be a great book to read with some “I like Jesus but not the church” friends and would likely generate some very interesting, stimulating conversations.