Tasty Jesus: Liberating Christ from the Power of Our Predilections

Tasty Jesus deals with key cultural, philosophical, and theological representations of Christ that find expression in the North American church. Each of these respective cameos of Christ has colored the Christological understanding of many believers in the local assembly. We live in a society deeply embedded in a mindless individualism that is more concerned with a malleable Christ that suits their present taste than the Jesus of both the Bible and historic Christian orthodoxy. This book is at once a critique, a call, and a consideration. It is a critique of particular visions of Jesus that are embraced by specific subcultures, philosophical camps, and theological perspectives. It is a call to the local church, both its attendees and leadership, intended to awaken them to the problems with these various portraits in hope of stirring them to respond appropriately. It is a consideration of the primary ideological counterpoints to each view of Jesus, and a postulation of the best manner in which to equip believers in the local assembly to respond to each distortion of Jesus and live under the lordship of the real Christ. It is time to get Jesus out from under the tyranny of our personal tastes!

Bryan Hurlbutt (DMin, Talbot School of Theology; ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the Lead Pastor of Lifeline Community, a multicampus church in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah. He is an author and speaker. He and is wife, Jennifer, have three daughters.

J. P. Moreland is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, and Director of the Center for Christian Worldview and Spiritual Formation. He has authored, edited, or contributed papers to 30 books with publishers ranging from Oxford University Press, Routledge, Wadsworth, and Prometheus to InterVarsity and Zondervan. Among his books are Christianity and the Nature of Science, Does God Exist? (with Kai Nielsen), The Creation Hypothesis, and Philosophical Naturalism: A Critical Analysis and Body and Soul. He has also published over 30 magazine articles in such publications as Christianity Today and Christian Research Journal, and over 60 journal articles in venues such as Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, American Philosophical Quarterly, Australian Journal of Philosophy, MetaPhilosophy, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, Southern Journal of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Faith and Philosophy.