Synopsis
Theology As If Jesus Matters asks what Christian theology would be like if it consistently took Jesus' central command to love God and neighbor as the most important consideration. Engaging that question, the book addresses the main beliefs Christians affirm in clear, practical, and challenging ways. Written Christian theology too often seems overly complicated, abstract, and removed from actual day-to-day life. Yet, Jesus’ own teachings are simple, concrete, and directly engaged with people’s lives. Theology as if Jesus Matters approaches Jesus’ life and teaching as the model and core content for theology. Based on careful scholarship and the author’s decades of preaching and college teaching, Theology as if Jesus Matters wears its learning lightly as it engages Christianity’s main doctrines. It serves as an ideal introduction to Christian theology. But by rooting themes in Jesus’ love command, it also makes innovative proposals in relation to Christology, doctrines of God, the Holy Spirit, humanity, the church, the end times, sacraments, creation, revelation, Christianity in relation to other religions, and more. Here Grimsrud combines pastoral sensitivity, academic rigor, a gift for clarity, and a passion for putting Jesus’ message into practice. Theology as if Jesus Matters will stimulate lively discussion, self-reflection, and renewed appreciation for the way of Jesus.
About the Author
Ted Grimsrud is Professor of Theology and Peace Studies, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. His more recent books include Embodying the Way of Jesus: Anabaptist Convictions for the Twenty-First Century (2007) and Reasoning Together: A Conversation on Homosexuality, co-authored with Mark Thiessen Nation (2008).
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