Rescuing Jesus from the Christians

" Although Sullivan's conclusions are debatable, the troubling questions he raises are worth investigating in order to examine and/or revise one's belief system and to help wounded churches and Christians. While he boldly claims the need for thinking Christians in the modern church, he also affirms the importance of personal faith in the midst of the uncertainties of Christianity. He calls for Christians who are bold enough in their faith to ask with Bonhoeffer: 'Who is Jesus Christ for us today?' " Baptists Today, August 2002
Sullivan says he writes "for reflective laypersons who are not satisfied with the belief system they encounter in orthodox Christianity" rather than for academics or clergy. It appears, however, that he writes for laypersons who have just begun their reflection, with no knowledge of biblical scholarship and no more knowledge of theological tradition than might be derived by an uncritical ear from Sunday morning sermons in an evangelical congregation. Since Sullivan comes out of a Southern Baptist tradition and writes at least in part as a response to that denomination's fundamentalist turn, dissatisfied members of that tradition may be the audience he really has in mind. Readers will encounter here a rudimentary summary of historical Jesus research, an introduction to the longstanding distinction between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith, and an invitation to participate in a Christianity measured more by its social engagement than by its theology or its attitude toward the Bible. Steven Schroeder Copyright (c) American Library Association. All rights reserved--Sanford Lakoff "Booklist &quo
When I read the title of this book, I instantly thought, a book from a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar. Imagine my amazement, when I received the book, to learn that Clayton Sullivan, is a Southern Baptist minister It is obvious that this is a highly provocative book by a man with the courage of his convictions. Sullivan makes a strong case for the need to reconceptualize the Christian faith and his book is an important contribution to the task." G. Richard Wheatcroft, June 2002--Sanford Lakoff "Center For Progressive Christianity "
"Highly readable, this book is designed to force Christian leaders into
a new honesty and the Christian Church into a New Reformation. It
challenges deeply the formulas of traditional orthodoxy, but does so by
quoting from the very sources from which orthodoxy claims its authority.
Sullivan's words should be heeded by all seekers of Truth!" John Shelby Spong, author of A New Christianity for A New World