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sarah_emtage's review
5.0
If you use the Kingston public library this is available as an audiobook on hoopla. I recommend it whether you already love Jesus or are mildly curious about him.
ferniecosgrove's review
2.0
This was a good introduction book to who Jesus it, but I did not find it substantially convincing or compelling. What I am trying to say, is that this is a good book for Christians, but not a book I would recommend to non-believers or use as an apologetic tool. It lacked the depth and 'burden of proof' that non-believers, specially skeptics, would need to find any of these arguments convincing, and it assumes a foundational knowledge that readers may not have.
The best part of this book was her use of main stream references to explain concepts, those were helpful!
The best part of this book was her use of main stream references to explain concepts, those were helpful!
alexashae's review
4.0
So sweet and encouraging. Rebecca does an excellent job reminding/showing her readers who Christ is. I don’t know if I learned a lot of new things, but this was still a very encouraging audiobook and worth the listen
emmawissman's review
4.0
Pretty similar vibes to Confronting Christianity but more focused on Jesus’s life and whether he is who he says he is. I listened to this one on audiobook, so it felt less dense and overwhelming compared to some of her other books, which I liked. Overall, it was good but not my fav.
It’s definitely geared more towards non-believers and seekers. Didn’t really feel like I learned anything new, whereas w/ Confronting Christianity, I feel like there was a lot of content and arguments that a i had never heard before. It’s fine. Solid read if you’re looking for a reminder of who Jesus is and why what the Bible says is trustworthy.
It’s definitely geared more towards non-believers and seekers. Didn’t really feel like I learned anything new, whereas w/ Confronting Christianity, I feel like there was a lot of content and arguments that a i had never heard before. It’s fine. Solid read if you’re looking for a reminder of who Jesus is and why what the Bible says is trustworthy.
shelfreflectionofficial's review
4.0
“Every seeming roadblock to faith in Jesus becomes a signpost.”
Rebecca McLaughlin has written many books including Confronting Christianity and The Secular Creed, among others. The former was written, McLaughlin said, as a kind of love letter to her friends who had objections to her faith and this is the ‘sequel.’
Whereas Confronting Christianity spoke to 12 of the most common objections to Christianity, Confronting Jesus narrows in on the person of Jesus.
Who was he? Why was he important? How does Jesus set Christianity apart from all other religions?
Similarly to my feelings about Confronting Christianity, my recommendation would be, sure, read this book, but don’t ONLY read this book. At the end I’ll give a couple other books that I may even recommend to people instead of this one and I’ll explain why in this review.
I also read the study guide that goes along with this book. It’s only 62 pages- 10 reflection questions per chapter with space to write. It’s helpfulness depends on the type of reader you are. I didn’t find most of the questions particularly thought-provoking, but if you plan to read this book with a group, it would be good to have some conversation starters. Many of the questions are answered in the book and the questions provide the corresponding page numbers.
[for pictures see original blog post]
The 9 Encounters
There are nine chapters, each one focusing on a characteristic of Jesus:
- Jesus the Jew
- Jesus the Son
- Jesus the King
- Jesus the Healer
- Jesus the Teacher
- Jesus the Lover
- Jesus the Servant
- Jesus the Sacrifice
- Jesus the Lord
She shares a story or two in each chapter from Scripture that depicts the person of Jesus and how he relates to his people. They showcase his humanity, his divinity, his love, grace, and power.
She also touches on some bigger questions within a few of the chapters like: Why can we trust the Gospel accounts about Jesus’s life? Did Jesus even claim to be God? What do we do with the evil in the world? Isn’t Christianity oppressive to women? Aren’t Jesus’s teachings on sexuality really restrictive? Doesn’t the Bible condone slavery? Is there diversity in the Bible? How can we believe the resurrection?
My Favorite Chapters
I think my two favorite chapters were Jesus the Lover and Jesus the Servant.
Jesus the Lover
The idea of ‘marriage’ these days has largely been hijacked. People have forgotten that marriage originated from God from the very first. Why? Because it is a picture of Christ and the Church.
Marriage is not just a piece of paper. It’s not just a tax benefit. It’s not just convenient or something you do when your feelings direct you to it. It’s not a cultural construct. It’s a God-designed covenant to image himself.
“The greatest human romance is at best an imitation of that love… if we treasure human marriage more than Jesus’s love, we’ll find it disappoints. But if we treasure Jesus’s love above all else, we’ll find it has the power to turn our weakness into death-defying strength.”
This chapter reminds us the power and wonder of marriage. The beauty and significance of its creation. For those who wonder why Christians are so uptight about the ‘redefinition of marriage,’ this chapter will shed some light on that.
It will explain that while marriage is important, it’s not ultimate. Yet it’s worth protecting as God designed it because otherwise we are distorting the image of God.
“The fundamental reason why Christians believe that sex belongs only in the permanent bond of male-female marriage is because of the metaphor of Jesus’s love for his church. It’s a love in which two become one flesh. It is a love that connects across sameness and radical difference: the sameness of our shared humanity and the radical difference of Jesus from us. It’s a love in which husbands are called not to exploit, abuse, or abandon their wives, but to love and sacrifice for them as Jesus did for us."
It will explain how the boundaries God puts on sex is good. How you protect something that’s precious. How his laws in Scripture don’t oppress women but when considered in the cultural context reflect his utmost love and protection for the widows, children, and marginalized.
“Whether we are single or married, widowed or divorced, romantically fulfilled or disappointed, we’ll all relate to human marriage best if we see it as a copy of the real thing— the love that truly burns for all eternity. And when we put this masterpiece in pride of place, we’ll start to understand the Bible’s boundaries around sex.”
[For further reading on this check out these books: Born Again This Way; What God Has to Say About Our Bodies; or Gay Girl, Good God. All of these were written by people who experience same-sex attraction. Or for a closer look at the specific Bible passages related to sex and marriage try What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality]
Jesus the Servant
“The question for God’s people was never whether they were servants, but whose servants they were. Would they live enslaved to people who oppressed and hated them? Or would they gladly serve the God who made and loved them?”
“Enslaved people were drawn to Jesus the servant, who throws down the powerful and lifts up the disempowered.”
“How much must Jesus value you and me to give his life up as our ransom? Jesus’s sacrifice for us can breed humility if we will only let it. We won’t need to be recognized by others if we know we are seen and known and deeply loved by the King of all the universe himself. We can unclench our grip on status if we know we’re held in Jesus’s hands. We can kneel down if we are sure that he will one day lift us.”
In her book Jesus and John Wayne, Kristin Kobes-Du Mez critiqued the term ‘servant leader’ that has been used in many churches. It would seem she has forgotten that Jesus came to serve and not be served and that he is our example to follow. True leadership is serving in humility just as Jesus did. Of course, we cannot image Christ’s example perfectly and we need repentance and forgiveness for that.
But it’s a reminder that maybe if Christians spent more time serving then lifting themselves up, maybe people outside the church would recognize the godliness and freedom of submission.
This chapter connects a lot with the next one about Jesus the Sacrifice which is the ultimate form of serving.
It reminds me of the Downhere song- How Many Kings. The lyrics say,
‘How many kings step down from their thrones
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me.’
Isn’t that amazing?! There is no other religion hinged on the sacrificial death— and further- resurrection— of its god. There is no other. Jesus, and only Jesus is Lord.
This is where she spends time explaining how we can believe the resurrection.
[She also has a new book coming out this spring called ‘Is Easter Unbelievable?’ which I’m sure will go into even more detail about it if this is something that you struggle with.]
My Critique
I have one main critique. And this is why I may not always recommend this book for someone wanting to study the truth about Jesus.
McLaughlin spent a lot of page real estate on references to popular movies, shows, or books.
I understand the audience for this book are those who may not believe in Jesus at all. Perhaps she has used these references as a point of connection, an approachable way to help keep people’s attention and have something familiar to compare these new ideas with.
To some degree, I can respect that. I can appreciate a good illustration or parallel in secular places.
That audience doesn’t describe me so I don’t know how all of this comes across for other people.
But, for me, it felt like too much.
She references: the Hamilton musical, Dr. Who, Shang-Chi, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Gladiator, A Tale of Two Cities, Ted Lasso, The Good Place, The Midnight Library, and Collateral Beauty.
But in such a short book, to have one or two of these within each chapter felt like a lot. And it often felt disjointed. She would spend a few paragraphs describing a scene from a movie, then the next paragraph starts a completely different idea that she doesn’t connect to the scene until later.
Maybe because the content wasn’t new for me, the analogies were too distracting for me rather than complimentary.
I had no issue with the theological content of her book, but her writing style and delivery is what takes this book down a notch for me.
I wouldn’t discourage someone from reading this book, but I may give them a heads up about all the references so they can decide for themselves whether they feel like that will be helpful or hindering in their taking in what McLaughlin’s saying.
Recommendation
As described above, my main critique of this book was the overuse (to me) of pop culture references that felt disjointed and largely underwhelming for their purpose in this book.
I love the subject matter of this book. I think it’s very important.
Christianity is predicated on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What you believe about Jesus is of utmost importance. If you don’t know who Jesus was or why we can believe he is who he said he was, you should definitely wrestle with that!
This may be the book for you.
Or it may not.
Here are a few other books that I would most likely recommend to people above this one for people questioning Jesus:
- Why Believe?: A Reasoned Approach to Christianity by Neil Shenvi
- Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity by Nabeel Qureshi
- Why God Makes Sense in a World that Doesn’t: The Beauty of Christian Theism by Gavin Ortlund
If you want to read more of Rebecca McLaughlin’s books, she has written a lot of good ones. Other than the ones linked above:
- Is Christmas Unbelievable?: Four Questions Everyone Should Ask About the World’s Most Famous Story (Is the virgin birth real?)
- Jesus Through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love the Lord (Does the Bible oppress women?)
- The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims (What does the Bible say about marriage, women’s rights, race, immigrants, and diversity?)
Shelf Reflection Book Review Blog
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest
Rebecca McLaughlin has written many books including Confronting Christianity and The Secular Creed, among others. The former was written, McLaughlin said, as a kind of love letter to her friends who had objections to her faith and this is the ‘sequel.’
Whereas Confronting Christianity spoke to 12 of the most common objections to Christianity, Confronting Jesus narrows in on the person of Jesus.
Who was he? Why was he important? How does Jesus set Christianity apart from all other religions?
Similarly to my feelings about Confronting Christianity, my recommendation would be, sure, read this book, but don’t ONLY read this book. At the end I’ll give a couple other books that I may even recommend to people instead of this one and I’ll explain why in this review.
I also read the study guide that goes along with this book. It’s only 62 pages- 10 reflection questions per chapter with space to write. It’s helpfulness depends on the type of reader you are. I didn’t find most of the questions particularly thought-provoking, but if you plan to read this book with a group, it would be good to have some conversation starters. Many of the questions are answered in the book and the questions provide the corresponding page numbers.
[for pictures see original blog post]
The 9 Encounters
There are nine chapters, each one focusing on a characteristic of Jesus:
- Jesus the Jew
- Jesus the Son
- Jesus the King
- Jesus the Healer
- Jesus the Teacher
- Jesus the Lover
- Jesus the Servant
- Jesus the Sacrifice
- Jesus the Lord
She shares a story or two in each chapter from Scripture that depicts the person of Jesus and how he relates to his people. They showcase his humanity, his divinity, his love, grace, and power.
She also touches on some bigger questions within a few of the chapters like: Why can we trust the Gospel accounts about Jesus’s life? Did Jesus even claim to be God? What do we do with the evil in the world? Isn’t Christianity oppressive to women? Aren’t Jesus’s teachings on sexuality really restrictive? Doesn’t the Bible condone slavery? Is there diversity in the Bible? How can we believe the resurrection?
My Favorite Chapters
I think my two favorite chapters were Jesus the Lover and Jesus the Servant.
Jesus the Lover
The idea of ‘marriage’ these days has largely been hijacked. People have forgotten that marriage originated from God from the very first. Why? Because it is a picture of Christ and the Church.
Marriage is not just a piece of paper. It’s not just a tax benefit. It’s not just convenient or something you do when your feelings direct you to it. It’s not a cultural construct. It’s a God-designed covenant to image himself.
“The greatest human romance is at best an imitation of that love… if we treasure human marriage more than Jesus’s love, we’ll find it disappoints. But if we treasure Jesus’s love above all else, we’ll find it has the power to turn our weakness into death-defying strength.”
This chapter reminds us the power and wonder of marriage. The beauty and significance of its creation. For those who wonder why Christians are so uptight about the ‘redefinition of marriage,’ this chapter will shed some light on that.
It will explain that while marriage is important, it’s not ultimate. Yet it’s worth protecting as God designed it because otherwise we are distorting the image of God.
“The fundamental reason why Christians believe that sex belongs only in the permanent bond of male-female marriage is because of the metaphor of Jesus’s love for his church. It’s a love in which two become one flesh. It is a love that connects across sameness and radical difference: the sameness of our shared humanity and the radical difference of Jesus from us. It’s a love in which husbands are called not to exploit, abuse, or abandon their wives, but to love and sacrifice for them as Jesus did for us."
It will explain how the boundaries God puts on sex is good. How you protect something that’s precious. How his laws in Scripture don’t oppress women but when considered in the cultural context reflect his utmost love and protection for the widows, children, and marginalized.
“Whether we are single or married, widowed or divorced, romantically fulfilled or disappointed, we’ll all relate to human marriage best if we see it as a copy of the real thing— the love that truly burns for all eternity. And when we put this masterpiece in pride of place, we’ll start to understand the Bible’s boundaries around sex.”
[For further reading on this check out these books: Born Again This Way; What God Has to Say About Our Bodies; or Gay Girl, Good God. All of these were written by people who experience same-sex attraction. Or for a closer look at the specific Bible passages related to sex and marriage try What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality]
Jesus the Servant
“The question for God’s people was never whether they were servants, but whose servants they were. Would they live enslaved to people who oppressed and hated them? Or would they gladly serve the God who made and loved them?”
“Enslaved people were drawn to Jesus the servant, who throws down the powerful and lifts up the disempowered.”
“How much must Jesus value you and me to give his life up as our ransom? Jesus’s sacrifice for us can breed humility if we will only let it. We won’t need to be recognized by others if we know we are seen and known and deeply loved by the King of all the universe himself. We can unclench our grip on status if we know we’re held in Jesus’s hands. We can kneel down if we are sure that he will one day lift us.”
In her book Jesus and John Wayne, Kristin Kobes-Du Mez critiqued the term ‘servant leader’ that has been used in many churches. It would seem she has forgotten that Jesus came to serve and not be served and that he is our example to follow. True leadership is serving in humility just as Jesus did. Of course, we cannot image Christ’s example perfectly and we need repentance and forgiveness for that.
But it’s a reminder that maybe if Christians spent more time serving then lifting themselves up, maybe people outside the church would recognize the godliness and freedom of submission.
This chapter connects a lot with the next one about Jesus the Sacrifice which is the ultimate form of serving.
It reminds me of the Downhere song- How Many Kings. The lyrics say,
‘How many kings step down from their thrones
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me.’
Isn’t that amazing?! There is no other religion hinged on the sacrificial death— and further- resurrection— of its god. There is no other. Jesus, and only Jesus is Lord.
This is where she spends time explaining how we can believe the resurrection.
[She also has a new book coming out this spring called ‘Is Easter Unbelievable?’ which I’m sure will go into even more detail about it if this is something that you struggle with.]
My Critique
I have one main critique. And this is why I may not always recommend this book for someone wanting to study the truth about Jesus.
McLaughlin spent a lot of page real estate on references to popular movies, shows, or books.
I understand the audience for this book are those who may not believe in Jesus at all. Perhaps she has used these references as a point of connection, an approachable way to help keep people’s attention and have something familiar to compare these new ideas with.
To some degree, I can respect that. I can appreciate a good illustration or parallel in secular places.
That audience doesn’t describe me so I don’t know how all of this comes across for other people.
But, for me, it felt like too much.
She references: the Hamilton musical, Dr. Who, Shang-Chi, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Gladiator, A Tale of Two Cities, Ted Lasso, The Good Place, The Midnight Library, and Collateral Beauty.
But in such a short book, to have one or two of these within each chapter felt like a lot. And it often felt disjointed. She would spend a few paragraphs describing a scene from a movie, then the next paragraph starts a completely different idea that she doesn’t connect to the scene until later.
Maybe because the content wasn’t new for me, the analogies were too distracting for me rather than complimentary.
I had no issue with the theological content of her book, but her writing style and delivery is what takes this book down a notch for me.
I wouldn’t discourage someone from reading this book, but I may give them a heads up about all the references so they can decide for themselves whether they feel like that will be helpful or hindering in their taking in what McLaughlin’s saying.
Recommendation
As described above, my main critique of this book was the overuse (to me) of pop culture references that felt disjointed and largely underwhelming for their purpose in this book.
I love the subject matter of this book. I think it’s very important.
Christianity is predicated on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What you believe about Jesus is of utmost importance. If you don’t know who Jesus was or why we can believe he is who he said he was, you should definitely wrestle with that!
This may be the book for you.
Or it may not.
Here are a few other books that I would most likely recommend to people above this one for people questioning Jesus:
- Why Believe?: A Reasoned Approach to Christianity by Neil Shenvi
- Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity by Nabeel Qureshi
- Why God Makes Sense in a World that Doesn’t: The Beauty of Christian Theism by Gavin Ortlund
If you want to read more of Rebecca McLaughlin’s books, she has written a lot of good ones. Other than the ones linked above:
- Is Christmas Unbelievable?: Four Questions Everyone Should Ask About the World’s Most Famous Story (Is the virgin birth real?)
- Jesus Through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love the Lord (Does the Bible oppress women?)
- The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims (What does the Bible say about marriage, women’s rights, race, immigrants, and diversity?)
Shelf Reflection Book Review Blog
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest
bcbartuska's review
5.0
“If you feel curious about Jesus, this book is for you.”
The above quote reveals that this book is not primarily written for Christians, but for those who are curious enough about Jesus to take a closer look. This book is a sequel of sorts to the author’s previous work, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion. While the first addressed objections to Christianity in general, the latest invites readers to look closely at who Jesus is.
Some early criticisms have mentioned that McLaughlin includes too many pop culture references that take away from the scriptural truths she presents. I, however, found them to be fitting for the audience that this book was written for. She models for believers what it looks like to contend for the faith by weaving in sources that even skeptics can agree with. That doesn’t mean we leave the Bible out of the conversation, but that we find common ground on which to begin the conversation. I really appreciated that aspect of the book…even if some spoilers were included
The above quote reveals that this book is not primarily written for Christians, but for those who are curious enough about Jesus to take a closer look. This book is a sequel of sorts to the author’s previous work, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion. While the first addressed objections to Christianity in general, the latest invites readers to look closely at who Jesus is.
Some early criticisms have mentioned that McLaughlin includes too many pop culture references that take away from the scriptural truths she presents. I, however, found them to be fitting for the audience that this book was written for. She models for believers what it looks like to contend for the faith by weaving in sources that even skeptics can agree with. That doesn’t mean we leave the Bible out of the conversation, but that we find common ground on which to begin the conversation. I really appreciated that aspect of the book…even if some spoilers were included
panda_incognito's review
4.0
There are always new books published about Jesus, and this one is ahead of the game by not claiming to say anything radical. Rebecca McLaughlin focuses on the gospel accounts about Jesus's life, adding more historical context along the way. She writes to a broad audience, balancing her points between the different groups of people she expects to read this, and she focuses on being faithful to Scripture and winsome to others, not edgy or disruptive. She directs some of her applications to Christians, but she primarily speaks to readers who are spiritual seekers or resistant to Christianity. Throughout the book, she tries to clear up people's confused images of Jesus, focusing on what the gospels say about him apart from contemporary assumptions.
McLaughlin takes a thematic approach, writing about Jesus's characteristics and roles. She writes about his Jewishness and his divine identity, and about him as a king, healer, teacher, lover, servant, sacrifice, and Lord. She draws on different passages in each chapter to show who Jesus is, and she carefully explains concepts that will be difficult for some readers to accept. I appreciate how sensitive she is to other people's worldviews without softening the specifics of her own. She is orthodox, but gracious as well.
She also weaves in a number of pop culture references to help people without a church background relate to some of the themes. I was so here for all of the Doctor Who references. A perk of reading British authors! However, McLaughlin spoils some stories to make connections with their meaningful turning points. She mostly only shares plot twists from properties that have been around for a long time, but near the end, she spoils the ending of the 2020 Matt Haig novel The Midnight Library. Because of that book's popularity, a lot of people will already know the ending, but anyone who has been planning to read that novel should do so before reading this.
Overall, I found Confronting Jesus very impressive. McLaughlin did a great job writing to a broad and general audience without making the book feel too tailored to one group, and there are interesting reflection points and applications for anyone who reads this. People who have been Christians for years can still discover new insights here, or at least see something expressed in a fresh way, and people who want to better understand Jesus as a religious figure or are considering faith in Him will appreciate this book's readability and helpful insights.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
McLaughlin takes a thematic approach, writing about Jesus's characteristics and roles. She writes about his Jewishness and his divine identity, and about him as a king, healer, teacher, lover, servant, sacrifice, and Lord. She draws on different passages in each chapter to show who Jesus is, and she carefully explains concepts that will be difficult for some readers to accept. I appreciate how sensitive she is to other people's worldviews without softening the specifics of her own. She is orthodox, but gracious as well.
She also weaves in a number of pop culture references to help people without a church background relate to some of the themes. I was so here for all of the Doctor Who references. A perk of reading British authors! However, McLaughlin spoils some stories to make connections with their meaningful turning points. She mostly only shares plot twists from properties that have been around for a long time, but near the end, she spoils the ending of the 2020 Matt Haig novel The Midnight Library. Because of that book's popularity, a lot of people will already know the ending, but anyone who has been planning to read that novel should do so before reading this.
Overall, I found Confronting Jesus very impressive. McLaughlin did a great job writing to a broad and general audience without making the book feel too tailored to one group, and there are interesting reflection points and applications for anyone who reads this. People who have been Christians for years can still discover new insights here, or at least see something expressed in a fresh way, and people who want to better understand Jesus as a religious figure or are considering faith in Him will appreciate this book's readability and helpful insights.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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