Finding the best jesus religion suitable for your needs isnt easy. With hundreds of choices can distract you. Knowing whats bad and whats good can be something of a minefield. In this article, weve done the hard work for you.
Best jesus religion
1. Jesus > Religion: Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough
Feature
Thomas NelsonDescription
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Abandon dead, dry, rule-keeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved.
Jefferson Bethke burst into the cultural conversation in 2012 with a passionate, provocative poem titled Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus. The 4-minute video literally became an overnight sensation, with 7 million YouTube views in its first 48 hours (and 23+ million in a year). The message blew up on social-media, triggering an avalanche of responses running the gamut from encouraged to enraged.
In Jesus > Religion, Bethke unpacks similar contrasts that he drew in the poemhighlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. With refreshing candor he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a works-based, fake-smile existence that sapped his strength and led him down a path of destructive behavior.
Bethke is quick to acknowledge that hes not a pastor or theologian, but simply a regular, twenty-something who cried out for a life greater than the one for which he had settled. Along his journey, Bethke discovered the real Jesus, who beckoned him beyond the props of false religion.
2. RELIGION vs JESUS Do vs Done
Description
The author describes accurately the uncertainty new believers may feel as they explore their faith and try to make sense of the Bible's truths. How God used the author's frustrations to encourage his reading of the scriptures, to later help other believers, reveals that He will guide those who actively seek Him. This nonfiction book expounds on journeying through the Bible by studying areas of God's word where misguided, religious people will believe one interpretation, not realizing that it is not the right interpretation. It is clear that the author has read his Bible several times and spoken with people who have encouraged the wrong interpretations of scriptures. The author's pursuit to right the wrong teachings that readers have learned is to show that salvation comes from Jesus and God's grace, not from works. Blair TownleyEditor, Xulon Press3. Jesus > Religion - Student Book
Description
This six-session Bible study for all students is based on Jefferson Bethkes book by the same name. In this video-enhanced study, Bethke will help students understand that following Jesus isnt about rules-based religion, which only leaves you empty and unsatisfied. They will see that freedom and true joy is only found in the grace of Jesus and resting in a relationship with Him.
Author:Jefferson Bethke has a compelling story of overcoming a painful childhood of poverty and a broken home, and this gives him a unique perspective on the grace of God and the work of Jesus in his life and the lives of others. It's this perspective that has catapulted him into the national conversation regarding religion and spirituality, allowing his message to connect at a heart level with an audience ranging from atheists to nationally recognized religious leaders.
4. White Jesus: The Architecture of Racism in Religion and Education
Description
In White Jesus: The Architecture of Racism in Religion and Education, White Jesus is conceived as a socially constructed apparatusa mythology that animates the architecture of salvationthat operates stealthily as a veneer for patriarchal White supremacist, capitalist, and imperialist sociopolitical, cultural, and economic agendas. White Jesus was constructed by combining empire, colorism, racism, education, and religion; the by-product is a distortion that reproduces violence in epistemic and physical ways. The authors distinguish White Jesus from Jesus of the Gospels, the one whose life, death, and resurrection demands sacrificial love as a responsea love ethic. White Jesus is a fraudulent scheme that many devotees of Jesus of Bethlehem naively fell for. This book is about naming the lies, reclaiming the person of Jesus, and reasserting a vision of power that locates Jesus of the Gospels in solidarity with the easily disposed. The catalytic, animating, and life-altering power of the cross of Jesus is enough to subdue White Jesus and his patronage.
White Jesus can be used in a variety of academic disciplines, including education, religion, sociology, and cultural studies. Furthermore, the book will be useful for Christian institutions working to evaluate the images and ideologies of Jesus that shape their biblical ethics, as well as churches in the U.S. that are invested in breaking the mold of homogeneity, civil religion, and uncoupling commitments to patriotism from loyalty to one Kingdom. Educational institutions and religious organizations that are committed to combining justice and diversity efforts with a Jesus ethic will find White Jesus to be a compelling primer.
5. Jesus is Greater Than Religion (DVD Member Book)
Description
Jesus>Religion will help readers abandon dead, dry, rule-keeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved. The study unpacks and highlights the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. Bethke is quick to acknowledge that hes not a pastor or theologian, but simply a regular, twenty-something who cried out for a life greater than the one for which he had settled. Along his journey, Bethke discovered the real Jesus, who beckoned him beyond the props of false religion.
Features:
- Includes a small-group experience for 6 small-group sessions
- Individual study and applicable Scripture
- Group discussion guide
Author: Jefferson Bethke has a compelling story of overcoming a painful childhood of poverty and a broken home, and this gives him a unique perspective on the grace of God and the work of Jesus in his life and the lives of others. Its this perspective that has catapulted him into the national conversation regarding religion and spirituality, allowing his message to connect at a heart level with an audience ranging from atheists to nationally recognized religious leaders.
6. Jesus Hates Religion: Finding Grace in a Works-Driven Culture
Description
7. Jesus Without Religion: What Did He Say? What Did He Do? What's the Point?
Description
Great. Another book about Jesus. Whose agenda will the author be lugging along this time? Author Rick James begins by clearing his throat. Free of creeds, quarrels and specialized theologies, he speaks of Jesus. No dogma, no politics, no moral at the end. Jesus. What he said. What he did. And what, exactly, was the point. The answers about Jesus, according to Rick James, are in the context. In his own unconventional way, James recalls the specific contexts that color Jesus' story, bringing forward this man you've heard so muchand so littleabout.8. The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity
Feature
Used Book in Good ConditionDescription
Jesus' preaching was first and foremost about simple living, pacifism, and vegetarianism; he never intended to create a new religion separate from Judaism. Moreover, Jesus' radical Jewish ethics, rather than a new theology, distinguished him and his followers from other Jews.It was the earliest followers of Jesus, the Jewish Christians, who understood Jesus better than any of the gentile Christian groups, which are the spiritual ancestors of modern Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox churches. In this detailed and accessible study, Keith Akers uncovers the history of Jewish Christianity from its origins in the Essenes and John the Baptist, through Jesus, until its disappearance into Islamic mysticism sometime in the seventh or eighth century.
Akers argues that only by really understanding this mysterious and much misunderstood strand of early Christianity can we get to the heart of the radical message of Jesus of Nazareth.