We are taught never to buy a book by its cover, but I’ll tell you this: some titles are enough. The title to Rubel Shelly is one such title: I Knew Jesus Before He Was a Christian… And I Liked Him Better Then. Stunning title.

Agree? What do you think of the ideas here? Comments, suggestions, ideas, responses?

Jesus “did not come to found a new religion that would generate still more human precepts masquerading as divine doctrine. He did not produce a creed or command us to write one. He came to ‘reveal the Father.'”

Jesus did not round up disciples to teach about the Trinity, millennium, baptismal formulas, worship protocols, head coverings, the Rapture, female clergy, or a thousand other topics that divide Christians today. He focused on the ‘fundamentals’ instead. He gave his pupils their two-question final exam on the first day of the course — and left us our lifetimes to cram for it. Question one: ‘Do you love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength?’ Question two: ‘Do you love your neighbor as yourself?'”

Here’s a killer statement: “People who read the Gospel stories from the life of Jesus are attracted to him. People who know Christ only through his followers often can’t stand him” (14). Print that out, paste it on your desk or shelf or mirror and let us all remind ourselves. We have a challenge.

Rubel Shelly, though, says he’s pro-Jesus and pro-church. But … we’ve got to get Jesus first.

“Jesus is an appealing and wonderful presence in the world. He brings hope and healing into broken lives. He gives sight to blind eyes and hearing to deaf ears. He brings lepers out of quarantine and back into their families, sinners out of banishment and back into community. He tells the people to whom nobody else will give the time of day that the kingdom of God belongs to them.”

What happened? “Christianity became the umbrella term for a host of competing denominational brands…”.

The big idea of this book is right here: “American scholar Sam Pascoe is often credited with saying that Christianity was born in Israel, only to be taken to Greece and morphed into a philosophy. From there, it was taken to Rome and made into an institution of civil power. Eventually, it migrated to Europe where it was developed into a culture. Later still, it was brought to America and made into an entrepreneurial business enterprise.” Bingo!