Living Jesus: Learning the Heart of the Gospel

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 224 pages
• Published by: HarperOne January 5, 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0060642831
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0060642839
• Book Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Weighs: 8 ounces

Product Review
The Real Jesus made Luke Timothy Johnson famous as the leading debunker of the historical-Jesus movement. In Living Jesus: Learning the Heart of the Gospel, Johnson makes a more constructive presentation--a meditative and scriptural explanation of his understanding of the real Jesus. "The most important question concerning Jesus," according to Johnson, is "Do we think he is dead or alive?" The book begins offering its own answer to that question with an enthusiastic essay on the resurrection, which culminates with another question: "How does Jesus now find continuing embodiment as life-giving Spirit? As all-powerful Lord, in any fashion he chooses!" Johnson describes a Jesus who is living all around us, in the canon, creed, sacraments, lives of the saints, and elsewhere. Johnson then provides readings of each gospel, Acts, Paul's epistles, and Revelation to give his arguments scriptural mooring. The Real Jesus rambles a bit--at times, it reads suspiciously like class lecture notes--but it's got a good heart. The book's goal is to wake readers up so they can live in the truth, "so that we might become living texts speaking Jesus in the world--saints from whom others also might learn Jesus." --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Johnson (The Real Jesus), the Jesus Seminar's thorn in the flesh, presents the rich spirituality of the Gospels. Johnson argues that, according to his reading of the Gospels, Jesus is not a dead, historical figure but a living character in believers' lives. He asserts that the true purpose of the New Testament is to show Christians how to model their lives on Jesus' life. Johnson's book is divided into two complementary parts. In part one, Johnson contends that to be a Christian means to claim that Jesus is life-giving Spirit, to live according to Jesus' words and works and to bear witness, as Jesus did, to the reality of God. Part two engages in a close reading of the Gospels, noting that each Gospel's specific way of shaping its community's memories of Jesus is affected by the author's perceptions of his readers' situation. Although each Gospel provides a different perspective on Jesus, Johnson says, the same living figure is recognizable in the varied portraits. Refusing to be taken in by what he perceives as the deadening effects of the historical criticism of the Gospels, Johnson offers a spiritual reading that, in his mind, gives the only true access to the Jesus of authentic Christian faith.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
lt johnson is a moderately conservative catholic (in fact an ex-monk) who has written extensively on nt studies. this 203 page book can be read in a few hours and is not bogged down with scholarly jargon. essentially he is putting into perspective the value of historical Jesus studies. lt states that if Jesus is today alive for Christians, how then can we get a reliable picture of Him by using the means by which we study dead people! he has been gently criticised by some including ben witherington and raymond brown for separating the Jesus of history from the Jesus we worship - but i don't think that is the focus of johnson's argument. i think lt is simply pointing out (quite validly) that historical critical studies can give only a limited picture of Jesus. he uses as an interesting example adolf hitler. if we were to perform a study in "historical hitlerology" (attempting to construct a portait using what hitler thought of himself as well as the thoughts of his closest associates), we would indeed come up with a picture of hitler that would be quite different than what we know to be true. i would agree that this comparison is a little oblique, but johnson makes a good point. the first few chapters may seem a little fluffy to some but they move quickly into the meat of the work. all in all, this is a very readable work. not everyone will agree with johnson but all those interested in Jesus studies need to be exposed to his point of view!