The Fractured Kingdom: Uniting Modern Christianity through the Historical Jesus

by Jean-Pierre Isbouts

Bestselling biblical historian, Jean-Pierre Isbouts, weaves the origin stories of Christianity and the Lord's Prayer into a reinvigorating and urgent rallying cry for unity in the modern church

Modern Christianity is in the midst of a veritable schism along the fault lines of society's culture wars. Only if we understand the origins of this split can we find our way to unity. Though few may realize it today, Jesus’s ministry unfolded in a crisis very similar to the one society is now battling. In fact, were it not for the truly catastrophic conditions in early 1st century Galilee, his reimagining of the three quintessential virtues of the Torah – social justice; compassion toward one another; and an abiding love of God – would have likely failed to attract a wide following.

Brilliantly tracing Jesus’s vision for the “Kingdom of God” from its origin up through modern times, Dr. Isbouts leads us to a possible antidote for the fiercely partisan moment in which we find ourselves: the Our Father. Then taking readers on a historically exhilarating tour of the Lord’s Prayer, The Fractured Kingdom shows us why the only doctrine Christians agree on might be our last hope for forging a more equal, compassionate, and loving society. What results is an eminently readable and undeniably essential work that addresses some of the most pressing issues now confronting communities of faith around the world.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published June 13, 2023

About the author

Jean-Pierre Isbouts was born in 1954. He is a humanities scholar and graduate professor in the doctoral programs at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. He has published widely on the origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, including the bestseller Biblical World: An Illustrated Atlas; Young Jesus: Restoring the "Lost Years" of a Social Activist and Religious Dissident; From Moses to Muhammed; The Shared Origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; and The Mysteries of Jesus. An award-winning filmmaker, Isbouts has also produced Charlton Heston's Voyage Through the Bible, The Quest for Peace, and Young Jesus.

Reviews

[Jim D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four and a half stars. This was a well written and easy to read survey of Christianity , its beginnings, and the authors wish and hope for the future. I thoroughly enjoyed his look at the historical Jesus, his times ,and the events occurring in Judea and Galilee. i think he did an excellent job using his historical and archeological background of positing his theories on why things may have occurred as they did. There are some challenging topics he covers that might disturb some fundamentalist readers, and at one point he suggests that they may want to skip a few pages. His coverage of Paul and his ministry , and the gospel writers, was very interesting. I think he did a masterful job of explaining the growth of the church, the factions that started to occur and why, and where we are today. A significant section of the book was his using and explaining the lords prayer as a true means of uniting people today. He didn't have perfect solutions on how to unite forty thousand different Christian denominations in the world and over 200 in the united States, but he tried and i think the book is a solid effort to bridge the gap without getting hung up on minutia. My only reason for not giving five stars is he did have a tendency to read into peoples minds and make conclusions that might not be accurate. But certainly, they could be plausible. In any event, an excellent book .

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fractured Kingdom: Uniting Modern Christianity through the Historical Jesus is an in-depth account of how Christianity was born and is now ensnared in culture wars that do not support the overall goal which is compassion for others, social justice, and an abiding love for God. There is a full glossary that explains the time periods, and names and defines the role of major personages that had an impact on the emergence of the Christian Faith. Part I is entitled Rediscovering the Historical Jesus. There are four chapters that include The Land in Crisis, The Lost Years of Jesus' Youth, Along the Banks of the Jordan, and Jesus Launches His Ministry. Part II Presents the Lord's Prayer as a Blueprint for Unity. It is a compelling and challenging reading experience that shows humanity how to truly follow the truth of Christianity by discarding Greed, Ego, Hatred and Ignorance about what is right and wrong for all people. If a few suffer everyone suffers unless changes happen within each person from the inside out. Don't miss reading this one. It is worth your time and your thought.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really, really torn on this one. As a study and reflection on the historical context of Jesus' ministry, it's super readable and very interesting and insightful. As a plea for ecumenical unity (which is how its branded and subtitled), it's much less successful, in my opinion. Isbouts even admits, in a later section of the book, that his historical conclusions will make some conservatives uncomfortable, so perhaps they should skip ahead several pages. This is a bit head-scratching for a book that's ostensibly about uniting the various factions of Christianity.

That said, I really did love the historical work Isbouts does here. I think this would have been much more coherent and successful if branded and edited more strictly as an historical Jesus study.

Full written review forthcoming for Englewood Review of Books....