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Who God Says You Are: A Christian Understanding of Identity
WHO ARE YOU?
For respected New Testament scholar Klyne Snodgrass, this is the most important question a person can ask—the question from which everything else in life flows. Other questions What made you who you are? Who gets to say who you are? And—perhaps most vital—Who does God say you are?
In this book Snodgrass offers wise guidance to all who are wrestling with such universal human questions. He examines nine factors—including one’s body, personal history, commitments, and boundaries—that shape human identity, and he expertly draws out what the Bible tells us about who God says we are, how we fit within God’s purposes, and how our God-given identity can and must impact the way we live our lives.
For respected New Testament scholar Klyne Snodgrass, this is the most important question a person can ask—the question from which everything else in life flows. Other questions What made you who you are? Who gets to say who you are? And—perhaps most vital—Who does God say you are?
In this book Snodgrass offers wise guidance to all who are wrestling with such universal human questions. He examines nine factors—including one’s body, personal history, commitments, and boundaries—that shape human identity, and he expertly draws out what the Bible tells us about who God says we are, how we fit within God’s purposes, and how our God-given identity can and must impact the way we live our lives.
341 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 8, 2018
69 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
About the author
Klyne R. Snodgrass
54 books6 followersKlyne Ryland Snodgrass (born 28 December 1944) is an American theologian, author and professor of New Testament Studies at the North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. His publication Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus garnered a 2009 Christianity Today Book Award.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 26, 2020
PSA: this review contains several hot takes.
"So, who are you? And who are you supposed to be? Perhaps more importantly, who do you want to be, and is it anything close to who God says you are?"
In Who God Says You Are, Klyne Snodgrass, a New Testament professor at North Park Theological Seminary, attempts to break down the psychological processes of what informs ones identity. With no background in psychology, this goes about as well as you would suspect. Throughout the book, Snodgrass tends to rely on "Christianeze" jargon and theological pseudo-psychology to explain his points. I have read Cervantes and Dostoevsky, yet at times, I find it more difficult to follow Snodgrass. However, I do agree with his contention that the makeup of your identity is a sum of different factors fueled by the perceiving machine that is your mind. Although, how Snodgrass goes about proving this point is unnecessarily complex. My other major issue with this book lies with the author's egoism in claiming to know God's will.
In the eighteenth century during the American Revolution, the Thirteen Colonies rose up against their British overlords who were oppressing them and sought independence. In response, King George III believed that NOT ONLY were the colonists rebelling from his rule but also the rule of God (since he was the head of the church). In this moment in history, King George III believed that he knew the will of God and those who rebelled that will were destined for hell. Notice who it is awfully convenient that, in this scenario, God's will aligned with his own. In fact, all throughout history, many different leaders and cultural figures use God as a tool for their totalitarianism. This is no exception with Snodgrass (although on a much smaller scale).
A better title for this book would be; Who Snodgrass Says God Says You Are. He claims to know God's will and wishes to impose his perception of such on the reader. He is telling the reader what their boundaries and faith should look like and if you are out of line with that, then you are rebelling from who God says you are. The importance does not lie with what you think is right and true, but rather what God (aka Snodgrass) think is right and true FOR YOU.
This is the battle that many of the youth in conservative America face today; the need for change and independence versus what the demagogues of tradition wish to impose upon them. I would like to encourage the youth to search for who they think they are, rather than conform to what others want them to be.
"So, who are you? And who are you supposed to be? Perhaps more importantly, who do you want to be, and is it anything close to who God says you are?"
In Who God Says You Are, Klyne Snodgrass, a New Testament professor at North Park Theological Seminary, attempts to break down the psychological processes of what informs ones identity. With no background in psychology, this goes about as well as you would suspect. Throughout the book, Snodgrass tends to rely on "Christianeze" jargon and theological pseudo-psychology to explain his points. I have read Cervantes and Dostoevsky, yet at times, I find it more difficult to follow Snodgrass. However, I do agree with his contention that the makeup of your identity is a sum of different factors fueled by the perceiving machine that is your mind. Although, how Snodgrass goes about proving this point is unnecessarily complex. My other major issue with this book lies with the author's egoism in claiming to know God's will.
In the eighteenth century during the American Revolution, the Thirteen Colonies rose up against their British overlords who were oppressing them and sought independence. In response, King George III believed that NOT ONLY were the colonists rebelling from his rule but also the rule of God (since he was the head of the church). In this moment in history, King George III believed that he knew the will of God and those who rebelled that will were destined for hell. Notice who it is awfully convenient that, in this scenario, God's will aligned with his own. In fact, all throughout history, many different leaders and cultural figures use God as a tool for their totalitarianism. This is no exception with Snodgrass (although on a much smaller scale).
A better title for this book would be; Who Snodgrass Says God Says You Are. He claims to know God's will and wishes to impose his perception of such on the reader. He is telling the reader what their boundaries and faith should look like and if you are out of line with that, then you are rebelling from who God says you are. The importance does not lie with what you think is right and true, but rather what God (aka Snodgrass) think is right and true FOR YOU.
This is the battle that many of the youth in conservative America face today; the need for change and independence versus what the demagogues of tradition wish to impose upon them. I would like to encourage the youth to search for who they think they are, rather than conform to what others want them to be.
January 9, 2021
[3.5 stars]
When I originally started reading this book for class, I thought it was incredibly redundant. However, it became one of those books where you need to keep reading further to get to the good message, so I’m glad I didn’t give up...
“Who God says you are” really did not feel like a book, but rather a collection of separate essays with a faint underlying message. For the lack of a cohesive narrative, I can not give this book a higher rating.
When I originally started reading this book for class, I thought it was incredibly redundant. However, it became one of those books where you need to keep reading further to get to the good message, so I’m glad I didn’t give up...
“Who God says you are” really did not feel like a book, but rather a collection of separate essays with a faint underlying message. For the lack of a cohesive narrative, I can not give this book a higher rating.
April 26, 2020
This is a much needed book about identity for this generation.
Snodgrass has produced a theologically sound exposition of identity. Personally speaking, I have finished this book with a sense of freedom to go and become who God has called me to be - without feeling guilty or living under a false presumption that self-discovery, in God, is selfishness. Highly recommended and biblical grounded!
Snodgrass has produced a theologically sound exposition of identity. Personally speaking, I have finished this book with a sense of freedom to go and become who God has called me to be - without feeling guilty or living under a false presumption that self-discovery, in God, is selfishness. Highly recommended and biblical grounded!
March 25, 2018
The biblical story begins with creation. God separates light from darkness, earth and sea, and then begins adding elements to creation. These actions culminate in the creation of humanity in the image of God -- as male and female. To humanity is given responsibility for stewarding God's creation. We are who we are because God created us to be who we are. This raises the question of identity. Who am I? What marks me as a person in the grand scheme of things?
Klyne Snodgrass is a New Testament scholar teaching at North Park Theological Seminary, and from that vantage point, he takes on the question of identity. He makes the bold claim that "the Bible is about identity." While it explains the identity of God and Christ, "such explanations never have the purpose of giving us abstract knowledge of God." No, the purpose in explaining God's identity and that of Christ, is so that humanity will know who they have been created to be. (p. 2). In other words, Scripture helps us understand who we are. Who we are is different from vocation. It may include vocation, but it is much more than that. Now, one might respond that the Bible is about God not humanity. Barth, for instance, believed that Bultmann was too focused on anthropology and missed God. So, that is a question that must be wrestled with.
But, that question need not keep us from asking the anthropological question of identity. Snodgrass addresses the question in conversation with the Bible, as an evangelical Christian. He believes that while we make choices about aspects of our identity, it is our God defined characteristics that represent who we are. Race, ethnicity, gender, etc. are of less importance than God's input. Now, I agree to a point, but at the same time, something was missing in the conversation -- that was recognition of white male privilege. It is easy for a white male (like me) to place gender and ethnicity in a secondary place, as I have lived with the privileges my gender and ethnicity provide. On the other hand, I agree that identity is not wrapped up in possessions, status, clothes, honors.
Leaving those issues aside, we turn to the main point of the book, and that is the exploration of what Snodgrass are the nine factors of identity that "are true of all persons, regardless of their religion or lack thereof." (p. 10). While these factors cross religious lines, whether we believe or not in God, he looks at them from a Christian perspective. The nine factors start with the body (reminding us that we are bodies, dispelling the idea we are enfleshed souls). We are our history (the past: our past and that of family, etc. influence our lives). We are our relations (yes, we are formed by who we are in relation to). The same goes for commitments, actions, boundaries, the reality of change, and the future. Each of these factors contribute to our identity. We may chose elements, but some elements are not chosen (you can choose your friends, but generally not your family).
I found much of the book to be helpful. He is committed to engaging with seriousness the biblical story. He doesn't pretend to be a psychologist. He is what he is, and he brings that to bear to the question of identity, helping us come to grips with who we are in God's eye. I appreciated the reminder that we are our actions. He doesn't counsel perfection, but if you don't act like a Christian, you aren't a Christian. Saying you believe in Jesus is not a sufficient mark.
Where I did have questions was with regard to his understanding of sexual orientation. At one level he tends to skirt the issue, though sexual orientation and gender identity are important questions of our day. I can guess where he stands on this, as seen in translating a passage from 1 Corinthians that scholars are unsure of as "a man having sex with a man," in a list of activities that stand under God's judgment. On this issue, I stand apart from his interpretation. I do not believe that persons who are LGBT are under God's judgment. That perspective will limit his conversation partners.
So, I found the book useful at many points. I'm not sure I agree that the Bible is preeminently about identity, but identity is one of the key issues of the faith. With the caveats mentioned above, I can recommend this for further conversation.
Klyne Snodgrass is a New Testament scholar teaching at North Park Theological Seminary, and from that vantage point, he takes on the question of identity. He makes the bold claim that "the Bible is about identity." While it explains the identity of God and Christ, "such explanations never have the purpose of giving us abstract knowledge of God." No, the purpose in explaining God's identity and that of Christ, is so that humanity will know who they have been created to be. (p. 2). In other words, Scripture helps us understand who we are. Who we are is different from vocation. It may include vocation, but it is much more than that. Now, one might respond that the Bible is about God not humanity. Barth, for instance, believed that Bultmann was too focused on anthropology and missed God. So, that is a question that must be wrestled with.
But, that question need not keep us from asking the anthropological question of identity. Snodgrass addresses the question in conversation with the Bible, as an evangelical Christian. He believes that while we make choices about aspects of our identity, it is our God defined characteristics that represent who we are. Race, ethnicity, gender, etc. are of less importance than God's input. Now, I agree to a point, but at the same time, something was missing in the conversation -- that was recognition of white male privilege. It is easy for a white male (like me) to place gender and ethnicity in a secondary place, as I have lived with the privileges my gender and ethnicity provide. On the other hand, I agree that identity is not wrapped up in possessions, status, clothes, honors.
Leaving those issues aside, we turn to the main point of the book, and that is the exploration of what Snodgrass are the nine factors of identity that "are true of all persons, regardless of their religion or lack thereof." (p. 10). While these factors cross religious lines, whether we believe or not in God, he looks at them from a Christian perspective. The nine factors start with the body (reminding us that we are bodies, dispelling the idea we are enfleshed souls). We are our history (the past: our past and that of family, etc. influence our lives). We are our relations (yes, we are formed by who we are in relation to). The same goes for commitments, actions, boundaries, the reality of change, and the future. Each of these factors contribute to our identity. We may chose elements, but some elements are not chosen (you can choose your friends, but generally not your family).
I found much of the book to be helpful. He is committed to engaging with seriousness the biblical story. He doesn't pretend to be a psychologist. He is what he is, and he brings that to bear to the question of identity, helping us come to grips with who we are in God's eye. I appreciated the reminder that we are our actions. He doesn't counsel perfection, but if you don't act like a Christian, you aren't a Christian. Saying you believe in Jesus is not a sufficient mark.
Where I did have questions was with regard to his understanding of sexual orientation. At one level he tends to skirt the issue, though sexual orientation and gender identity are important questions of our day. I can guess where he stands on this, as seen in translating a passage from 1 Corinthians that scholars are unsure of as "a man having sex with a man," in a list of activities that stand under God's judgment. On this issue, I stand apart from his interpretation. I do not believe that persons who are LGBT are under God's judgment. That perspective will limit his conversation partners.
So, I found the book useful at many points. I'm not sure I agree that the Bible is preeminently about identity, but identity is one of the key issues of the faith. With the caveats mentioned above, I can recommend this for further conversation.
January 18, 2018
This is an important book that I have been grappling with for months. Its purpose is to help readers understand who we are and who God calls us to be. The writer emphasises the importance of knowing ourselves, stating that grace makes it possible to look honestly at ourselves and that we will learn to know ourselves only by knowing the God revealed in Jesus Christ.
The book is structured around nine factors from which our identity is constructed - the writer looks at these in turn, and at how these issues are addressed in the Bible. The nine factors are: an individual's body and psychological make-up; their history; relations; 'self-interpreting, self-directing memory'; commitments; actions; boundaries; ongoing process of change; and future.
Great emphasis is given to conversion and identity-formation being processes rather than merely events: we are called to walk with Christ and be continually, daily, dying and rising with Christ. The writer is strong in his views of churches which do not emphasise this truth and which do not help their members in discipleship. Snodgrass is also scathing of white supremacists such as 'Christian Identity' which disregard and distort the teachings of Christianity.
I found this book very useful in many ways, from its discussion of Bonhoeffer's concept of 'cheap grace', to the description of faith as walking, with examples from Old and New Testaments, to the idea of a 'summoning self' that says we were created in the image of God and should live like it.
Highly recommended.
I received this ebook free in return for an honest review.
The book is structured around nine factors from which our identity is constructed - the writer looks at these in turn, and at how these issues are addressed in the Bible. The nine factors are: an individual's body and psychological make-up; their history; relations; 'self-interpreting, self-directing memory'; commitments; actions; boundaries; ongoing process of change; and future.
Great emphasis is given to conversion and identity-formation being processes rather than merely events: we are called to walk with Christ and be continually, daily, dying and rising with Christ. The writer is strong in his views of churches which do not emphasise this truth and which do not help their members in discipleship. Snodgrass is also scathing of white supremacists such as 'Christian Identity' which disregard and distort the teachings of Christianity.
I found this book very useful in many ways, from its discussion of Bonhoeffer's concept of 'cheap grace', to the description of faith as walking, with examples from Old and New Testaments, to the idea of a 'summoning self' that says we were created in the image of God and should live like it.
Highly recommended.
I received this ebook free in return for an honest review.
September 29, 2017
WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE by Klyne Snodgrass covers a topic that sounds overwhelming and intimidating, but is rather an important core issue for every human – identity. By “identity,” Snodgrass means what “makes me me;” and since we all have a divine Creator Who made us the people we are for some distinct purposes, there can be no more important question for anyone to answer, but especially Christians. “Why did God make me like this, and does my life reflect who I really am?” But rather than a stuffy anthropological or philosophical treatise, Snodgrass does a wonderful job of demonstrating and explaining this issue in compelling and inviting ways.
After establishing the fact that only Christians have the ability to truly understand themselves – as opposed to all non-Christians – because we know our Maker; then the meat of the book discourses on nine factors the author says comprise the total makeup of our true identities. Quickly, those factors are: Our body; our history; our relations (and relationships); our self-interpreting of our memories; our chosen commitments; our actions; our boundaries; our ongoing change in temperament and styles of living; and the future we see for ourselves. The theme and goal of this timely book when “identity” is in so much confusion in the world, is that we can only truly understand ourselves by understanding the God Who not only created us, but loves us. Highly recommended.
After establishing the fact that only Christians have the ability to truly understand themselves – as opposed to all non-Christians – because we know our Maker; then the meat of the book discourses on nine factors the author says comprise the total makeup of our true identities. Quickly, those factors are: Our body; our history; our relations (and relationships); our self-interpreting of our memories; our chosen commitments; our actions; our boundaries; our ongoing change in temperament and styles of living; and the future we see for ourselves. The theme and goal of this timely book when “identity” is in so much confusion in the world, is that we can only truly understand ourselves by understanding the God Who not only created us, but loves us. Highly recommended.
December 28, 2024
This book was an impactful look at the broad spectrum of influences that shape “identity” in each of us. At the heart of each facet though, is the unifying call of God to actively live life from the “true self,” as Nouwen puts it. This is the call for a unique soul created to know and be known by God to actively, daily live in this “true self”’reality. Each chapter processes a lot of information, but at a level where the information remains relatable and impactful for life today. I had to read it slowly, otherwise it would have been too much to digest too quickly, but I am grateful that I read it and so glad it was recommended to me.
November 12, 2025
Interesting look at identity and identity formation. The writing is at times great and engaging and at other times seems like it could have been much shorter and tighter. There are a couple of points the author makes that I disagree with like him being adamant that if you are not acting like Christ you aren’t a Christian. Since being like Christ is impossible he is essentially saying there aren’t any Christian’s but yet that is not what he is actually saying so it just feels odd. Overall was a good and useful read.
June 24, 2022
This book is about Christian identity and in a direct (even though at times dry) style Klyne Snodgrass helps the reader ask questions to be a better version of one self. This book contains profound biblical insights about identity - which is exactly what one would hope from a long time New Testament scholar. This isn't a resource book (though some could find it resourceful), it is a book that is for transformation. Personally, it has worked on my mind to do just that.
July 5, 2018
Really great introduction to and exploration of identity from a Christian perspective. It won't go into as much detail as some people might hope, but it's a well research, wise book from a seasoned scholar. Anyone wrestling with the question of "Who am I" (which is something we should all ask) should benefit from reading this.
November 17, 2021
buckle up
I wanted to stop reading about 100 times for two reasons… One because this book is dense and needs to be read slowly and to because it kept showing me my heart over and over again. The thing that kept me going was the relentless connection to the truth that God loves me as I am and is transforming me into who I should be in his presence. Buckle up and start reading
I wanted to stop reading about 100 times for two reasons… One because this book is dense and needs to be read slowly and to because it kept showing me my heart over and over again. The thing that kept me going was the relentless connection to the truth that God loves me as I am and is transforming me into who I should be in his presence. Buckle up and start reading
September 23, 2019
Not since Kierkegaard has Christian theology and existentialism so well complemented one another.
"In a real sense identity is a vocation, our one and only vocation. It is the individual's response to become what God has called each of us to be." p. 224.
"In a real sense identity is a vocation, our one and only vocation. It is the individual's response to become what God has called each of us to be." p. 224.
May 4, 2020
Such a thoughtful book on identity from a New Testament scholar. This is one to return to often.
I needed it.
I needed it.
July 20, 2020
One of my favorite books about identity in relation to Christ I have ever read.
August 10, 2020
So many ways in to this subject. I think Snodgrass has taken a good approach. He’s thought deeply about the subject. Each chapter provokes thought and would merit further discussion.
January 4, 2021
I think it’s an important read. It’s a book that has me thinking lots and looking at the bibliography to see what to read next. I think you should take time to read this one.
Want to read
February 15, 2022Heavily affirmed and quotes by Aaron Addison
April 22, 2022
Much revered New Testament PROfessor North Park
October 1, 2022
Some good ideas. But, no logical progression between ideas made it difficult to read and retain.
February 17, 2021
Excellent introduction to the complex subject of identity formation. Contemplative from beginning to end, demanding a hard and honest look at yourself. Very readable, and significantly less academic than I expected, even while displaying a broad scholarship in its literature. I’d really like to revisit this work and use its outline in counseling complex, long term cases.
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September 30, 2017indexing
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