Just when you thought you knew who Jesus was, along comes a book like this to profoundly challenge and wonderfully inspire.
Most Christians are unaware of how different their Western worldview is from those who wrote the original accounts of Jesus’ life. Pastor Jeff Deuble issues a clarion call to prioritize biblical testimony over the later church creeds that were influenced by Greek philosophical thinking, so as to rediscover simple, uncluttered Christianity.
Meticulously presenting information from biblical, historical, Jewish, and Christian sources about how the early followers of Christ thought about him, this book promises new insight and an enriched understanding of Christ’s identity. More than informative, Christ Before Creeds is an invitation to examine the identity of Jesus the Messiah, engaging with respect and grace.
Exciting, very well put, very eye opening to an open mind and for ears to hear when it comes from a side that would face great persecution from the church even today. Christians are stuck in a box to feel comfortable and not shake the waters, this does it, and with lots of backup that isn't hard to understand. It's simple. As it was meant to be. It makes sense. God is not the author of confusion. It is great for the curious Christians that have been feeling like things don't match up when it comes to man's doctrine and what we are "supposed" to believe or else. A must read.
Deuble walks.us through the Biblical basis of a Unitarian view of God and shows how it.is.compatible with the faith rather than an aberration of it. Through the use of scripture and discussion of church history, he demonstrates that belief in the Trinity leads away from the heart.of God in Jesus.to greek.philosophy. he calls for.a.return to what the bible says.on the topic rather than what theologians and philosophers have posited.
Interesting and informative. I didn't know, for example, about the political machinations behind the first council of Nicea and the influence the emperor and his favoured bishop played in pushing an agenda for conformity and uniformity of belief, amid what had until then been a patchwork quilt of positions across the empire. Worth a read if you're a student of the history of Christianity.