The religion of jesus is the religion that jesus himself practiced, and the religion that he preached to his followers. Religion is humanitys attempt to reach out to god or the sacred or divine. Urantia book differences from traditional christian beliefs. To see index for all topics on jehovah witnesses click on jehovah witness index above. Along his journey, bethke discovered the real jesus, who beckoned him beyond the props of false religion. Oct 24, 20 the books title and content are inspired by his spokenword video, why i hate religion, but love jesus, which has been viewed 26 million times. Jesus treated people differently when we think of jesus, we usually think of a soft spoken kumbayah guy who. Bethke is quick to acknowledge that hes not a pastor or theologian, but simply a regular, twentysomething. It involves human effort to become acceptable to god or to give meaning to ones life. Why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being. One puzzle of the world is that religions often dont resemble their founders. Jesus never mentioned gays or abortion but focused on the. Dibelius describes the new testament as the humanly conditioned deposit of an historical event, and considers that the crucial question in the struggle over christianity is whether god made his will manifest in this event. This makes religion subjective to the person resulting in no two.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Doing this, he reconstructs the life and teachings of jesus, showing the real content and significance of what jesus said and. You can click on jesus vs all other religions to start reading at the beginning of this topic or use the page index to jump to the part that interest you most. For example, the talmud mentions yeshu ben panderaben stada s stepfather, pappos ben yehuda, speaking with rabbi akiva, who was executed at the culmination of the bar kokhba revolt in 5 ce. What you read in this book now will save you a lot of if only i knew then what i know now thoughts. The study unpacks and highlights the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. The vertical line in the cross illustrates our relationship with god whom. Why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being good enough by jefferson bethke releases october 7, 20.
A talented young believer posted a video of himself delivering a poem last week about whats wrong the church today and the thing has gone crazyviral. Christianity, the most widespread religion in the world, has brought a great diversity to religion. Christianity is relationship, not religion or ritual. My purpose here is not to slam religious people, but to show that religion doesnt adequately represent jesus. Find more christian classics for theology and bible study at bible study tools. For example, paul james and peter mandaville distinguish between religion and spirituality, but provide a definition of the term that avoids the usual reduction to religions of the book. Times religion writer russell chandler, in his 1988 book understanding the new age, over 42% of americans believe that they have been in touch with someone who has died. An excerpt from jefferson bethkes jesusreligion an excerpt from jefferson bethkes jesusreligion. When jefferson bethkes video went viral in early 2012, what impressed me even more than his spoken word poetry was how he responded to his critics. In his first book, jesus religion, jefferson bethke helps us understand that there is a big different between the rulekeeping of religion and the freedom in obedience we should have in the saving grace of jesus christ. What scientists really think by elaine ecklund, science and religion arent that incompatible. We have made religion a system of rituals and rules we are required to follow so that at the end of the most exhausting race, we can make our way into heaven through our own good works and doing. The years 10 most intriguing religion books the washington. It is like a never ending ladder you have to climb up and you are not even sure where it leads.
Jesus religion ebook by jefferson bethke rakuten kobo. This sixsession bible study for all students is based on jefferson bethkes book by the same name. They will see that freedom and true joy is only found in the grace of jesus and resting in a relationship with him. In order to flesh out his views on jesus, christianity, and religion, jefferson has written the book jesus religion which launches today. Jeff bethkes poem jesus religion was written, and introduced, in 2012 through a 4minute video titled, why i hate religion, but love jesus. The urantia book picture of deity and reality is a much more complex reality structure than the christian concept of deity. In jesus religion, bethke unpacks contrasts similar to those he drew in the poem highlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. The worlds religions chapter viii, christianity, the. Jan 20, 2012 a talented young believer posted a video of himself delivering a poem last week about whats wrong the church today and the thing has gone crazyviral. Nov 22, 2016 religion is the pursuit, god is the goal. It is also used in judaism to refer to the jewish people and by members of some christian denominations to refer to themselves the quran uses the term in reference to jews, christians and sabians in a variety of contexts, from religious polemics to. It is also used in judaism to refer to the jewish people and by members of some christian denominations to refer to themselves.
Apr 02, 2020 the most detailed record of the life and death of jesus comes from the four gospels and other new testament writings. I titled this religion vs jesus, but really it is religion vs a relationship. The identification of yeshu as jesus is problematic. Religion is trying to figure out where youre going. In jesus religion, bethke unpacks the stark contrasts that he drew in the poemcontrasts between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. Simply put, if theres one book you read all year, let it be this one. After his spoken word on the same subject when viral why i hate religion, but love jesus. That probably sounds like a huge contradiction coming from from someone who claims to be a jesus freak and uprooted his family to move across the country to attend a bible college too. Jefferson bethke has recently published jesus religion. Regardless, the dividing lines between religion and jesus are clear. Dec 23, 20 jesus, paul, food, charity, and prayer were just some of the areas examined in this years crop of books under the broad heading of religion. Jesusreligion will help readers abandon dead, dry, rulekeeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved.
Religion doesnt allow for dialogue or open communication. Jefferson bethke why i hate religion, but love jesus. The message blew up on socialmedia, triggering an avalanche of responses. Religious rules are all about the externalnot the internaland raise human preferences to the level of gods laws. Jesus plus anything, even religion, ruins everything. Why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being good enough. Basically a historical religion based on concrete events, it came from a jewish carpenter who never traveled more than ninety miles from his birthplace. Here are 9 reasons jesus hates religion and you should too. Christianity is unique in the fact that it is the only faith which is not a religion as a religion by definition means to be bound by rules and regulations and rituals in order that one may attain salvation.
Religion can be defined as a relativelybounded system of beliefs, symbols and practices that addresses the nature of existence, and in which communion with. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading jesus religion. We recently had the opportunity to chat with jefferson bethke about his new book jesusreligion. Oct 31, 2017 the problem most churches have is they want the bible to become a rule book, and its not. Sep 04, 2016 the cast from a palm sunday passion play in wisconsin. This book was prepared for religion online by richard and sue kendall. An excerpt from jefferson bethkes jesusreligion msnbc. Jesus is greater than religion jefferson bethke book. Though often perceived as the religion of the book, christianity is only rightly understood as an ontological relationship with the person of jesus christ who is the word of god. This week, russ alberts presented a topic called world religions. Christianity is following the one who came from heaven, has gone back to heaven and is now leading the way. The latter is a diverse cacophony of gods, goddesses, pantheism, deism, and theism as varied as there are different people groups and cultures around the world. When you distinguish jesus the godman from the religion that developed around him, people investigate the person of jesus rather than the rules of christianity. Read jesus religion why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being good enough by jefferson bethke available from rakuten kobo.
The book uses the contrast between jesus and religion to accomplish the dual goal of addressing false perceptions of christianity while presenting a true picture of what followers of jesus look like. The cast from a palm sunday passion play in wisconsin. You soon realize jeffs entire life isnt filled with sainthood. Jesus religion by jefferson bethke audiobook download. Oct 15, 20 we recently had the opportunity to chat with jefferson bethke about his new book jesus religion. Jeffs book will make you stop and listen to a voice in your heart that may have been drowned out by the noise of religion. In this videoenhanced study, bethke will help students understand that following jesus isnt about rulesbased religion, which only leaves you empty and unsatisfied.
Yes, 26 million filled with jeffersons own story, the book is raw and authentic. Every sunday except during summer, when most things unitarian go on summer vacation, my church has a first hour discussion group before the church service. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light. The message is jesus is simply greater than religion. Thus, the potential exists for there to be as many religions as there are humans. Sep 06, 20 what you read in this book now will save you a lot of if only i knew then what i know now thoughts. The supreme grows as the personalities in the evolving universes attain godlikeness. It will engage many, especially young people, who have been hurt by or given up on the church. He produced no books and his biographical details are, at best, meager. With refreshing candor, he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a worksbased.
Religion turns every argument and disagreement into an us versus them. Oct 07, 20 throughout jesusreligion, jefferson does a great job of pointing the reader to a true picture of who jesus by referring to biblical texts unfortunately he does close the book with the messages version of matthew 11. After viewing this video when it came out on youtube. With refreshing candor, he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a worksbased, fakesmile existence. For those not familiar with jeff bethke, the introduction of his book, jesus religion begins with a portion of the poem that made him so well known, why i hate religion but love jesus. In jesus religion, bethke unpacks contrasts similar to those he drew in the poemhighlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. Abandon dead, dry, rulekeeping andembrace the promise of being truly known and. These are all christian and are obviously and understandably biased in what. In the years subsequent to his life, crucifixion, and resurrection, this religion of jesus was transformed into the religion about jesus, i. Why i hate religion, but love jesus spoken word youtube. Abandon dead, dry, rulekeeping andembrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved. The most detailed record of the life and death of jesus comes from the four gospels and other new testament writings.
Jesus, paul, food, charity, and prayer were just some of the areas examined in this years crop of books under the broad heading of religion. Why he is so much better than trying harder, doing more, and being good enough kindle edition by bethke, jefferson, lecrae. In addition to the trinity, the urantia book describes absolutes of potentiality and an evolutionary aspect of deity, called god the supreme. This revolutionary religion is based on the reality of personal spiritual experience. The books title and content are inspired by his spokenword video, why i hate religion, but love jesus, which has been viewed 26 million times.
Paul rosenberg religious people get an unfairly bad rap these days, so i want to start by defending them. Ahl alkitab is an islamic term which refers to jews, christians and sabians. Christianity is the only true religion because it focuses on the cross. Filled with jeffersons own story, the book is raw and authentic. Furthermore, yeshu the pharisee student is described as being a student of the secondcentury bce. Institutes of the christian religion book 4, john calvin. See, our society has made religion a god and neglected thee god in the process. Duty of cultivating unity with her, as the mother of all the godly. This poem highlights my journey to discover this truth.
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