An Outlaw Named Jesus

This thought-provoking collection takes aim at the dark, irrational, immoral, and dangerous elements of religion; Televangelists preying on elderly victims, extant misogyny and witch-burning practices, racism, slavery and violence defended in holy books, wars justified, soldiers recruited in the name of “God,” pedophile priests and assaults on free expression. Sometimes satirical and humorous, sometimes tragic and impassioned, these poems are for anyone with a dark sense of humour, a belief in free expression, or simply a love of poetry. In the same way that religion often uses guilt, fear, and shame to restrain the mind against any criticism, this collection uses humour and pathos to free it up and elicit passion and laughter in those who find beauty and humour in the irreverent.

These superb works are without equal in modern literature. Schilder ''brings the reader into touch with the spiritual and temporal forces which converged during the Passion Week. He is careful to keep Christ central, and he blends in a masterful way this culmination of our Lord's earthly life with historical facts and psychological realities'' (Cyril Barber, The Minister's Library). Schilder was a noted Dutch scholar of the early twentieth century. The three volumes of this work were translated by Henry Zylstra. They first appeared in 1937. The three volumes cover three aspects of the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are entitled: Christ Crucified, Christ in His Suffering, and, Christ On Trial. In The Minister's Library, Cyril Barber states: ''Theologically accurate, abounds in suggestive insights, and provides exegetical illumination for a score of Easter sermons. It is a classic treatment on the passion of Christ. [It} deserves a place in every pastor's library. [The three volumes} cover the night of His betrayal to His condemnation . . . [it is] a learned, accurate treatment.'' That says a lot about this unique, very important work. It is simply indispensable to the understanding and feeling of the power of the passion of Christ. To put it into the words of the Apostle Paul, all should feel as he did, ''[Oh that I might] ''be found in Him . . . to know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, having been conformed to His death, if somehow I may attain to a resurrection out of the dead'' (Philippians 3:9-11). Through the guidance and inspiration of God the Holy Spirit Schilder has captured the drama and the pathos of Christ's ordeal, and yet also passes on to the reader the triumph and the exultation of Christ as He completes His voluntary submission to the Father's will: ''Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but You prepared a body for Me. You did not delight in burnt offering and sacrifices concerning sins. Then I said, Lo, I come in the heading of the Book it was written concerning Me, to do Your will, O God'' (Psalm 39:6-9; Heb. 10:5-7). No child of God is completely mature until he or she has gone to Gethsemane and followed the trail of Christ as He approached the hour when He must endure unspeakable humiliation, pain, and the suffering of momentary loss of the Father's presence with Him. It is no wonder that He sweat blood at the prospect, for He was not ignorant of what He must go through in order to provide salvation for His sheep: ''The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep'' (John 10:11). No one will better draw you down to the depths of this drama, a scene which only one Person could have endured, than Schilder. You will not be the same after you have followed Christ through these stirring looks that Schilder gives you - you will be a better Christian, by far. This is a Best Set in Print. Schilder was a man of many gifts, without any doubt. Anyone who has read his writings, even some of them, will readily acknowledge that he possessed the ability to look at various theological questions in different ways and to express his ideas in sometimes eloquent ways which were often fresh and new. 548 pages, blue hard cover

Reading the Gospels without knowing the personality of Jesus is like watching television with the sound turned off. The result is a dry, two dimensional person doing strange, undecipherable things. In BEAUTIFUL OUTLAW, John Eldredge removes the religious varnish to help readers discover stunning new insights into the humanity of Jesus. He was accused of breaking the law, keeping bad company, heavy drinking. Of being the devil himself. He was so compelling and dangerous they had to kill him. But others loved him passionately. He had a sense of humor. His generosity was scandalous. His anger made enemies tremble. He'd say the most outrageous things. He was definitely not the Jesus of the stained glass. In the author's winsome, narrative approach, he breaks Jesus out of the typical stereotypes, just as he set masculinity free in his book, Wild at Heart. By uncovering the real Jesus, readers are welcomed into the rich emotional life of Christ. All of the remarkable qualities of Jesus burst like fireworks with color and brilliance because of his humanity. Eldredge goes on to show readers how they can experience this Jesus in their lives every day. This book will quicken readers' worship, and deepen their intimacy with Jesus.

What if you could transport yourself back to the first century, walking the dusty streets of Jerusalem, late on Thursday night before Passover? And what if you were tagging along behind eleven men led by Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane? You'd leave the Upper Room and go deep into the Kidron Valley to the garden. There the temple police and a half-crazed crowd arrive brandishing torches. Jesus is taken to the palace of Annas and then to the High Priest Caiaphas. What insight do we gain from history, archaeology, and most importantly the New Testament about where they lived? In the morning Jesus would be sent to the Chamber of Hewn Stone. What was this place and why is it important to the Passion narratives? On to Pilate's Judgment Hall where new archaeological evidence questions its traditional location. You pick up the trail again on the Via Dolorosa and follow Jesus to Jerusalem's killing field. There you find the Savior dying on a Roman cross. In just a few hours you have followed him from the Upper Room to Joseph's tomb and have gained valuable insight into each stopover to help you on your own journey to Calvary.