The Radical Jesus

The Radical Jesus is a brief examination of Christ's life, teaching, death and resurrection. Everything about Jesus is absolutely radical; the One the Scriptures reveal as anything but tame. Without a clear understanding of who Jesus is, we can never hope to be the disciples we were meant to be in this fallen world. The twofold purpose of this book is to exalt the radical Jesus by presenting a fresh glimpse of who He is and to reveal the high calling that true believers are to live.

A compelling, graphical rendition, Radical Jesus tells the story of Jesus and his social message, not just in his own time, but also through the Radical Reformation, recent centuries, and our own time. Featuring illustration by industry standouts Sabrina Jones, Gary Dumm, and Nick Thorkelson, Radical Jesus offers a fresh and inspiring look at basic Christian concepts and social justice themes from the life of Jesus onward. Readers will be drawn into stories from scripture, the Radical Reformation, and peacemaking efforts today in Iraq and Colombia, among others. Free downloadable study guide available here.

Some sought his death. Others left everything to follow him. Who was this Jesus, this son of a carpenter turned wandering teacher? Why did he provoke such extreme reactions? And why does he still do so today, more than two thousand years after his death? Jesus the Radical highlights the impact of Jesus against the backdrop of life in first-century Judea, with its customs, its Messianic hopes, its multi-faceted Judaism and its Roman overlords. Here are many fascinating insights into the story you thought you knew. "Sensitive and compelling . it confronts the reader with Jesus and lets him decide what responses to make." -Christianity Today R. T. France has taught at London Bible College and was principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, from 1989 to 1995. He is the author of Matthew in the Tyndale New Testament Commentary series, The Evidence for Jesus, The Living God, and Jesus and the Old Testament.

This unconventional cultural history explores the lifecycle of the radical historical Jesus, a construct created by the freethinkers, feminists, socialists and anarchists who used the findings of biblical criticism to mount a serious challenge to the authority of elite liberal divines during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.

Once the darling of conservative Catholicism and evangelicalism, the outspoken broadcaster and journalist Michael Coren had what he terms as a profound conversion and began embracing the issues he had previously judged. It cost him his lucrative broadcasting career and made him the target of vitriol, but he found freedom in the radical and progressive nature of the gospel and is today its champion. In The Rebel Christ he explores what Jesus said about the pressing issues of his and our day. Jesus may not have mentioned sexuality, but welcomed outsiders and the marginalized; he never spoke of social security systems, but did criticize the wealthy and complacent and called for the poor to be protected; he didn’t side with the powerful but did condemn those who judged and exploited others and turned their eyes away from those in need and from the cry for justice. This was Jesus the rebel, Christ the radical, who turned the world upside down and who today demands that his followers do the same.

For thousands of years, religious messages have been used to either uphold the status quo or upend it. And while we are all very familiar with the kind of conservative Christianity that suppresses liberation and justifies oppression, progressive Christians are just as guilty of upholding unjust systems when we prioritize harmony and unity over justice. True justice requires us to choose sides. True justice requires action. When we look at Scripture, we see that the God of the Bible was never neutral. Again and again God chooses the side of the oppressed. Jesus said the Spirit of the Lord anointed him "to let the oppressed go free," and those of us who claim to follow Jesus today must commit to this radical mission of liberation. In The God Who Riots, popular YouTuber and public theologian Damon Garcia uses his frank, tell-it-like-it-is style to connect us with the Jesus who flipped tables in the temple and led an empire-destabilizing movement for liberation. The spirit of this God is embodied in today's protests, riots, and strikes. As we join this struggle for liberation, we are joining the God who riots alongside us, within us, and through us.

Jesus ignored human traditions and presented His listeners with God`s truth. Discover some of the radical ideas He taught that defied conventional wisdom and customs then - and that continue to do so today.

WHAT IS JESUS WORTH TO YOU? It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily... BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU? In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment -- a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring. (From the 2010 edition)"