My Imaginary Jesus - Matt Mikalatos Book Review

When I received this book from the publishing company for review I pried it open skeptically and began to read the first page. Though I was caught off guard by Mikalatos' peculiar story-telling I proceeded to mark and circle, what I thought to be, theologically questionable statements.
I soon realized, however, that the statements made by, and about, this uncharacteristic Jesus were not meant to be forthright axioms accepted by Mikalatos. Duh, I thought to myself, this book is about an imaginary Jesus not the real Jesus. By page seven it became abundantly clear that I had approached the book entirely wrong. Not only had Mikalatos enraptured me in the story line he had accomplished, what often seems to be, an insuperable task: to evoke with his writing an audible guffaw which not only surprised me but also surprised my wife who was sitting on the couch across the living room.

As I continued to read my pencil only marked sentences that made me laugh -- so I could find them quickly later when I wanted to share them with friends. Aside from his jocund style which carries through the book Mikalatos manages to establish a somber tone to address some not-easy-to-answer questions such as the providence of God, the difficulty of prayer that seems to go unanswered and the problem of evil (Epicurus' riddle) which seems to be inextricably connected to the problem of pain.

He imaginatively introduces different Jesus characters, (such as Political Jesus, Testosterone Jesus, Let's Make A Deal Jesus etc) to represent misconstrued concepts people have about Jesus. The premise is that each of us tend to extrapolate from the Gospels a body of beliefs about Jesus which are carried by our own prejudices. But these "cater-to-my-life" notions which compose my own personal Jesus are not truths about real Jesus.

The entire book is an amalgamation of mishaps and strange occurrences as Matt is led by the Apostle Peter, and a donkey named Daisy, to confront his imaginary Jesus and to find the real one. On their journey they run into a number of these imaginary Jesus' who all vie for Matt's acceptance. But Matt will not stop until he finds Jesus Christ.

Kierkegaard once said that modern man has equipped himself with a new weapon to ward off truth: boredom. But Mikalatos makes good use of humor and indirection in order to get his point across; you will not be bored when you read this book -- and it's chuck full of theological issues.  If you have someone who is initially resistant to such books lend him this one. Before he knows it he will be enchanted into examining his own views about the person Jesus.

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I received this book from the publishing company and was not required to write a positive review. All the opinions expressed are my own.

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The Jesus We Missed

This question about Jesus, perhaps the most important question that can be asked, has hung for centuries in the minds of historians, philosophers and the every day man: "Who was he?" How you answer this question will determine how you live your life. The Jewish leaders thought he was merely a man; the disciples thought he was the Lord. The Jesus We Missed, written by Patrick Henry Reardon, concludes that Jesus was 100% man and 100% Lord. Such irony in the scriptures is often pointed out by Reardon (and is really quite a joy to read).

Reardon sets out to explain, given the context of the different written accounts of Jesus' life and perhaps what was going through the minds of the characters in the narration. His conclusions are well researched and thought out. He speaks, at one point, on the temptation of Jesus in accordance with Jesus' self understanding. It's plausible to say that Jesus, being fully human, had doubts about being the son of God (something Satan capitalized on when tempting him, saying "if you truly are the son of God throw yourself down from here... For surely (if you are the Son of God) He will send angels to swoop you up before your foot catches a stone). Such a suggestion would indeed be tempting for Christ. 

Reardon in the last portion of the book explains the striking similarities between Adam and the New Adam (which is Christ). Every single part of the curse is embraced and made perfect through the new Adam. In this way Jesus not only assumed a human body but he tasted exactly what it is to be human: that is, to doubt, to hurt, to weep, to suffer sever emotional and psychology distress, etc. He not only died but, Reardon puts it, he intentionally went through the experience of dying.

Reardon pulls simple facts and brings out their importance. The Jesus We Missed was a great read and captivated the importance of the humanity of Jesus Christ.

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I was provided a copy of this book from the publishing company and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. 

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Jews for Jesus Call for "Awakening" - Movie Review

Jews for Jesus is an organization that, as indicated by their mission's statement, seeks "... to make the messiahship of Jesus unavoidable..." to Jewish people worldwide. Based in New York City Jews for Jesus has the ability to reach thousands of individuals every day through their  unique evangelism campaign. They send out people who pass out pamphlets called "broadsides" which are tracts with a contemporary, and often humorous, theme. The handouts are meant to evoke discussion through the means of laughter and is a brilliant outreach strategy. Society has built up a tolerance to evangelism, so much so that without thinking they will disregard the curbside ministers. But humor allows, however brief, a breach in the defense of the critic. Peter Kreeft, remarking on this societal defense says the writer (or in this case the evangelist) "...has to fool the critics with a cover: indirection, irony, humor the prophet's cover in a world that's a nonprofit organization" (that last phrase, "nonprofit", is a joke and, if you laughed, you just became an active participant in Kreeft's thought, for laughter engages the reader - or, once again in this case, the passerby).

"Awakening" is a 30 minute documentary. It is fast paced but still easy to watch. It's purpose is to spread awareness for the mission of Jews for Jesus. It gives a brief depiction of what street-side ministry looks like, a timeline of how Jews for Jesus started and stories of those witnessing. The film carries an important theme in an entertaining fashion. Jews for Jesus has incorporated social media as a venue for evangelism. They seem to realize that an "awakening" in our current day-and-age will look much different than one that took place 200 years ago. It is this realization that has catapulted them into current culture with radical relevance. "Awakening" has a modern, and "cool", feel that would meld well with young minds. It is perfectly suited to be played in a variety of settings ranging from a youth group to a Sunday night service or even an in home viewing.

Simply put, what Jews for Jesus is doing is important because they focus on Jesus, the central figure of history, Christianity and faith. The greatest thing that can be shared is the message of Jesus and that is what Jews for Jesus seeks to do.

Official trailer for "Awakening"

Movie review by Ben Cabe
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