The Jesus Scandals: Why He Shocked His Contemporaries (And Still Shocks Them Today)

The author's aim is to help thinking lay persons and people preparing sermons to apply NT ethics within a modern culture, while still remaining faithful to the text - by taking into account the ancient culture. This is high quality scholarship at a very accessible level. Over the centuries Jesus's teaching on ethical matters has often become muted and distorted. This book sets the matter straight. Here are 30 areas of ethical debate: in each context Jesus offered insights which would have left his contemporaries agape. They range from singleness (rare: could Jesus be trusted?) to abortion (unwanted children were strangled, and the early church notably took a strong stance against this practice) to sexual immorality (the NT church had an unusually high number of people who had been sexually promiscuous) to boasting (Jesus taught his disciples to take lowly titles as he did for himself, but the church ignored him). David Instone-Brewer unravels history to discover what has been lost over the centuries - what Jesus' contemporaries really thought about him and his teaching. Jesus scandalized both friends and enemies. Tops covered include: -his parentage and accusations of alcohol abuse and fraudulent miracles -the dubious status of his followers - poorly educated, ex-prostitutes and the certifiably mad -his anti-religious teaching on temple practices, eternal torment, easy divorces and judgement in this life -his thoughts of suicide, shameful execution and impossible resurrection Faithful to the biblical text, this carefully researched book can be read as a whole or as stand-alone chapters. Useful for house groups and as discussion starters. Although Western Culture Has Been Shaped For Centuries By Christian Teaching, A Closer Study Of The Bible Reveals That We Routinely Ignore The Uncomfortable Heart Of New Testament Ethics. It's Too Extreme, Too Confrontational. Even Christians Pander To The World's Way Of Thinking, Making The Astonishing Bland. -- Publisher's Description. David Instone-brewer. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Over the centuries, Jesus's teaching on ethical matters has often become muted and distorted. Here, David Instone-Brewer shows how Jesus offered revolutionary and luminous insights into knotty ethical dilemmas Scandals are our best guarantee of historical truths in the gospels.