Customer Reviews

Jesus the Rebel: Bearer of God's Peace and Justice

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If you want to be comfortable and continue to feel all warm and fuzzy with your Christian faith, don't read this book! John Dears read on the Christian message hits home hard and in a big way. It challenged me on many levels, as material consumer, as peace maker, as one person challenging the system, whether it be political or religious. It clearly outlined the mission, as a call to work for justice at every point in our life. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is searching for the deeper meaning of the Christian message. Mary Routh Ankeny, Ia joyfam@dwx.com

I was amazed at this book, and the impact it has had on my life, and choices I have orignally made. This book tells of the Gospel of Jesus and relates it to everyday modern life, and choices we must all make. I never really understood the messages behind the gospels I read this book. This book relates the Christian message behind the death penalty, civil disobediance, belief in faith, and your sprititual journey in life. The book is well written and easy to understand. Each chapter starts out with a chapter in one of the Gospels and then relates it to modern day life. I will be forever changed by the reading of this book.

Having read John Dear's Transfiguration: A Meditation on Transforming Ourselves and Our World, watched his DVD "The Narrow Path, Walking Toward Peace and Nonviolence with John Dear, SJ", read his weekly essays on ncrcafe.org, and listened to Fr. John speak, I thought I knew what to expect in JESUS THE REBEL. I was wrong - it was even more compelling than I knew it would be. Fr. John is walking the walk. He has been imprisioned for his pro-peace activities and is currently facing further punitive actions by a judge in Albuquerque for a peaceful demonstration against the Iraq War. We need to spread his story and join him in personally reinforcing Jesus's message of nonviolence if we want to put an end to answering violence with violence. The hypocrisy of the US in claiming to be a Christian nation while bombing anyone anywhere must be exposed. JESUS THE REBEL is powerful reading anytime, but especially during Lent and Holy Week. I am delighted that Fr. John has been nominated for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize by Archbishop Tutu. All the more reason to recommend his books.

The Rev. Father John Dear as always clearly and concisely presents with great courage the essential message of Jesus Christ and His mission to liberate the captive, comfort and free the oppressed, bring sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf and to declare a year of Jubilee (as Father Dear quotes Jesus quoting Isaiah early on).

The importance of this book for prayerful reading by EVERY Christian grows each year as our various elf-proclaimed Christian Churches appear to lose our way in Christ. Read especially around page twenty of how we service the objectives of the current Empire rather than our one true Lord. Not all who cry Lord Lord will get into the Kingdom.

Courageously and clearly, the Rev. Father Dear wrote these words last millenium which grow more relevant each year. Please read them very carefully and prayerfully. Read as well his other volumes, which truly open to us the true meaning of Christ's eternal mission today, and which are available here on amazon very inexpensively. I truly hope some of that goes to support the good work and essential writing of Father Dear.

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The genius of most of Dear's book resides in its utter simplicity. One need not be a scholar to read his work. His books, this one included, are mostly short chapters that eschew thick theological jargon, and, therefore, make for a very easy read. At the same time, the simpleness of Dear's writing, in terms of laying out the basics of reading Jesus well, makes Christianity such a dangerously difficult path to follow--esp. in a 'Christian' world. Whatever Jesus is about, he is certainly not about affirming our ultra-violent, materialistic, and bigoted world. Yet, Dear does not simply preach Jesus to us, he lives it in the very way he imagines to be alternatives to our fallen landscape (as is attested in his new, highly recommended, autobiography). This book is perfect for small groups or for one's own religious path.

Anyone can slap a cross on their chest (or attend church) and claim to follow Jesus. This book gives the reader a much deeper insight into what Jesus' life actually represents. Jesus did not judge people. Jesus used nonviolent civil disobedience in a determined effort to bring about justice for the poor. He opposed war and a corrupt state. He befriended and advocated for the poor, the sick and the downtrodden. His ultimate aim was Love. In short, Jesus was an extraordinary activist in his times. And by extrapolation, the book intimates that if we are to truly call ourselves followers, then we too must actively engage society and seek justice for all. Highly recommended if the reader wants an authentic understanding of Christ.