What Jesus Meant [Hardcover]

Garry Wills (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 2, 2006

As the religious rhetoric of the culture wars escalates, New York Times bestselling author and eminent scholar Garry Wills explores the meaning of Jesus’s teachings

In what are billed as "culture wars," people on the political right and the political left cite Jesus as endorsing their views. Garry Wills argues that Jesus subscribed to no political program. He was far more radical than that. In a fresh reading of the gospels, Wills explores the meaning of the "reign of heaven" Jesus not only promised for the future but brought with him into this life. It is only by dodges and evasions that people misrepresent what Jesus plainly had to say against power, the wealthy, and religion itself. Jesus came from the lower class, the working class, and he spoke to and for that class. This is a book that will challenge the assumptions of almost everyone who brings religion into politics—"Christian socialists" as well as biblical theocrats.

But Wills is just as critical of those who would make Jesus a mere ethical teacher, ignoring or playing down his divinity. Jesus without the Resurrection is simply not the Jesus of the gospels. Wills calls his book a profession of faith in the risen Lord, the Son of the Father, who leads us to the Father. He argues that this does not make people embrace an otherworldliness that ignores the poor or the problems of our time.

What Jesus Meant will no doubt spark debate about our understanding of Jesus and the Scriptures, especially as we head into midterm elections that will certainly prompt many heated discussions on the role of religion in our society.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Christianity has been twisted and warped to such an extent that not even Jesus would recognize it now. This is Wills's thesis in his stimulating, fresh look into the life and message of Jesus of Nazareth. The now-ubiquitous phrase, "What Would Jesus Do?" encouraged Wills, professor of history at Northwestern University and prolific writer on contemporary religion, to take a closer look at how the Christian message has been used and abused in recent times. Wills believes that most Christians don't understand Jesus' startlingly radical message, so they should not claim to have knowledge of how he would act today. People of all political persuasions have used Jesus' words to rationalize a domesticated, flaccid Christianity that upholds the status quo, or, worse yet, supports discrimination toward those who are on the margins. This attitude, according to Wills, completely misses the truth that Jesus "walks through social barriers and taboos as if they were cobwebs." Readers who are familiar with Wills's writing know that he is not shy about critiquing organized religion, and they will not be disappointed. Although his arguments lean toward hyperbole at times, at its core this book invites Christians toward more honest reflection on the life and message of the one they call "Savior." (Mar. 6)
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From Booklist

From the foreword's critique of the initials WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) and politicians who claim to be guided by the slogan, Wills' explication of the canonical expressions of Jesus may seem to merit the publicity pitch that the book is a pre-midterm-elections volley in the politico-religious theater of the culture wars. It is much better than such touting suggests. For instance, instead of co-opting the Christian Right-associated WWJD for liberals, Wills directs us to such things as 12-year-old Jesus sneaking off to palaver at the temple without telling his parents, and grown-up Jesus telling others to hate their parents and asserting "I am the truth." This is scandalous behavior in a person, comprehensible only of "a divine mystery walking among men," Wills says. Looking more closely at Jesus' words and deeds, Wills says we find God with us in them, and an inescapably egalitarian message of love. Jesus establishes no institutions and endorses no political structure or leader. Indeed, he rails against religious hierarchy in the harshest terms, and he utterly divorces religion from politics. Yes, he preaches justice, but beyond justice, he preaches the personal acceptance and security of love. Wills' dissent from certain pro-clerical and exclusivist statements Benedict XVI has made assure him the continued opprobrium of institutional church hardliners, but his portrayal of Jesus the radical is so profoundly familiar as to be irrefutable. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (March 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670034967
• ISBN-13: 978-0670034963
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Garry Wills is one of the most respected writers on religion today. He is the author of Saint Augustine's Childhood, Saint Augustine's Memory, and Saint Augustine's Sin, the first three volumes in this series, as well as the Penguin Lives biography Saint Augustine. His other books include "Negro President": Jefferson and the Slave Power, Why I Am a Catholic, Papal Sin, and Lincoln at Gettysburg, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

295 of 321 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Introduction To The Historical Jesus By a Believer March 9, 2006

By C. Hutton

Format:Hardcover

Garry Wills is a historian specializing in the first 100 years of America (see "Lincoln At Gettysburg"-1992 and "Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence"-1994 among his other works). He is also a practicing Catholic who has written about "Saint Augustine" (1999) and "The Rosary" (2005) and other works about Christianity. His newest endeavor, "What Jesus Meant" explores what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

This slender volume can be read at one sitting but will cause the reader to ponder the author's title. Many Christians forget that Jesus hung out with society's outcasts of his day, had few possessions, was apolitical, and yet his radical message of love and redemption, healing the sick/raising the dead and challenging the religious structure of his day contributed to his crucifixation. Image Jesus among us today: eating with prostitutes, AIDS victims and drug abusers: claiming no party affiliation; condeming the wealthy; and challenging the rigidity of the institutional Church while calling the reader to give up all your possessions to follow Him. Mr. Wills writes as a believer to explain the faith while accepting the historical Jesus. For the reader who desires to move beyond Mr. Wills' brief introduction to Jesus, please read any of the works by either John Meier (especially his three volumes entitled "A Marginal Jew"), Ray Brown ("The Death of the Messiah") or Gunther Bornkamm ("Jesus of Nazareth").

59 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply moving, deeply spiritual book April 17, 2006

By Robert H. Stine Jr.

Format:Hardcover

I very much enjoyed this book. It's a quick but thought-provoking read, and I plan to re-read it in the near future. In part because of his expertise in Koine, the original language of the New Testament, Wills is able to breathe life and provide insight into many well-known Biblical passages.

The viewpoint is from that of a devout believer. As I was reading Wills's book, I was also reading "Mere Christianity", by C.S. Lewis, and I was struck by the similarity in outlook of the two authors. Although I recognize that some of the passages critical of church hierarchy in general and Pope Benedict XVI in particular will ruffle some feathers, Wills did not seem to stray from Scripture or interject modern political sensibilities into the Christian message. In fact, the hypocrisy of attempting to use Jesus' message for worldly purposes is one of the book's major themes.

"What Jesus Meant" would be a good companion volume for anyone who is working through the New Testament.

146 of 165 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not For the Right or the Left--Well Worth Reading March 27, 2006

By Big D VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Those who would align Jesus with today's poltical right or political left (and there are both) may not like this book. They may well brand it heresy...But those of us who think Jesus was not a political figure in the sense of today's thinking will find it well worth the read. Much of modern religion tries to compartmentalize Jesus to espouse their preconceived notions. Thus the title of the book: "What Jesus Meant" It could be subtitled "What Jesus REALLY Meant!" A reader who approaches this book with an open mind and a sincere search for knowledge and truth will find this to be a valuable read. Those who come with preconceived notions of their own infalibility will be threatened by it. Read it. Think. That is part "working out" one's faith.