Review:

The Jesus Creed: Loving God, loving others

It won a major Christianity Today Book award 2005, but it is hard to see why. Scot McKnight believes we need to grasp how Jesus radically amends the Jewish creed (the ‘shema’ from Deut 6:4f) to the call to ‘Love God and love others’, and that this is the key to spiritual formation. This theme punctuates the five part sections of the book: which focus on the creed, key individuals in the Gospels, the kingdom, discipleship, and major points in the life of Jesus. Includes some fascinating background on the text as befits a professor in Religious Studies at North Park University, Chicago. But I am none the wiser on how the Jesus creed actually helped form the Twelve, or what steps I need to take ‘to live before God in the world’ something McKnight promised in the preface.

Excellent background value for preachers, but less help for those who can’t join the dots.

High point: Fresh thinking on well-known stories

Low point: Needs more on putting truth into practise.

***

£8.99

Continuum

056704033

Reviewed by Andy Peck, deputy editor of Christianity and author of Coached by Christ.

Price: £8.99