Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follow..., Tom Krattenmaker
Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follow..., Tom Krattenmaker
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Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower
Finding Answers in Jesus for Those Who Don't Believe

Author: Tom Krattenmaker

Narrator: Tom Krattenmaker

Unabridged: 6 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/04/2016

Synopsis

An award-winning USA Today columnist makes the case for how a Jesus freed from religion and politics meets the need for meaning and purpose in secular America.
 
Tom Krattenmaker is part of a growing conversation centered at Yale University that acknowledges—and seeks to address—the abiding need for meaning and inspiration in post-religious America. What, they ask, gives a life meaning? What constitutes a life well led?
  
In Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower, Krattenmaker shares his surprising conclusion about where input and inspiration might best be found: in the figure of Jesus. And Jesus, not only as a good example and teacher, but Jesus as the primary guide for one's life.
 
Drawing on sociological research, personal experience, and insights from fifteen years studying and writing on religion in American public life, Krattenmaker shows that in Jesus, nonreligious people like himself can find unique and compelling wisdom on how to honor the humanity in ourselves and others, how to build more peaceful lives, how generosity can help people and communities create more abundance, how to break free from self-defeating behaviors, and how to tip the scales toward justice.
 
In a time when more people than ever are identifying as atheist or agnostic, Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower is a groundbreaking and compelling work that rediscovers Jesus--and our own best selves--for the world of today.

About The Author

Tom Krattenmaker is an award-winning author and USA Today contributing columnist, specializing in religion in public life, and communications director at Yale Divinity School. His books and articles have been honored by the American Academy of Religion, Religion Newswriters Association, Foreword Reviews, and others. Krattenmaker has spoken at numerous conferences and colleges around the country and has appeared in media outlets including PBS, Fox News, National Public Radio, ESPN, and the New York Times.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kelly on January 14, 2017

I was pretty fascinated by this book. As a life-long conservative Christian, it was hard to wrap my brain around the concept of a secular Jesus follower. The author is very clear that he follows the teachings and examples Jesus set forth in His time on earth but he rejects the notion of salvation or......more

Goodreads review by David on January 05, 2017

Jesus Christ stands at the very center of human history. He has inspired and transformed millions of people from the small town of Nazareth to the great cities of the world. He has revolutionized the humble and humbled the affluent. Church historian Jaroslav Pelican writes, “Regardless of what anyon......more

Goodreads review by Talbot on February 20, 2017

Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower leaves me with no strong impressions. I can see, perhaps, why the author felt inspired to write such a book, and why people would, perhaps, stand to gain something from it, but it was not written in a particularly skilled or meaningful way; it is a standard to......more

Goodreads review by Emma on May 22, 2017

This book, written by a secular Biblical scholar, strips away the Trinity dogma and questions like "Did Jesus really walk on water?" It instead focuses on the valuable teachings of the standout wise man, Jesus of Nazareth, disregarding his status as man or god. Shockingly (or maybe not so), the peop......more

Goodreads review by Katie on March 02, 2019

I absolutely loved this book! In a strange twist of events, it was actually my sister who recommended it to me (strange because I was the one who minored in religious studies and the one who seemed to be hit by the spirituality stick at a very early age). I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherw......more

Quotes

“Is there a contradiction between believing that ‘Jesus is the answer’ and not being a Christian? In this spiritually honest book, Krattenmaker is intent on showing that there isn’t. Whether you are a Christian or not, whether you are religious or not, you will benefit from his wrestling with Jesus as the embodiment of the ‘true life,’ the key to human flourishing. An important book in a culture in which Jesus has for many become a ‘moral stranger.’”
-Miroslav Volf, professor of theology at Yale University, author of Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World
 
“In a book rich with meaning for believers and nonbelievers alike, Tom Krattenmaker offers insightful analysis of American culture and makes a uniquely compelling case for the transformative nature of Jesus.”
-Kirsten Powers, USA Today columnist, author of The Silencing
 
"This is an important book; brilliantly subversive and extraordinarily helpful. This gift is for any of us 'in search of a sun' around which to orbit our lives."
-William Paul Young, bestselling author of The Shack and Eve
 
"Tom Krattenmaker is a keen observer of culture and the American religious landscape, and I read everything he writes. In Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower, Krattenmaker offers readers surprising reflections on the benefits of modeling one's life based on Jesus's ministry and teachings. While the book purports to speak to non-believers, don't be fooled. A committed Christian will glean as much from this book as an avowed atheist."
-Jonathan Merritt, author of Jesus is Better Than You Imagined and contributing writer for The Atlantic
 
While too many of us in the Christian world are picking each other apart, Tom is about the real, substantive work of Jesus, right here and now. 
-Christian Piatt, author of Leaving A-Holiness Behind and postChristian, host of the Homebrewed CultureCast

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