Official Review: The Forgotten Gospel of Jesus
Posted: 09 Aug 2020, 22:07
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Forgotten Gospel of Jesus" by Charles W. Heavilin.]
"We must first maintain the essential nature of Christianity by examining and building on the central message of Christ." This is a quote from Charles W. Heavilin, early in his book, The Forgotten Gospel of Jesus. In this book, Heavilin delves into the ways in which modern Christianity has strayed away from the true teachings of Christ.
Heavilin begins the book by explaining how, due to so many various religious beliefs, Christians have become more concerned about being right and doing what they are told to do, regardless of whether or not they know the words spoken by Jesus about the matter. As a result, many contemporary Christians are following men's teachings without taking it upon themselves to learn the true words spoken in the Bible and applying those words to their own lives. The author feels like the only way to have a true relationship with Jesus is to turn from many of the contemporary ways of the Christian church. He stresses that there is no higher authority than Christ and that Christians need to put aside their worldly idols. He says that these idols can even come in the form of religious practices that they claim are being done to glorify God. Throughout the book, Heavilin discusses many ways that we can get back to the basics of a Christ-led life.
The author made so many truthful statements about the condition of Christianity in today's world. He made a very true statement that "A Christian is one who puts into practice the teachings of Christ." Another quote that holds great truth is "Sadly, more often than we care to admit, our political priorities may overbalance our understanding of and commitment to Christ's teachings." Those are only a few of the many inspirational quotes and musings of the author as he made his way through the book. I can honestly say that I have not highlighted quotes in a book as often as I did in this one. Almost every statement he makes provokes deep thought.
One aspect of his discussion that I feel is especially true is that many modern Christians tend to use their religious beliefs as a way to flaunt their goodness and as a way to appear more religious and righteous than others. While I will strongly say that this is not true of all Christians, I have seen some who do that very thing.
I did have a particular disagreement with the way in which one subject was handled. Near the end of the book, the author brought out his opinion that many religious spiritual gifts, particularly speaking in tongues, are not biblical and do not align with teachings of Christ. While I do agree that many people use these gifts as a way to gain attention and appear more holy, there are truly those who are sincere in these actions. I feel like there are some who can really communicate with God during these moments, and not everyone does this in an extravagant manner for others to see. It is fine if the author does not believe in these practices. However, I feel like, in order to align with what seemed to be the general idea of the book up to that point, he should have focused more on the ways that these practices can result in worship of power and attention. He made it sound like anyone who has this belief is wrong and that the practice itself is unbiblical. He even made mention of particular religious groups, which I feel could turn away a large number of Christians who may decide to read this book. I just feel that, instead of condemning any particular religion as a whole, he could have mentioned that many of those spiritual gifts can be used in the wrong way if the person is not truly connecting to God in the process.
Despite that one shortcoming, this is a very thought-provoking book that I would recommend to all Christians, even those that could, like me, disagree with some aspects. There is always something to learn from other viewpoints. I am rating the book 3 out of 4 stars. My reason for not rating the full 4 stars is not due to disagreeing with a viewpoint. I don't deduct ratings simply due to differing viewpoints. I believe that the point of reading is to see something from someone's else's point of view and to consider how they came to that view. I just felt like that section strayed from the thought process that the majority of the book held, and it tended to zone in on a particular religion. Overall, though, the author has written a wonderful book, and it is one that I definitely recommend.
******
The Forgotten Gospel of Jesus
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
"We must first maintain the essential nature of Christianity by examining and building on the central message of Christ." This is a quote from Charles W. Heavilin, early in his book, The Forgotten Gospel of Jesus. In this book, Heavilin delves into the ways in which modern Christianity has strayed away from the true teachings of Christ.
Heavilin begins the book by explaining how, due to so many various religious beliefs, Christians have become more concerned about being right and doing what they are told to do, regardless of whether or not they know the words spoken by Jesus about the matter. As a result, many contemporary Christians are following men's teachings without taking it upon themselves to learn the true words spoken in the Bible and applying those words to their own lives. The author feels like the only way to have a true relationship with Jesus is to turn from many of the contemporary ways of the Christian church. He stresses that there is no higher authority than Christ and that Christians need to put aside their worldly idols. He says that these idols can even come in the form of religious practices that they claim are being done to glorify God. Throughout the book, Heavilin discusses many ways that we can get back to the basics of a Christ-led life.
The author made so many truthful statements about the condition of Christianity in today's world. He made a very true statement that "A Christian is one who puts into practice the teachings of Christ." Another quote that holds great truth is "Sadly, more often than we care to admit, our political priorities may overbalance our understanding of and commitment to Christ's teachings." Those are only a few of the many inspirational quotes and musings of the author as he made his way through the book. I can honestly say that I have not highlighted quotes in a book as often as I did in this one. Almost every statement he makes provokes deep thought.
One aspect of his discussion that I feel is especially true is that many modern Christians tend to use their religious beliefs as a way to flaunt their goodness and as a way to appear more religious and righteous than others. While I will strongly say that this is not true of all Christians, I have seen some who do that very thing.
I did have a particular disagreement with the way in which one subject was handled. Near the end of the book, the author brought out his opinion that many religious spiritual gifts, particularly speaking in tongues, are not biblical and do not align with teachings of Christ. While I do agree that many people use these gifts as a way to gain attention and appear more holy, there are truly those who are sincere in these actions. I feel like there are some who can really communicate with God during these moments, and not everyone does this in an extravagant manner for others to see. It is fine if the author does not believe in these practices. However, I feel like, in order to align with what seemed to be the general idea of the book up to that point, he should have focused more on the ways that these practices can result in worship of power and attention. He made it sound like anyone who has this belief is wrong and that the practice itself is unbiblical. He even made mention of particular religious groups, which I feel could turn away a large number of Christians who may decide to read this book. I just feel that, instead of condemning any particular religion as a whole, he could have mentioned that many of those spiritual gifts can be used in the wrong way if the person is not truly connecting to God in the process.
Despite that one shortcoming, this is a very thought-provoking book that I would recommend to all Christians, even those that could, like me, disagree with some aspects. There is always something to learn from other viewpoints. I am rating the book 3 out of 4 stars. My reason for not rating the full 4 stars is not due to disagreeing with a viewpoint. I don't deduct ratings simply due to differing viewpoints. I believe that the point of reading is to see something from someone's else's point of view and to consider how they came to that view. I just felt like that section strayed from the thought process that the majority of the book held, and it tended to zone in on a particular religion. Overall, though, the author has written a wonderful book, and it is one that I definitely recommend.
******
The Forgotten Gospel of Jesus
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon