A Controversial Topic

Now I've sparked your attention with my heading, haven't I? Haven't I?

Well . . . I try.

I'll give you one guess as to what my controversial topic is:

Have you figured it out?

Jesus Christ.

Please don't stop reading! I'm not going to bash you over the head with the gospel! I just want to talk about this a little.

Who was Jesus? Just some bastard son of a Jewish girl and an unknown father? The legitimate son of a Galilean carpenter? Just another crazy prophet who the Romans killed because he got a bit too outspoken? Or was he really what he said he was: the Son of God?

Jesus is a fascinating person to read about, even if you don't believe that he was God, that he died and was resurrected. Here are a few books about him if you're interested:

Fiction

1. The Robe, by Lloyd C. Douglas. This is a retelling of the crucifixion of Jesus told from the view of a Roman centurion. It's super long, but I think it's worth it.
2. Pontius Pilate, by Paul L. Maier. Another retelling of Jesus' crucifixion, but this time the main character is, predictably, Pontius Pilate. Really made me think, especially about Jesus' trial.

Nonfiction

1. The Jesus I Never Knew, by Phillip Yancey. I highly recommend this book! It looks at Jesus in ways that are rarely thought about.
2. More Than a Carpenter, by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell. If you choose to read this one, just know that it's very much geared toward converting you to Christianity, but it's a great book.
3. Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis.
4. Your God is Too Small, by J.B. Phillips.

So! For those of you who are interested, there are some books about Jesus. Like I said, even if you just believe that he was a semi-deluded dude (thought he was God) who had some good things to say ("love one another"), these books, especially the first three on the list, are fascinating to read.

Have you read any of these books? What do you think about Jesus?