Basic Christianity

by John Stott     |     Book Summary


Author: John Stott
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Date: 1958, 2008
Pages: 160

Book Summary of Basic Christianity by John Stott


In the 20th and 21st centuries, many people have turned their back on the church. These people object to institutional power, entrenched privilege, and religious corruption. "Yet what they have rejected is the contemporary church, not Jesus Christ himself." (p. xi) When one begins to study the person of Jesus, one finds a man who was anti-establishment, revolutionary, and virtuous. For all of these reasons, the person of Jesus is strangely appealing to many who want nothing to do with the church. 

While the spirit of the age may have more or less attraction to Jesus and His church, the central question we must answer about Jesus is this: "Was he true?" (p. Xi, emphasis in original)

There is little question about whether or not Jesus of Nazareth was a historical figure. Biblical and non-biblical sources clearly attest to His existence. The question we must wrestle with is whether or not we can "believe that he was also in some sense 'God'?" (p. xii). If Jesus was who He claimed to be, everything changes. If Jesus was not who He claimed to be, we may simply dispense with the entirety of the Christian faith.





Basic Christianity

by John Stott

[ Book Summary ]



Book Summary of Basic Christianity by John Stott

Author John Stott
Publisher William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Date 958, 2008
Pages 160


Overview:

In the 20th and 21st centuries, many people have turned their back on the church. These people object to institutional power, entrenched privilege, and religious corruption. "Yet what they have rejected is the contemporary church, not Jesus Christ himself." (p. xi) When one begins to study the person of Jesus, one finds a man who was anti-establishment, revolutionary, and virtuous. For all of these reasons, the person of Jesus is strangely appealing to many who want nothing to do with the church. 

While the spirit of the age may have more or less attraction to Jesus and His church, the central question we must answer about Jesus is this: "Was he true?" (p. Xi, emphasis in original)

There is little question about whether or not Jesus of Nazareth was a historical figure. Biblical and non-biblical sources clearly attest to His existence. The question we must wrestle with is whether or not we can "believe that he was also in some sense 'God'?" (p. xii). If Jesus was who He claimed to be, everything changes. If Jesus was not who He claimed to be, we may simply dispense with the entirety of the Christian faith.