GAGGING JESUS
Things Jesus said we wish he hadn’t
By Phil Moore
Monarch Books. 126 pages. £4.99
ISBN 978 0 857 214 539
What did Jesus really say? In the introduction to Gagging Jesus, Phil Moore points out how throughout history the teaching of Jesus has often been ‘gagged’. As he explains: ‘everyone wants to put their own words into Jesus’s mouth and make him say exactly what they want to hear.’
Exclusively using the only reliable source, the Bible, Gagging Jesus sets out to ‘ungag’ Jesus, concentrating on 15 areas of Jesus’s teaching that the subtitle of the book suggests are ‘things Jesus said we wish he hadn’t’.
This aim is achieved very well and the teaching of Jesus is applied by setting out what it really means to be a follower of him. There are 15 very readable short chapters, covering subjects such as forgiveness, anger and poverty. It is unlikely that any Christian will remain unmoved and unchallenged. Where this book should really come into its own is with those exploring the faith, new believers, or Christians whose faith has never really matured.
The book isn’t perfect. While the task of evangelism is featured, it is a shame that there is no chapter dedicated to it. The chapter that covers Jesus’s teaching on lust is provocatively named ‘Jesus on Pornography and Masturbation’, which will no doubt rouse interest, but will probably be unnecessarily offensive to some. And while it is normal for a book to promote other material from the author, it is off-putting that this was the only content in the final part of the book entitled ‘Next steps: walking daily with the ungagged Jesus’.
Overall, this is a great book. It is simple, but challenging and although I’m not about to buy a copy for every member of our church, it will feature as part of my arsenal of books to lend or give at appropriate times.
