The Original Jesus: Trading the Myths We Create for the Savior Who Is by Daniel Darling

★★★✩✩

"Who do you say that I am?"

From hit songs to bumper stickers to football eye-black, Jesus is trending high wherever you look. But at the end of the day, many "try Jesus" and come away disappointed in the experience. That's because the Jesus of popular culture looks much more like us than the God-man who appeared in the flesh two thousand years ago. We've developed plenty of imposter Jesuses that feed into our selfish desires – Guru Jesus, Braveheart Jesus, Dr. Phil Jesus, Free-Range Jesus. The problem is, they don't have the power to save us or transform us into new creations.

The Original Jesus calls us back to the Jesus who demands our worship – the potter who molds us, the clay. Seekers, skeptics, and sojourners in the way of faith will see Jesus for who he really is: God in the flesh, calling us to surrender our very lives that we may truly live.

In The Original Jesus: Trading the Myths We Create for the Savior Who Is, Daniel Darling addresses many misconceptions society has constructed around the character of Jesus and determines to show, too, how the biblical Jesus is better than the misconceptions. I think Darling has a lot of valuable points about Jesus and who he is, and I appreciated his perspective on the various misconceptions. However, I do wish the writing of the book was organized in a better way to more effectively and directly make its points, along with a clearer, more distinct definition of each “Jesus.” Still, Darling offers good information in The Original Jesus and it could provide an insightful and quick read to any reader.

Thanks to Baker Book Bloggers, I received a copy of The Original Jesus and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.