Theology as if Jesus Matters: An Introduction to Christianity's Main Convictions.

Kaethler, Andrew Brubacher

Theology as if Jesus Matters is an accessible and persuasive articulation of why theology must always begin with and keep returning to the life of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels. The immediate goals of the book are to "rehabilitate theology" for those who feel the church is irrelevant (15) and to reclaim theology from those who benefit when it is not consistent with the life of Jesus.

One problem addressed in the book, then, is "dishonest theology," which occurs when values stated in doctrines, prayers, mission statements, songs, and more differ from the values or "embedded" beliefs that actually inform our practices in daily life (18-20). The problem, however, is deeper than the misalignment of actual theology to stated theology. A central argument in the book is that formal doctrines tend to induce theological amnesia regarding the life and lived values of Jesus. A corollary argument is that Christians have tended to allow doctrines to function as "ends" rather than as "aids." Grimsrud contends that a "doctrine-first" Christology leads to the "Christological evasion of Jesus" (33).

By contrast, Grimsrud advances a "practice-first" Christology (34), which he emphatically asserts should form the content of theology and ethics as well as the methods that undergird them. The life and ministry of Jesus Christ most concretely and most completely reveal God's character and God's hierarchy of values (43). The life of Jesus Christ is normative and constitutes the primary "ordering point" for how Christians ought to live (23). Jesus' pattern of life is a pattern for all time (36).

Having established the life of Jesus as the ordering point in the first two chapters, Grimsrud then addresses many of the traditional categories of theology (God, the Holy Spirit, creation, revelation, humanity, community, sacraments, eschatology, and the Christian life), each "as if Jesus matters." Grimsrud consistently loops back to the conviction that Jesus stands for radical love, respect for the disrespected, and a commitment to dismantle the powers of violence and domination, and he consistently reminds the reader that Christians and the church must stand for these qualities too.

For example, in chapter 11, Grimsrud considers religions of the world. He posits that Jesus' words in John 14:6 ("I am the way, the truth and the life ...") disclose God's fundamental character as merciful and reveal God's desire for all humanity to love God and love our neighbor (168-170). God blesses all the families of the earth, and God desires all humanity to learn and practice the ways of peace (172) and challenge injustice in all its forms.

The book has numerous strengths. First, Grimsrud's practice-first Christological method is provocative and compelling. He exposes the ways in which doctrine-first Christology is incomplete and abstract. He insists that the order matters (32), and he consistently exemplifies this in his writing while he challenges readers to reorient their own convictions and practices. It is evident that Grimsrud genuinely desires for all people a whole-body, whole-life encounter with Jesus.

Second, the book is accessible to the lay reader. Great care is taken to engage weighty issues without losing readers in technical, unfamiliar jargon. The book is for all people in the church who desire to think deeply and live as disciples of Jesus.

Third, the Bible remains the key resource as Grimsrud demonstrates how one can read various parts of Scripture through the lens of Jesus' life. Grimsrud's approach compels the reader to take the Bible seriously and authoritatively without falling into bibliolatry.

Grimsrud's work, however, also exhibits weaknesses. For example, the book excels in fostering anemnisis, or right remembering, but it falls short in suggesting everyday forms of ascesis, or right resistance, to embody this corrected account of Christianity's main convictions. Since a central contention is that the life and practices of Jesus have been overlooked, Jesus' practices of resistance need to be given greater attention. The "Christological evasion" might have been countered by a more robust account of "Christological invasion," complete with concrete examples of what this might look like for today's disciples.

A second shortcoming is found in Grimsrud's replies to the responders in the closing section; his words are too brief and somewhat dismissive. Two pages are insufficient to engage the substantive issues raised by the four responders. By not addressing his interlocutors in depth, Grimsrud implies that communal discernment is not valued. For example, in response to Doug Harink's criticism that the "cosmic and historical powers" are ignored (210), Grimsrud brusquely replies, "I am especially grateful for Doug Harink's response for illustrating the kind of theology I seek to articulate an alternative to" and "I confess that I don't know what he means by 'the great cosmic battle' " (217). Grimsrud then invokes John Howard Yoder to redouble his emphasis on a story-based Christology but fails to acknowledge that Yoder himself engages the topic of the cosmic powers.

Third, the dichotomy between Christology informed by metaphysics or doctrine and that formed by the life of Jesus is portrayed overly simplistically. Grimsrud ignores relevant questions such as whether the problem is with "being" per se or with a particular metaphysical account. Grimsrud uncritically perpetuates the doctrine/life dichotomy by simply emphasizing the other side, the life of Jesus. Similarly, Grimsrud accepts a sloppy dichotomy between assumptions from doctrine and conclusions from the life of Jesus (35). Grimsrud is not candid enough in acknowledging that his Christocentric theology is also an interpretation, complete with his own assumptions.

Fourth, the Bible may be used extensively, but Grimsrud privileges the Genesis-prophets-Gospels trajectory without an adequate account of how to resolve tensions that emerge between this trajectory and, for example, Pauline material.

Fifth, Grimsrud does not guard carefully enough against conflating theology and Christology. In her response, Brenda Martin Hurst wonders if Grimsrud gives Jesus greater priority than God. Grimsrud replies that Jesus provides the "interpretive lens" of the Bible's portrayal of God. Yet Hurst's question stands since Grimsrud does not apply Jesus' interpretive lens even to the "difficult words or troublesome teachings" of Jesus (209). In other words, Grimsrud does not provide adequate space for revelation outside of Jesus.

Finally, in order to maintain the normativeness of Jesus' life for our lives today, a more fully developed account of contextual differences between Jesus' culture and our culture is necessary.

As the fifth book in The Living Issues Discussion Series from Cascadia Publishing House, Grimsrud's work is consistent with previous books in the series in that it aims to provoke "serious and lively discussion," as the publisher notes, within study groups and among pastors, lay leaders, and church theologians. While this contribution differs in that it does not pick up on a controversial issue that is front and center in the life of the church, Grimsrud's contribution ultimately equips the church to grapple with difficult issues better than doctrinal approaches.

This book must be counted among a short list of resources that provide direction for anyone who actively seeks to make Jesus' life normative for the Christian life today.

Theology as if Jesus Matters: An Introduction to Christianity's Main Convictions. by Ted Grimsrud. Telford, Pa.: Cascadia Publishing House. 2009. Pp. 232. $19.95.

Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary ANDREW BRUBSCHER KAETHLER