Forthcoming Unity Book on Christology

Rev. Dr. Thomas Shepherd, a Unity minister and chair of the Historical and Theological Studies department at Unity Institute, is coming out with a new book this summer that is centered on Christology - the theological term for the study of who Jesus Christ is and his importance for Christians. It is going to be entitled: And He Walks with Me: Jesus 2.1 - Interactive Edition.

This should be a very intriguing and instructive Unity Christological perspective. Here is an excerpt from the beginning of Dr. Tom's book, explaining the rationale for writing such a text:

"Why add to the towering pile of books about Jesus of Nazareth? One might reasonably argue that too much has already been written about him. What possible good can another volume of Jesus-talk do in today’s postmodern, post-911, post-Christian world? Surely, all the great ideas about the man from Galilee have already fought their way into print. What fair wind of change could another discourse on Christology—by yet another self-appointed theologian—add to the hurricane of words blowing through Christendom for the past 2,000 years? People have continued to eat, drink, marry and give in marriage, and they have muddled through quite nicely without the current volume to guide them. Isn’t it obvious that, while making their lives and raising their families, people have successfully managed to make and re-make Jesus Christ based on the needs of each successive era?

"Yet, it is just that observation—the successive re-making of Jesus, vertically through history and horizontally through contemporary cultures—which distinguishes this book from other works of Christology. And He Walks With Me: Jesus 2.1 – Interactive Edition differs takes seriously the creative process by which people have shaped their Jesuses. In fact, I will argue that creative interaction with inherited images and ideas about Jesus constitutes a healthy, positive course of intellectual and spiritual growth, an essential component in any understanding of Jesus Christ and the faith bearing his name."

This excerpt (as well as my familiarity with his past work) leads me to believe that Dr. Tom's treatise will likely be engagingly written, relevant to our present contextual concerns in 21st century America, and well-informed in terms of the primary and secondary sources used in treating biblical and theological problems. It also is a much needed academically sound and intellectually stimulating treatment of Christology to be read in Unity circles, especially for ministerial students like myself.

Check out Dr. Tom's blogsite here for more info.