Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence
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At a glance
- Condition
- New
- Format
- Hardcover
- Dimensions
- 5.5 x 1.05 x 8.25 in
- Weight
- 13.6 oz
- Publisher
- HarperOne
- Publication date
- March 30, 2021
- Language
- English
Description
The award-winning author of Grateful goes beyond the culture wars to offer a refreshing take on the comprehensive, multi-faceted nature of Jesus, keeping his teachings relevant and alive in our daily lives.How can you still be a Christian?This is the most common question Diana Butler Bass is asked today. It is a question that many believers ponder as they wrestle with disappointment and disillusionment in their church and its leadership. But while many Christians have left their churches, they cannot leave their faith behind. In Freeing Jesus, Bass challenges the idea that Jesus can only be understood in static, one-dimensional ways and asks us to instead consider a life where Jesus grows with us and helps us through life’s challenges in several capacities: as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence. Freeing Jesus is an invitation to leave the religious wars behind and rediscover Jesus in all his many manifestations, to experience Jesus beyond the narrow confines we have built around him. It renews our hope in faith and worship at a time when we need it most. Read more
Specs 8
| Publisher | HarperOne |
|---|---|
| Publication date | March 30, 2021 |
| Language | English |
| Print length | 320 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0062659529 |
| ISBN-13 | 21 |
| Item Weight | 13.6 ounces |
| Dimensions | 5.5 x 1.05 x 8.25 inches |
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Top Amazon Reviews
Highly recommended
Format: Paperback
The book invites readers into a deeply personal and refreshing exploration of faith. Far from a rigid theological treatise, this book reads like a spiritual memoir — one that asks a profound and timely question: Who is Jesus to you? Bass structures the book around six identities she has known Jesus as throughout her life: Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence. Each chapter unfolds with vulnerability and honesty, showing how her understanding of Jesus has evolved through personal experience, spiritual growth, and the courage to question inherited doctrines. What makes this book so compelling is its mix of theological insight and narrative storytelling. Bass is a gifted writer who brings both intellect and intimacy to her reflections. Rather than presenting a fixed doctrine, she models what it means to walk through spiritual change — with curiosity, integrity, and grace. For anyone who has wrestled with inherited beliefs or felt boxed in by traditional religious expectations, Freeing Jesus offers a liberating vision. It is a book not only about rediscovering Jesus, but about rediscovering one’s own voice in the spiritual journey. Bass reminds us that Jesus is not trapped in the past or confined to one tradition. He meets us where we are, and continues to speak in fresh ways to each of us.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2025 by sphilips
Incredible book. Sets me on a whole new path in my faith.
Format: Hardcover
In Freeing Jesus, Dr. Butler-Bass takes me through a life-narrative defining some of the Jesus’s she has known – Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence. But, it is in the last paragraphs of her prose that Jesus EXPLODES – Lover, Word, Silence, Wisdom, Bread and Wine, and others. Her insight on the “Universal Jesus” truly defines Jesus as the “All in All”, yet does not remove him from tradition – still divine, still the way/truth/life. This is so important. Too often, we consign Jesus to a box in which He will never fit. Why? It’s human nature. As Diana states, late in the book, “There have been times in my life when I liked lines, wanted to draw lines, and tried to consign others – or myself – to neat rows of pews or desks.” Now, she has embraced the circle; we are better in community than not. How often do I categorize myself? I am Dad. I am Husband. I am Son. I am Brother. I am Career. I am Spiritual. I am…..I am. One thing I know, I am not God. My point is that I am different things to different people. Jesus is too. Diana Butler Bass has a habit of breaking me. She makes me think about my faith in new and exciting ways, while also making me reassess myself, my biases, my beliefs. (She also has a habit of breaking my bank as she introduces me to decades of reading, and my bookshelves droop from the weight.) Freeing Jesus is a scholarly work, but it is deeply personal, intimate. Now, I need to go through my own history, and determine where I have projected myself onto the image of Jesus, and see where, instead, Jesus was supposed to project his image on to me. When Jesus sat with his disciples telling them of the coming of the Holy Spirit, he mentioned, in passing, “I have many more things to share with you, but you aren’t ready.” It’s my favorite verse. As I close out Freeing Jesus, I hear a voice over my shoulder, “I think you’re ready for some things, now.” And, it fills me with incredible fear, but amazingly incredible hope!
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Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2021 by Brad Shantz
The book was in good shape as advertised.
Format: Paperback
The book is for a group book study.
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2022 by Tim E.
Best Book (So far) of 2021! - A True Must Read
Format: Hardcover
I read around 150 new books published each year. As of today (May 14, 2021), Freeing Jesus is the first and only book I've rated as 5+ stars in 2021. Nearly a decade ago, Diana Butler Bass had a unique encounter with Jesus while in the National Cathedral. For the first time in her life, she heard Jesus speaking directly to her, using five powerful words: “Get me out of here.” Freeing Jesus is an invitation to meet Jesus again for the first time by encountering many Jesuses. Readers, regardless of their location on the theological continuum, will be inspired to get Jesus out of the unhelpful confines they (and/or their tradition) have constructed for him. Diana Butler Bass reflects on her own experiences of Jesus by rediscovering the Jesuses who had the greatest impact on her life: friend, teacher, Savior, Lord, way, and presence (while also mentioning other, even more personal Jesuses: Lover, Word, Wisdom, and Sustenance). There are books you read once, finish, and place on a bookshelf (physical or virtual) to perhaps open again some day. Freeing Jesus, however, is a book that reads you, and a book that beckons you to revisit passages and even pages that warrant further consideration. Three quotes provide a glimpse of the wisdom within: We teach our children to be friends and then we ourselves forget the teaching. Surely the playground is not Eden, but it may well be one of the few places where we still strive to create a community of friends who know freedom, trust, and mutual joy (p.21). The cross is, of course, the most familiar symbol of Christianity. But the circle best illustrates my experience of Jesus – around tables, altars, and campfires; in classrooms and church rooms; at rallies and protests (p.200). We know Jesus through our experience. There is no other way to become acquainted with one who lived so long ago and who lives in ways we can barely understand through church, scripture, and good works, and in the faces of our neighbors (p.202).
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Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2021 by Greg Smith (aka sowhatfaith)
Powerful & Transformative!
Format: Paperback
"Freeing Jesus" by Diana Butler Bass is best described by the author herself as "memoir theology" which explores the different characteristics & embodiments of Jesus Christ through a blend of personal narrative and theology. I was thoroughly impressed with how well-executed this autobiographical writing technique unfolded, but I especially marvelled at how well she managed to explore each topic while staying almost entirely within the chronological order of her own personal story. Seriously, that takes skill! Her commentary will likely bristle with the traditional evangelical crowd as she touches on various thorny subjects like biblical inerrancy, mysticism, liberation, salvation, and original sin (just to name a few) all while sprinkling in quotes from ancient & modern theologians alike so effortlessly that it feels like a natural extension of the story. There is one particular "coffee spit-take moment" on Page 204 that comes in the form of three little words in parentheses that would make even the more casual Christian have a minor stroke, but otherwise this book was an absolute pleasure to read. In a publishing world where Christian theology books are overwhelmingly dominated by men, "Freeing Jesus" offers a powerful & refreshing perspective of Jesus through the lens of one woman's personal life story and illustrious career. I highly recommend it!
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Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2022 by Joe T
Made me okay about forming my own opinion
Format: Paperback
This book was recommended by the pastor of my church. The book encourages the reader to form their own opinion of the scriptures associated with Christ and encourages you to form a personal relationship based on your conclusions. I struggle with my religious journey and this book encouraged me to be okay with that. I don't know why I never thought about the scriptures being personal accounts left up to individual interpretation.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2025 by robinh20s
A worthy gift suggestion
Format: Paperback
Suggested by an old friend who happens to have become a Pastor in recent years. Purchased for my good wife, who is voracious reader of religious / spiritual writings. She's thoroughly enthralled with this one. She says it's giving her a lot to think about. She also says you don't have to be an expert on religion to glean good information from it. I may even read it when she's through. Five stars and heartily recommended.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2023 by bob dismas
Ok
Format: Kindle
It was an ok book
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2022 by Donna