“The Gospel According to Jesus” by Chris Seay
This book is a great analysis of the current state of modern-day views on righteousness. Seay does an incredible job of connecting the word righteousness to a discussion of justice, rather than just an accepted belief that righteousness is doing good things. Most Christians think that righteousness is simply doing something good. However, there is a difference in how the Christian will live when he or she understands that doing what is right is a good thing, but it is not righteousness by definition. Seay instead suggests that righteousness is defined as God’s “restorative justice.”
The other major discussion hosted by Seay in this book is what it means to live a life of shalom. Shalom, a word representing peace, is given to people who come in contact with God’s “restorative justice.” Seay discusses the ten ideas that can lead a person to a shalom lifestyle in the final chapter of the book, giving great insight into how any person can develop this mentality, not just Christians. The one detraction that I would offer concerning this book is that Seay seems to have had a negative experience with a more traditional-style church and that carries over into some of the writings in this book. Overall, however, this book was an excellent read and gave some excellent thoughts in the idea of how the church’s definition of righteousness has changed throughout the years.
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