A Biblical And Devotional Analysis

Published by Carelinks Publishing, ISBN 978-1-906951-00-9

Beginning with basic Bible teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, Duncan Heaster proceeds to deconstruct the popular Trinitarian view of Jesus. But the author doesn't leave us with nothing in its place. He explores at great depth the character of the Lord Jesus, using close study of the Biblical text to perform a kind of archaeology of ancient personality. And he relentlessly pursues to the end his cardinal point: that knowing the real Christ is the essence of true Christianity, both now and eternally.

Chapter 1 runs through basic Bible teaching concerning God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, pausing to bring out the practical import of these truths in real human life and personality. Chapter 2 makes an in-depth study of the human, historical Jesus, seeking to provide us with some realistic image of Him to whom we can relate. Chapter 3 explores in detail the parables of the Lord Jesus- they account for a large bulk of His actual teaching content. Chapter 4 and the Appendix return to theological and psychological reflection as to why it is that the Lord Jesus has been so misunderstood by His own church; there's a detailed consideration of Biblical texts which have been widely misinterpretted.

You can read the whole book online by clicking here . The book is downloadable as PDF and Word files here .

Duncan Heaster is a tutor at Aletheia Bible College and along with his wife Cindy pastors an active church in Riga, Latvia. Originally from the UK, Duncan has lived in the ex-USSR for the last 20 years. His persistent theme in teaching and pastoring is that doctrine is important; because doctrine affects practice. Duncan and Cindy are also active in advocating for victims of religious persecution, and work extensively with Carelinks Ministries.

The Real Christ: Contents

Foreword
Part 1: Some Bible Basics
1-1 The Personality of God	1-13 Did Jesus create the Earth?
1-2 Implications Of The Unity Of God	1-14 Jesus Didn't Pre-Exist: And So What?
	1-15 Differences Between God And Jesus
1-3 God Manifestation	1-16 The Nature of Jesus
1-4 God’s Spirit	1-17 The Humanity of Jesus
1-5 Is the Holy Spirit a Person?	1-18 The Victory Of Jesus
1-6 The Principle of Personification	1-19 The Blood Of Jesus
1-7 The Promise in Eden	1-20 Jesus And The Law Of Moses
1-8 The Promise to Abraham	1-21 Jesus As Our Representative
1-9 The Promise to David	1-22 The Meaning Of Christ's Resurrection For Us
1-10 Old Testament Prophecies of Jesus	1-23 Christ Died For Me: So What Should I Do?
1-11 The Virgin Birth	1-24 The Inspiration Of The Cross In Daily Life
1-12 Christ’s Place in God’s Plan
Part 2: The Real Christ
2-1 Images Of Jesus	2-13 Radical Demands Of Jesus
2-2 Abba, Father	2-14 The Radical Language Of Jesus
2-3 The Self-Proclamation Of Jesus	2-15 The Radical Authority Of Jesus
2-4 Jesus A Palestinian Jew	2-16 The Radical Acceptance Of Jesus
2-5 Jesus And People	2-17 Jesus: A Man Misunderstood
2-6 The Words Of Jesus	2-18 The Real Cross: Today Is Friday
2-7 The Poverty Of Jesus	2-19 The Same Yesterday And Today
2-8 Finding Meaning In Everyday Experience	2-20 The 21st Century Jesus
2-9 Jesus The Intellectual	2-21 The Importance Of The Humanity Of Christ
2-10 The Naturalness Of Jesus	2-22 The Divine Side Of Jesus
2-11 Perceiving Others’ Needs	2-23 Christ-centredness
2-12 Jesus The Radical	2-24 The Spirit Of Jesus
Part 3: The Real And The Unreal: The Self Revelation Of Jesus In The Parables
3-1 Elements Of Unreality	3-12 The Parable Of The Prodigal (1)
3-2 End Stress	3-13 The Parable Of The Prodigal (2)
3-3 The Sower Parable	3-14 The Parable Of The Prodigal (3): The Unreality In Luke 15
3-4 The 11th Hour Worker	3-15 The Good Samaritan
3-5 The Two Carpenters	3-16 The Jesus Who Understands Weakness
3-6 The Fanatic Shepherd	3-17 The Sensitivity Of Jesus
3-7 Parables Of Israel	3-18 The Grace Of Jesus
3-8 Parables Of The Call Of The Gospel	3-19 The Demanding Lord
3-9 The Parables Of Judgment	3-20 Parables About The Cross
3-10 Divine Delegation	3-21 Parables Of The Kingdom
3-11 Unanswered Questions In The Parables
Part 4: How The Real Christ Was Lost
4 Why The Trinity Was Accepted : 4-1 Accommodation To Paganism	4-4 Jewish Influence On The Trinity
4-2 Genuine Intellectual Failure?	4-5 Dirty Politics And The Doctrine Of The Trinity
4-3 The Psychological Attraction Of A Non-Human Jesus	4-6 The Trinity: A Desire For Acceptance
	4-7 How The Real Christ Was Lost
Appendix: Some Wrested Scriptures
Introduction	5 “I came down from Heaven” (Jn. 6:33,38)
2-1“In the beginning was the word”	6 “Before Abraham was, I am”(Jn. 8:58)
2-2 "The word was with God"	7 "The glory I had with you before the world was" (Jn. 17:5)
2-3 " The word was made flesh"	8 The Rock That Followed Them (1 Cor. 10)
2-4 “The word was God”	9 “Being in the Form of God” (Phil. 2)
2-5 “All things were made by him”	10 Colossians 1:15-18: By Jesus Were All Things Created 10a Colossians 2:9: “Christ... In whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”
2-6 How Was The Logos / Word Made Flesh?	11 Hebrews 1:2:"The Son... by whom [God] made the worlds"
3 Jesus' Raising Up Of Himself (Jn. 2:19-21)	12 Who Was Melchizedek?
4 “God is a Spirit” (Jn. 4:24)	13 Lord and Saviour... God and Saviour (Titus 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:1,11)