The Godless Gospel by Julian Baggini
Even if we don't believe that Jesus was the son of God, we tend to think he was a great moral teacher. But was he? And how closely do idealised values such as our love of the family, helping the needy, and the importance of kindness, match Jesus's original tenets? Julian Baggini challenges our assumptions about Christian values - and about Jesus - by focusing on Jesus's teachings in the Gospels, stripping away the religious elements such as the accounts of miracles or the resurrection of Christ. Reading closely this new 'godless' Gospel, included as an appendix, Baggini asks how we should understand Jesus's attitude to the renunciation of the self, to politics, or to sexuality, as expressed in Jesus's often elusive words. An atheist from a Catholic background, Baggini introduces us to a more radical Jesus than popular culture depicts. And as he journeys deeper into Jesus's worldview, and grapples with Jesus's sometimes contradictory messages, against his scepticism he finds that Jesus's words amount to a purposeful and powerful philosophy, which has much to teach us today.
Unlike many philosophical atheists, Julian Baggini is prepared to give close and sensitive attention to the Christian Gospels, challenging us to reflect on how far their luminous moral riches can be salvaged within a secularist framework -- John Cottingham, Professor Emeritus, University of Reading and Professor of Philosophy of Religion University of Roehampton
A superbly lucid and emotionally involving account of the New Testament story, full of thought-provoking insights for atheists, agnostics and believers alike -- Sarah Bakewell
The Godless Gospel is a riveting account not of religious belief but of the wisdom of one of the world's greatest moral philosophers.. Baggini's great gift is to be able to explain the most complex philosophical and theological arguments in language we can all easily understand... generous and warm -- Gavin Esler
The Godless Gospel is simply stunning. Once again, Baggini shows that philosophical writing can be nuanced, erudite, and brilliantly accessible at the same time. In our uneasy age we need philosophers who engage vitally with audiences yearning for meaningful debate: Baggini is leading the vanguard -- Joanna Kavenna
One of the most eloquent and attractive atheist voices of the last 15 years... Persuasive... Baggini does a better job than anyone else I've read at transposing Jesus into a moral philosophical key * Prospect *
Fascinating... [Baggini] finds Christ's words to be nuanced, sometimes contradictory, often radical * New Statesman *
A superbly lucid and emotionally involving account of the New Testament story, full of thought-provoking insights for atheists, agnostics and believers alike -- Sarah Bakewell
The Godless Gospel is a riveting account not of religious belief but of the wisdom of one of the world's greatest moral philosophers.. Baggini's great gift is to be able to explain the most complex philosophical and theological arguments in language we can all easily understand... generous and warm -- Gavin Esler
The Godless Gospel is simply stunning. Once again, Baggini shows that philosophical writing can be nuanced, erudite, and brilliantly accessible at the same time. In our uneasy age we need philosophers who engage vitally with audiences yearning for meaningful debate: Baggini is leading the vanguard -- Joanna Kavenna
One of the most eloquent and attractive atheist voices of the last 15 years... Persuasive... Baggini does a better job than anyone else I've read at transposing Jesus into a moral philosophical key * Prospect *
Fascinating... [Baggini] finds Christ's words to be nuanced, sometimes contradictory, often radical * New Statesman *
JULIAN BAGGINI's books include the Sunday Times bestselling How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy, Freedom Regained, The Virtues of the Table, The Ego Trick Welcome to Everytown, What's It All About? and the bestselling The Pig that Wants to be Eaten, all published by Granta Books. He is the Academic Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and has written for, among others, the Guardian, the TLS, the Financial Times and Prospect, and for magazines, academic journals and think tanks. His website is microphilosophy.net.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781783782314 |
| ISBN 10 | 1783782315 |
| Title | The Godless Gospel |
| Author | Julian Baggini |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Granta Books |
| Year published | 2020-10-08 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |