Beautiful Outlaw: Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus

Bestselling author Eldredge (Wild at Heart), founder of Ransomed Heart Ministries, uses his playful style to uncover the truth about who Jesus really was. With an eyebrow-raising warning about the “poison of religion,” he urges readers to turn from religious power displays and legalism and instead spend time falling in love with the man, Jesus. Eldredge repeats tales from the Gospels to reveal a leader who was both humorous and confrontational, generous and moody. Eldredge clearly loves his subject, almost chuckling in delight at Jesus’ antics. Readers get an intriguing glimpse of Jesus waiting his turn in line, “snorting” in anger, and artfully outsmarting his enemies. On the other hand, many of the themes are recycled (e.g., Jesus is your friend, suffering happens for a reason), and the book lacks opportunities for application and reflection (e.g., study questions). Still, readers will find a three-dimensional Jesus and may find themselves re-reading scripture with an eye on characters’ feelings. (Oct.)