Who Is This Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus

A wonderful look at the historic figure of Jesus Christ and his continuing impact on the world. The book is not necessarily evangelical – it’s more historical than anything. It discusses the changes Jesus and Christianity brought about to the treatment of women, our relationship to government, and social class distinctions, among other things.

It gets a little preachy in the tail end, when the author discusses the three days of the Resurrection, but I think even an atheist would enjoy the rest of the book. They might disagree with some of the conclusions, but it would ultimately be thought-provoking.

If I thought that perhaps Christianity is simply completely made up fantasy (I don’t, for the record), I always come back to the historical figure of Jesus and I’m amazed at the impact he has had on the world. Yes, yes, I know – some aspects of religion and certainly Christianity can be destructive. But Jesus as a man was a wonderful example of a life well-lived, and even someone who doesn’t believe could do worse by understanding and even emulating him.