Cramming for the Finals

Book excerpt: How can a fourth-century theology be relevant today? Is the Bible meant to be taken literally? Can Jesus be stripped of some of his titles? These are just a few of the questions that the author, a Progressive Christian Episcopal clergyperson, answers in this provocative book. Cramming for the Finals offers fresh ideas on how to look at God/Creator, Jesus the human, Paul, Mary (wife of Jesus), the Bible, Mariology, dogma, and doctrine. As the author takes you through his fascinating life's journey, he reveals the tremendous power that the man Jesus, who was executed almost two thousand years ago, still can have on individuals and the world today. You'll discover new ways to look at ancient ideas, why we need to promote God and demote Jesus, how four-thousand-year-old ideas can work now, ways to think outside the institutional church's tight little box, and how to save the church from itself. This book challenges longstanding beliefs to make Christianity speak to people in the twenty-