Keith Giles - Jesus Unbound: Liberating the Word of God from the Bible

PRAISE FOR

JESUS UNBOUND

In his latest book, Jesus Unbound, Keith Giles continues to launch brilliant and practical theological flares for all those looking to stay centered on the path of a coherent Christianity. The preeminence of Christ applies to all things, even to Scriptures especially to Scriptures. Obtaining the single eye which Jesus said would fill our whole body with light requires making the nature and Spirit of Christ our sole Rosetta Stone for understanding all Scriptural realties. Keith uses a witty, folksy, and irresistible style to show us that all the Scriptures must bend their interpretive knee to Jesus, not vice versa.

RICHARD MURRAY, AUTHOR OF THE JESUS MOOD

For those willing to step outside the theological box called biblical inerrancy, this book is a goldmine. For those not willing, theyre totally missing out. In Jesus Unbound, Keith Giles does the body of Christ a great service. Not only does he provide his readers with a lot to chew on, but he argues his points convincingly, yet gently and with pastoral care. An enjoyable read indeed!

MATTHEW J. DISTEFANO, AUTHOR OF 4 BOOKS AND CO-HOST OF THE HERETIC HAPPY HOUR PODCAST

The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged swordand when he was about 18, he grew a beard. Keith Giles runs with that company of Christ-followers committed to proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the Word of God, our final Authority for faith and practice. He most honors the Bible by refusing to confuse or conflate it with the Word-madeflesh. He hears the voice of Christ saying, These Scriptures testify of me. The Lord warned that we can search the Scriptures diligently, yet never once hear the voice of his Father. How so? By becoming like confused puppies who stare at the tip of a pointing finger rather than gazing on the One to whom it is directed. Fear not: Keith does not throw the Bible under the bus. But he will dethrone biblical literalism wherever it supplants the Lordship of the whiskered Word of God.

BRAD JERSAK, PHD, AUTHOR OF A MORE CHRISTLIKE GOD

Jesus Unbound is a challenging and paradigm-shifting book that exposes the insidious idol worship around the Bible and persuasively points people toward the true Word of God, Jesus. While author Keith Giles deeply values the Bible, and has a profound love for it, his thought-provoking challenge is to value and love Jesus even more. Keith masterfully provides the keys to unbind our shackles of tradition and a flat reading of scripture and masterfully lures us toward a more Christ-like faith and Christ-like world. If you read Jesus Unbound with an open mind, and most importantly an open heart, I have no doubt you will be incredibly inspired and beautifully transformed!

MARK KARRIS, AUTHOR OF DIVINE ECHOES: RECONCILING PRAYER WITH THE UNCONTROLLING LOVE OF GOD

Keiths books excite some and alarm others, but regardless of your reaction, one thing is for sure: Keiths books make you rethink some of your most cherished ideas. This is especially true with Jesus Unbound, as it challenges the most sacred cow of all, the Bible as the Word of God. This book is not the end of the matter, but another word in the ongoing conversation about the Word. So take it up and read. But most of all, think! Let Keith lead you past the book of the Bible and into a deeper relationship with Jesus, the true Word of God.

JEREMY MYERS, AUTHOR OF NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS, AND THE ATONEMENT OF GOD

Is your Christianity, Christocentric or Bibliocentric? If its Christocentric, does that mean I dont respect the Bible? How can I know Jesus in a real, experiential way and what role does the Bible play in such a beautiful relationship? In Jesus Unbound, Keith Giles grapples with these questions and more like them. In the end, he points us to a Jesus that is knowable, changes our lives andas an added bonusgives us some interesting answers to a few thorny biblical issues. I highly recommend grappling your way through this book, because what Giles offers us in Jesus Unbound is nothing less than Jesus Himself.

ROSS ROHDE, AUTHOR OF VIRAL JESUS

Keith Giles has put into words what I have been trying to find a voice to for years. It won't be easy and you willand should struggle with some of the points laid out in this book. But at the end, we are left with a Christ-shaped hope. Jesus Unbound gives voice to a deeper relationship with Him in a way that is informative, logical, and based on those same scriptures.

SETH PRICE, HOST OF CAN I SAY THIS AT CHURCH? PODCAST

Keith Giles is a professional cow tipper, specializing in the sacred variety. Having toppled the sacred cow of religious nationalism in Jesus Untangled, he returns to the pasture in Jesus Unbound, where he overturns what may have become our most sacred cow of allbiblical inerrancyalong with the golden calf of biblicism that never lags far behind. But please dont imagine that Keith just likes to stir up trouble. His is such a singular focus on Jesus, the true Word of God, that he simply cannot allow such distractions to continue obstructing our view.

CHUCK MCKNIGHT, BLOGGER AT HIPPIEHERETIC.COM

OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb

The Power of Weakness: How God Loves to Do Extraordinary Things Through Ordinary People

This Is My Body: Ekklesia As God Intended

The Gospel: For Here or to Go?

The Top 10 Things Every Christian Should Know (But Probably Doesnt)

Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)

[Subversive Interviews] Volume 1

War Is Not Christian

How To Start A Ministry To The Poor In Your Own Community

Available online at: www.KeithGiles.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Permission for wider usage of this material can be obtained through Quoir by emailing .

Copyright 2018 by Keith Giles.

First Edition

Cover design and layout by Rafael Polendo (polendo.net)

Unless otherwise identified, all Scripture quotations in this publication are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.crossway.org.

ISBN 978-1-938480-33-1

Published by Quoir

Orange, California

www.quoir.com

DEDICATION

To my sons, Dylan and David.

You make me proud to be your Father.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Brian Zahnd, Brad Jersak, Steve Kline, Chuck McKnight, Rafael Polendo, Richard Jacobson, and everyone at the Mission House Church.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

As modern Christians we are children of a broken home. Five centuries ago the Western church went through a bitter divorce that divided European Christians and their heirs into estranged Catholic and Protestant families. The reality that the Renaissance church was in desperate need of reformation doesnt change the fact that along with a reformation there also came an ugly split that divided the churchs children between a Catholic mother and a Protestant father. In the divorce settlement (to push the metaphor a bit further) Catholic Mom got a long history, a rich tradition, and a unified church, but all Protestant Dad got was the Bible. Without history, tradition, or a magisterium, the Bible had to be everything for Protestant Dadand Protestants have made the most of it. For five hundred years Protestant scholars and theologians have led the way in biblical translation, scholarship, and interpretation, giving the Christian world such notables as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jacob Arminius, John Wesley, Karl Barth, C.S. Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, T.F. Torrance, Walter Brueggemann, Stanley Hauerwas, Richard Hayes, N.T. Wright, to name a few.