The 700 Club with Pat Robertson


Eric Metaxas


Credits

Author, Everything Else You Wanted to Know About God series and 30 children's books

Books and videoscripts for Big Idea Productions (producers of VeggieTales)

His book and movie reviews, essays, poetry, etc. have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, Washington Post, Christianity Today, National Review Online, etc.

Former editorial director and head writer, Rabbit Ears Productions

Scripts narrated by Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Jodie
Foster, etc

Former writer and editor of Chuck Colson's syndicated daily radio program Breakpoint

Graduate, Yale University


GUEST

Eric Metaxas: Everything You Wanted To Know about Jesus


CBN.com In this third book of the series Everything You Always Wanted To Know About God, Eric Metaxas tackles questions about Jesus, answering them in the real language of the culture. Paired with his humor Metaxas supplies extra biblical documentation to help answer questions we have all asked and wondered about Jesus. “Did Jesus really die or was that just an idea? Or a metaphor?” “Can we really know?” Metaxas says, “Through the historical nature of the Gospels, and by reasonable evidence we have proof.”

Many people hold the idea that Jesus was the quintessential nice guy, often with blonde hair and blue eyes and a faraway spiritual look, however that was not the cause with Jesus. There is wildness to Jesus. He is an amazing, awesome, wild God. Metaxas points out that Jesus was sometimes impatient and sarcastic with his followers. When He went into the temple and basically started a riot, doesn’t really equal a “nice” guy.

Metaxas’s goal is to bring the things of faith into the mainstream where everyday Americans live. With his unique mixture of humor and apologetics he is able to reach his New York neighbors who know nothing about the Gospels. “When it comes to faith we have a higher standard,” says Metaxas. It is the information that is really important and packaged with his humor it doesn’t feel like a chore.

WHAT ELSE YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT GOD
Metaxas’s first book in this series, Everything You Wanted To Know About God (But Were Afraid To Ask), came about because there was nothing out on the market that he could give to his non-believing friends. In most of the books he found, the Gospel was presented in a heavy, hard to understand way. He wanted to provide a light, safe place for people to ask questions about God because everybody has these questions. His approach to these questions opens people to the bigger picture of God and shows that there are no easy answers. Metaxas says every path to discovery leads to more questions, even science.

Also, just because there are more questions about God and Christianity doesn't mean one shouldn't accept this as truth. His first book received accolades from pollster George Gallup, former Nixon aide Charles Colson, and Dick Cavett.

In his follow-up book, Everything Else You Wanted To Know About God (But Were Afraid To Ask), Metaxas continued to present down-to-earth answers about God in a dialogue question and answer form with some humor injected. For example, when trying to answer the question "Where did God come from?" Metaxas quips, "It's certainly more complicated than trying to figure out where, say, Barry Manilow was born."

Metaxas says people don't accept black and white answers and people need to chew on things for a while. The ultimate questions he has found have to do with to God and suffering.

SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE
Christians seem to speak a different language than the average Joe, and when sharing the Gospel, we speak the same language but don't make ourselves clear to nonbelievers. Like missionaries have to learn the language and the culture, Christians need to learn to communicate. Metaxas says Christians are misunderstood partly because of how we are perceived and we must learn to reconnect with the mainstream.

As a part of the Christian culture, Christians have gotten too serious and too intense. Metaxas says the intensity is a result of bad theology. He says the theology we have is to ascend to Jesus which takes the beauty and joy out of the salvation message and makes it humorless. Although the Cross is not funny, there is joy. God is a loving God and there are feasts and celebrations we will have with Him. We need to give the bigger picture.

Christians are usually seen as being moralists, and only a piece of Christianity is allowed. Metaxas says his biggest challenge has been that some people haven't really found the Gospel or are rejecting the true Gospel. Sometimes Christians are unaware or their theology is wrong, which does not always make witnessing very effective.

Metaxas says this book is for the church as well as the non-believers and skeptics. People in the church need this kind of approach and need to know it. Christians need to be compassionate, but they've allowed anxiety in the faith. Christians need to be calm and loving when presenting the Gospel; we don't always have to be serious.

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