"What If Jesus was Serious about Justice" by Skye Jethani is an informative text which is the fifth book in the What If Jesus was Series which was made to help Christians better parse out the cultural messaging from actual Biblical writings. I was hooked on this book from the introduction, were Jethani gives us a brief look at early Christianity so succinctly.

I love this series and the approachable way the author explores the true meaning of the Bible. This is an excellent book for readers interested in learning more about the cultural context of Bible passages and how certain ideas evolved into common beliefs. I hope the author continues to release new volumes.

*Read with highlighter in hand*
In his later in his series of books asking "What if Jesus Was...? Skye Jethani tackles the subject of Justice. Through 5 parts, he takes the reader through a cultural v. Biblical look at 5 seemingly contradictory positions: Order and Chaos, Horizontal and Vertical, Judgment and Mercy, Victory and Defeat, Reward and Punishment. The Introduction gave a basic overview of 'how we got here' with regards to the typical American Evangelical position on the word Justice.

A few key comments from my highlighter -
"Jesus commands us to both preach the gospel and pursue justice. "
"As with Pharaoh, however, fear causes us to misinterpret reality and ignore the nature of God's kingdom and justice."
"God's concern is when our hearts lack empathy and mercy for the suffering"
Silver Rule = Do No Harm Golden Rule = Love Like Self Platinum Rule = Love Like God
"If we are to use the teachings of Jesus and his apostles as our guide, then we must avoid bundling divine judgment, rather than and hell not a single take-it-or-leave-it doctrinal package"

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley.

Great overview of the heart behind Christian justice. Tries to urge more empathy from Christians.

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)