Christ Actually

The Son of God for the Secular Age

By: James Carroll

Narrated by: James Carroll

An exploration of transcendent faith in modern times—from the author of the New York Times–bestselling Constantine’s Sword

What can we believe about—and how can we believe in—Jesus Christ in light of the Holocaust and other atrocities of the twentieth century and the drift from religion that followed? In this urgent and provocative work, award-winning author James Carroll traces centuries of religious history and theology to face this core challenge to modern faith and to rescue it for the secular age.

Far from another book about the “historical Jesus,” Christ Actually takes the challenges of science and contemporary philosophy, of secularism, seriously. Carroll retrieves the power of Jesus both as an answer to humanity’s perennial longing for transcendence and as a figure of profound ordinariness—his simple life, and his call to imitate him, all suggest an answer to the question “What is the future of Jesus Christ?” This book points the way.

Critic reviews

Praise for Christ Actually: The Son of God for the Secular Age

“With well-researched clarity, Carroll explores the question posed by anti-Nazi Lutheran pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer: who actually is Christ for us today?... Because Christ actually is meaningful in some way to a billion Christians around the globe, this heartfelt investigation is of interest to many.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Carroll…strives to reconceive Christ for a secular, post-Holocaust, post-Hiroshima era….readers
seeking a faith responsive to the zeitgeist will find it here.”
—Booklist

“An in-depth, thought-provoking challenge to two millennia of Christian interpretation.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Written in the brisk, argumentative style that has won James Carroll a broad popular readership, Christ Actually avoids the interminable maundering of academic prose, even as its extensive footnotes indicate attention to advanced, if radical, scholarship. Conservative Christians may well be shocked and annoyed at Carroll’s configuration of Jesus. Nevertheless, for its pushback against the boundaries of conventional interpretations and, above all, for its passionate presentation of the sinfulness of Christian anti-Semitism, his book deserves serious attention.”
—Commonweal magazine

Praise for Constantine’s Sword

“Monumental…An eye-opening journey through twenty centuries of history..This is a book for everyone.”—Christian Science Monitor

“A triumph.”—The Atlantic Monthly

“A deeply felt work, a book that measures the sweep of history against [his] experience as a man of the church.”—Floyd Skloot, San Franciso Chronicle

“Remarkable . . . A book of a deeper sort.”
—Andrew Sullivan, The New York Times Book Review

“A masterly history . . . fascinating, brave.”
—Time

wow!

I love this book! I wish I could get other people in my life to read it. I've read a lot of John Dominic Crossan, and I appreciate the contributions he's made to my understanding of Jesus and the important place he holds in history as well as in my own imagination. These ideas give me a way to believe in Christ without having to embrace aspects of the faith that I just can't get myself to believe anymore--especially given the sexual abuse scandals associated with religion in general. I thank James Carrol for this book. I bought the hardcopy as well. I plan to revisit portions if it regularly.

I was hoping for more ...

Mr. Carroll presents an insightful christology. I appreciate the importance of the roman/jewish wars in a new way. There are several other aspects that make the listen ultimately have value, but - for me - it lacked a passion that I was hoping for. I heard echoes of the 60's & 70's theology as well as the mandatory nod to the backdrop of the holocaust, nuclear war and quantum physics,however, I don't think he answers his ultimate question - "who is Jesus, actually?" in a way that can be understood by people w/o a strong background in Theology. He quotes "theology is for the elite and myth is for the masses". I guess I need more reflection on the "myth!"

great book but author's theology gets in the way

If like me, you have struggled with wrapping your mind around the whole "Jesus is the son of God" and "Salvation" theory, then this is a very useful book. The author explores the origins of the Messiah,the historical roots of the Jesus movement, modern Christianity's misinterpretation of the ancient Jewish texts (old testament), some of the historical errors in the new testament (many found in Luke), how the early followers of Jesus struggled to understand Jesus' death and how the Hellenized jewish followers of Jesus shaped the movement's theology (the theology behind the "trinity" has its roots in the roman pantheon). He explores the historical roots of antisemitism, Hitler's holocaust was some 2000 years in the making. The break between the the Jewish followers of Jesus and the followers of Yahweh would eventually sow the seeds of Christian anti-antisemitism.In the first millennium of the Christian era, leaders in the early church hierarchy developed and solidified as doctrine ideas that: all Jews were responsible for the crucifixion of Christ; the destruction of the Temple by the Romans and the scattering of the Jewish people was punishment both for past transgressions and for continued failure to abandon their faith and accept Christianity. This book is not as cohesive and methodical as one would hope in a history book, but since the historical facts are really useful, i would urge you to exercise a bit of patience.

Good book - hire a real reader

Even good books can be diminished by bad readers, and that is the case here. Lots of very good insights, an interesting personal story, a very good book for the 21st Century Catholic looking for something other than the usual triumphalist bunkum. But, really, leave the reading to the professionals. The author seems to think that getting emotional and dramatic in places is the best way to convey his point, when really it just makes you want to turn it off.

Christ in my reality

This book is very extensive in its coverage of history. It relates that history to our present day history. To know God is to understand his revelation in our Daily encounters. Therefore, no one can truly know God…just hope to recognize him the love of our daily experiences.