I just finished reading "Judas and Jesus" (Ray Anderson) and "God So Loved the World" (Jonathan Wilson) for my theology class. The Anderson book begins with an imagined dialogue between Judas and Jesus after their deaths and alludes to the provocative question: Is there room for God's grace and forgiveness for Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus and aided in His death on the cross? Written without the encumbrances of theological jargon, the book addresses healing and grace for seasons of life when ordinary people like you and I feel like Judas (wounded, ashamed, guilty, and betrayed by our own selves). The Wilson book is a Christology primer that is easy to comprehend particularly in comparison to the dry pages of most systematic theology books. What I found interesting was that the book is organized around the themes of "story," "image," and "practice" rather than the traditional breakdown of life, work, and ministry of Jesus.All in all, the course addresses Christology (the study of Christ) from a holistic perspective, addressing issues of sanctification, justification and atonement not simply as spiritual acts, but as emotional, physical and spiritual processes that each require healing from the dysfunction of the estrangement between God and humanity after the Fall.
