And other questions about God, Jesus and human identity
Mark Meynell

The Good Book Company, 2015, £3.99 Pb 96pp, ISBN 9781909919051
Reviewed by Julian Churcher, CMF London Staffworker

The writer describes humanity in various roles such as thinker, worker, and animal, then demonstrates how inadequate is any self-referential approach, before turning to Scripture to unpack both how God sees us – our true state – and its remedy at the cross.

He explores our limitations and potential, and our flourishing in generous interdependence. Jesus' complete humanity and utter uniqueness are described ('the best of us'), along with what this reveals about redeemed humanity, both at the present and in the coming age. It's inspiring!

My only gripe is with the author's assertion that we were made and saved to be 'otherperson centred'. For those raised to believe that others' needs should always have priority over their own – and as a result impaired from healthy self-love – this is reinforcing of pathology. At its worst this produces the compulsive giver striving for acceptance, inhibited from receiving from either God or man. The corrective, I believe, is being God-centred. Experienced son–hood of God results in what might be called other-orientation, arising from confidence in his care and provision for us.

The final summary 'postscript' chapter is superb, ending with a quote of Dag Hammarskjold that could sum up the book: 'I became a Christian in order to become a man.'