Book Title: CHRISTIANITY EXPLORED. Author: Rico Tice and Barry Cooper
Christianity Explored is an exposition on the Gospel according to Mark. The
authors seek to make the readers better acquainted with who Jesus is. Rico Tice,
one of the authors, did not have a particularly religious upbringing and thus
reading the book becomes more interesting as one seeks to find out what then
brought the change in his life. From the introduction of the book that has most of
its references from the book of Mark, we are made to keep asking ourselves, ‘Just
who is this man Jesus?’
Mark, the writer of the Gospel gives us a clear answer. Jesus is ‘the Son of God’-
Mark1:1, He is ‘the Lord’ over sickness, nature, death and sin. As He teaches,
calms the storm, raises the dead, heals the sick and forgives sin, He is acting in
God’s world with God’s authority. He behaves as if He is the ruler over everything,
as if He is God Himself. And if that is true –that Jesus is God- then things start
getting very personal for us as readers of the Gospel according to Mark. We are
faced with the challenge, Will I allow Jesus to be my Lord and teacher? Do I
recognize that He has authority over my death whether I like it or not? Can I see
that He has the authority to forgive my sin, or leave it unforgiven?
The authors suggest that in order to relate to Jesus properly, we have to get His
identity right. How do we know and get His identity right? By reading the Bible. It
is the final authority on any subject. Got any doubt about that? Well, the authors
have put down an illustration to help you go about this.
How do you know that a bag of sugar really contains sugar? First of all, you
could look at what it says on the bag. If it claims to be anything other than sugar,
you might as well forget it. What does the Bible say about itself? It says its ‘God-
Breathed’ that God speaks to us through it. Not that claiming something proves
anything in itself. But any book that makes all the claims the Bible makes about
itself demands some explanation at least. Even if there is only the tiniest
possibility that these claims might be true, the Bible deserves our attention.
Secondly, you could open up the bag to see what’s inside. Does it look like
sugar? And if we open the Bible and read it, it certainly looks like Gods word.
Approximately forty authors wrote in three different languages over a period of
one thousand five hundred years. They wrote in different geographical locations,
different periods of history, to different groups of people. It wasn’t like a relay
race with one author handing the baton to another. Despite this amazing
variation –which alone makes it a unique book - the Bible has one theme running
through it. There is one striking message. One striking person at its center. That
person is the subject of Christianity Explored.
Thirdly, you could always open the bag, dip your finger inside and actually taste
to see if its sugar. That would put the matter beyond doubt. If you put the Bible
into practice, you’ll see that the words the Bible contains could only come from
God. It proves itself to be God’s word. It is to this that the authors invite us. To
understand Jesus Christ’s identity.
What stood out for me you ask? Well, I must say that all through the book I kept
on wondering, how comes I had not seen things this way before? But most
certainly, the detailed explanation on the death of Jesus Christ left me not only
owed by such a great love but humbled to see the cost of saving my life. It is
surely by grace that I have been saved, through faith- it is a gift of God. The only
contribution I bring to the table for my salvation is Sin!
My take away from the book; i) Prayer- as a Christian, I ought to pray
continually. Prayer is extremely powerful. Not because of the person praying, but
because of the person being prayed to.
ii) The Church- this is not referring to the building rather, it refers to Christians
that together we make up the body of Christ where Christ is the head.
Fellowshipping with other Christians is important for me. Human beings are
influenced by those they spend time with. Being with other Christians will
therefore help encourage me, hold me accountable and continually point me to
Christ.
iii) The Holy Spirit- Jesus has sent Him to me to be my helper. He helps me in my
desire to please God. He advises me, teaches me and guides me. It is important
that I listen to Him.
iv)The Bible- The truths contained in the Bible are unchanged by my moods or
circumstances. There’s no better way of becoming acquainted with Jesus other
than by reading the Bible for myself. As Jesus Himself says in John 5:39, ‘These are
the scriptures that testify about me’
Would I recommend the book to someone else? Most certainly! The book takes
you through a journey of seeing who Jesus is and what it means to be His
follower. It keeps pointing you back to the scriptures which makes it reliable as
the scriptures are the ultimate authority on anything and everything.
WRITTEN BY ESTHER GITAU who i am privileged to walk with this year ...
Christianity Explored is an exposition on the Gospel according to Mark. The
authors seek to make the readers better acquainted with who Jesus is. Rico Tice,
one of the authors, did not have a particularly religious upbringing and thus
reading the book becomes more interesting as one seeks to find out what then
brought the change in his life. From the introduction of the book that has most of
its references from the book of Mark, we are made to keep asking ourselves, ‘Just
who is this man Jesus?’
Mark, the writer of the Gospel gives us a clear answer. Jesus is ‘the Son of God’-
Mark1:1, He is ‘the Lord’ over sickness, nature, death and sin. As He teaches,
calms the storm, raises the dead, heals the sick and forgives sin, He is acting in
God’s world with God’s authority. He behaves as if He is the ruler over everything,
as if He is God Himself. And if that is true –that Jesus is God- then things start
getting very personal for us as readers of the Gospel according to Mark. We are
faced with the challenge, Will I allow Jesus to be my Lord and teacher? Do I
recognize that He has authority over my death whether I like it or not? Can I see
that He has the authority to forgive my sin, or leave it unforgiven?
The authors suggest that in order to relate to Jesus properly, we have to get His
identity right. How do we know and get His identity right? By reading the Bible. It
is the final authority on any subject. Got any doubt about that? Well, the authors
have put down an illustration to help you go about this.
How do you know that a bag of sugar really contains sugar? First of all, you
could look at what it says on the bag. If it claims to be anything other than sugar,
you might as well forget it. What does the Bible say about itself? It says its ‘God-
Breathed’ that God speaks to us through it. Not that claiming something proves
anything in itself. But any book that makes all the claims the Bible makes about
itself demands some explanation at least. Even if there is only the tiniest
possibility that these claims might be true, the Bible deserves our attention.
Secondly, you could open up the bag to see what’s inside. Does it look like
sugar? And if we open the Bible and read it, it certainly looks like Gods word.
Approximately forty authors wrote in three different languages over a period of
one thousand five hundred years. They wrote in different geographical locations,
different periods of history, to different groups of people. It wasn’t like a relay
race with one author handing the baton to another. Despite this amazing
variation –which alone makes it a unique book - the Bible has one theme running
through it. There is one striking message. One striking person at its center. That
person is the subject of Christianity Explored.
Thirdly, you could always open the bag, dip your finger inside and actually taste
to see if its sugar. That would put the matter beyond doubt. If you put the Bible
into practice, you’ll see that the words the Bible contains could only come from
God. It proves itself to be God’s word. It is to this that the authors invite us. To
understand Jesus Christ’s identity.
What stood out for me you ask? Well, I must say that all through the book I kept
on wondering, how comes I had not seen things this way before? But most
certainly, the detailed explanation on the death of Jesus Christ left me not only
owed by such a great love but humbled to see the cost of saving my life. It is
surely by grace that I have been saved, through faith- it is a gift of God. The only
contribution I bring to the table for my salvation is Sin!
My take away from the book; i) Prayer- as a Christian, I ought to pray
continually. Prayer is extremely powerful. Not because of the person praying, but
because of the person being prayed to.
ii) The Church- this is not referring to the building rather, it refers to Christians
that together we make up the body of Christ where Christ is the head.
Fellowshipping with other Christians is important for me. Human beings are
influenced by those they spend time with. Being with other Christians will
therefore help encourage me, hold me accountable and continually point me to
Christ.
iii) The Holy Spirit- Jesus has sent Him to me to be my helper. He helps me in my
desire to please God. He advises me, teaches me and guides me. It is important
that I listen to Him.
iv)The Bible- The truths contained in the Bible are unchanged by my moods or
circumstances. There’s no better way of becoming acquainted with Jesus other
than by reading the Bible for myself. As Jesus Himself says in John 5:39, ‘These are
the scriptures that testify about me’
Would I recommend the book to someone else? Most certainly! The book takes
you through a journey of seeing who Jesus is and what it means to be His
follower. It keeps pointing you back to the scriptures which makes it reliable as
the scriptures are the ultimate authority on anything and everything.
WRITTEN BY ESTHER GITAU who i am privileged to walk with this year ...
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