Theological memoirs (or memoirs in theology) have been “a thing” since St. Augustine of Hippo wrote his autobiographical and masterful Confessions in the fourth century. Butler Bass adds her voice to the mix with her story. In so doing, she hopes to encourage us to rediscover the Christian God and the Christian faith. While acknowledging the limitations of any experience-based, somewhat arbitrary categories, she organizes her work according to six personality traits of Jesus. None of these understandings are particularly revolutionary by themselves, but together in her narrative, they provide a wide picture of modern American Christianity – particularly evangelical Christianity. She challenges and chides this evangelical tradition while consistently and persuasively arguing that Jesus transcends Christian practice.
Because she explicitly contends that this work is primarily a work of theology, I must bring in some analysis. She succeeds in bringing a holistic view about the Second Person of the Trinity. By describing several chapters of her life, she confesses her mistakes and points us to what she learned about God from those years. Sometimes, this message comes as a reaction to who God is not (i.e., God is not limited to this version of the Christian church). But this is how contemporary life in pluralistic Christendom is for many of us who “try out” different faith traditions, no?
Unlike Augustine, her audience is primarily Christians and not society at large. She lamentably does not wrestle with secularism in depth. Augustine framed his Confessions as an argument for Roman intellectuals to embrace the Christian faith as a means for world harmony. Her argument seems more defensive: Christians, don’t leave the church just because so much of it is limited. That said, she succeeds in making this argument because the God she presents is very much welcoming and in line with New Testament norms. She invites us to leave the excesses to the sectarianism which attempts to control and limit Jesus’ message.
I started reading this book with a group of others in a faith discussion. Butler Bass’ first section – Jesus as Friend – immediately turned off many adults in the group. As she acknowledges later, much of Reformed Protestantism has emphasized the transcendence of God at the expense of God’s immanence. Both John Calvin and Karl Barth – the key theologians in my tradition’s history – spoke of God as if God were ruling the universe from on high. However, in contrast, my family (a wife and a ten-year-old girl) liked this section and wanted to continue reading.
This work certainly gives a woman’s voice – dare I say, feminist voice or human voice – to theological and literary Christianity. Such a voice is beyond needed in today’s world of gender fluidity. Butler Bass easily navigates these waters by intermixing her life story with detailed observations from historical theology. Contemplative and reflective Christians in particular will like her voice. I am concerned that those who seek authority in Christianity may not. Overall, she presents a compelling story with God as the center. I’m not sure she’s going to win a ton of “secular” converts, but she might bring in a few more who have grown fed up with the church’s antics.
Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence
By Diana Butler Bass
Copyright (c) 2021
HarperOne
ISBN13 9780062659521
Page Count: 285
Genre: Theology/Religion, Memoir
www.amazon.com