The Middle 
Eastern Jesus

Author Nadim Nassar
Publisher Canterbury Press £16.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781786225719

Although Jesus lived his entire life in the culture of the Middle East, the image of Jesus held by Christians in the West may be shaped by Western culture and assumptions. This thoughtful book is an engaging corrective to any such tendency. Nassar, a Church of England priest, was born and raised in Syria. Drawing on his heritage and his deep and topical knowledge not only of Syria but the wider Levantine culture, he shows how profoundly the life and ministry of Jesus was rooted in and shaped by that culture. He reflects insightfully throughout the book on how the Christian narrative still offers the message of hope for the region, marked as it is still, by political and religious turmoil, violence, instability and profound human suffering. Critical of the current religious leadership of all the faiths in the region, his keenly felt concern for its people is clear. This personal and impassioned book is well worth reading.

Reviewed by PETER WRIGHT

Bible culture