In complete contradiction of Trumpsters Beck finds Jesus in the poor, outcast, and oppressed. I had tears of joy as I read his new book. Richard Beck has the heart of Jesus. I recommend his new book to all. Here’s some blurbs with the description of the book on the back:
When Richard Beck first led a Bible study at a maximum-security prison, he went to meet God, and meet God he did.
With Beck’s signature combination of Biblical reflection, theological reasoning, and psychological insight, he shows how God always meets us in the marginalized, the oppressed, and the refugee. Stories from Beck’s own life illustrate this truth - God comes to him in the poor, the crippled, the smelly. Although we are predisposed to like those who are similar to us and avoid those who are unlike us, the call of the gospel is to override those impulses with compassion, to “widen the circle of our affection.”
In the end Beck turns to the Little Way of Saint Therese of Lisieux for guidance in doing even the smallest acts with kindness, and he lays out a path that any of us can follow.
At a time when Christianity is in danger of being hijacked by the nefarious agendas of nationalism, racism, and xenophobia, Richard Beck calls us to welcome Jesus, who so often comes in the guise of the maligned or forgotten stranger. In Beck’s brilliant “Stranger God”, we find a beautiful portrait of a Christianity that prioritizes care for the indignant, infirm, immigrant, and imprisoned. I cannot think of a more timely book! ~~ Brian Zahnd, author of Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God.