Jesus of the East: Reclaiming the Gospel for the Wounded - Paperback

by Phuc Luu (Author), Gregory Boyle (Foreword by)

Why does our theology of salvation focus on forgiving sinners, but not on healing those wounded by sin?

Much of Western Christianity has subdued the narrative of Jesus as a Palestinian Jewish healer and liberator who served the sick and oppressed. But the Jesus of the Gospels is a revolutionary who stands with the sinned against, the wounded, and the marginalized. In Jesus of the East, author Phuc Luu re-narrates the life of Jesus to show how he made it his work to topple systems that privileged the few and disregarded the many, especially the poor and lowest.

In this provocative book, Luu offers a counter-narrative to Western Christianity, which for centuries has legitimized colonization and violence to prop up the powerful at the expense of the masses. Pulling from the tradition of the early Eastern church, the present work of theologians of the oppressed, and Luu's own experiences as a Vietnamese immigrant, Jesus of the East offers a transformative vision of healing for the world.

For those living in the land between pain and hope, Luu's prophetic words will renew our imaginations and draw us closer to the heart of God.

Author Biography

Phuc Luu immigrated with his family to the United States from Vietnam when he was four. Luu is now a theologian, philosopher, and artist creating work in Houston, Texas, to narrow the divide between ideas and beauty. If theology is speaking about God, Luu seeks to give new language and grammar to what theology has not yet said. He served for seven years on the Nobel Peace Prize Committee for the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers). He holds degrees in theology (MDiv, PhD) and philosophy (MA), but has learned the most from the places where people ask difficult questions, where they live in the land between pain and hope, and where these stories are told.