This summer, I have had the pleasure to read Counterfeit Christs: Finding the Real Jesus among the Impostors, by Catholic apologist Trent Horn. Throughout the book, Trent takes a brief look at 18 different false conceptions of Jesus and some biblical responses to them. What I appreciate about the structure of the book is that he spends roughly the same amount of time to each counterfeit Christ, and he doesn't bog the reader down in facts, which makes the content accessible to all types of readers. There were some chapters, I will admit, that I wished were more fleshed out, especially because they directly applied to issues in the current culture, such as the "socialist liberator" counterfeit Christ or the "non-judgmental buddy" Jesus. However, Trent made up for this by including a wealth of endnotes and source citations at the end of the book for anyone interested in delving deeper.
What I appreciate the most about Trent Horn's work in general is his ability to carefully nuance his positions and express the views of the Catholic faith (or his own personal views, for that matter) in an inviting, open, and calm way. He's not out to get anybody, and when he engages in dialogue or debate with those he disagrees with, you can clearly tell that he wants to search for the truth rather than one-up his opponent. This same tone is carried all the way through Counterfeit Christs. Trent covers hot topics where discussions can easily become emotionally charged, like same-sex marriage, abortion, socialism, and the Catholic vs Protestant debate. It's really tempting to straw man the other side in order to seem smarter, but Trent completely avoids that here. For instance, before he explains why the Mormon conception of Jesus is incorrect, Trent explains where Mormons are coming from and what exactly their view of Christ is. Afterwards, he gives a very organized yet succinct rebuttal of the counterfeit Christ, relying heavily on Sacred Scripture while doing so.
My favorite chapter in the book was the one on Jesus being a New Age guru, not only because Deepak Chopra's ridiculous notion of Christ is hilarious, but also because a lot of the corruption in the culture today is at least partially influenced by the New Age movement. Many see Jesus as a wise philosopher that can liberate our consciousness from sleep, which is a heretical 2nd-century Gnostic idea that people today refer to as being "woke" (a topic I can dedicate a whole series of blog posts to). Trent Horn skillfully shows that Jesus was not a New Age mystic, but was instead the Jewish Messiah who came to save the world from the oppression of sin.
I also appreciate Trent Horn's response to the false understanding of Jesus as preaching the prosperity gospel, which is the idea that if you have faith, God will bless you with material wealth and financial prosperity. I find this to be pertinent to our society today, because of our materialistic consumerism and our tendency to turn everything (including religion) into commodities. Pastors like Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen, who preach this message, conveniently fail to note that Jesus Himself was poor and that wealth can actually be a near occasion of sin for most people. Wouldn't it be contradictory for Jesus to be poor when He is the most blessed person who ever walked the face of the earth? After all, He is God made flesh. But Jesus consistently warned against having an attachment to money and wealth, which is what the prosperity gospel encourages. This is why Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to walk through the head of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Trent Horn includes all of this and more in that chapter on the prosperity gospel, which I'm sure you will find edifying.
If you're a Catholic who wants a primer in the various heretical perspectives of the person of Christ, this book is for you. It's an easy read, but the concepts contained are anything but simple. Thankfully, though, the author does a great job at distilling the concepts to make them digestible for those who aren't constantly in the trenches of apologetics, so to speak. Moreover, if you're a Christian generally, let it be Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant, and you want to know how to defend the authentic view of Jesus against atheists, Muslims, Jews, etc., then this book is also for you. Although the author is unapologetically Catholic, most of the content can prove to be quite fruitful for non-Catholic Christians as well. Finally, if you're not a Christian at all and simply want a serious Christian defense of Jesus against the multiple interpretations out there, I highly recommend this book for you too. Counterfeit Christs is a great way to feed and nurture your faith this summer if you haven't picked up a copy already!
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