Inter-Varsity Press

Contents

Foreword

Introduction: Unwrapping the jigsaw puzzle

Piece 1: Believing

Piece 2: Belonging

Piece 3: Behaving

Piece 4: Baptism

Piece 5: Born again

Conclusion: Putting the pieces together

Notes

Further Reading

Foreword

I’m a Christian, aren’t I? is not written to be read in one sitting, but I couldn’t put it down.

Maybe it was the subject matter that I found appealing. It strikes me that it is possible to go through life and get things wrong about most things. But to have mistaken who is the real Jesus, and what he said about Christianity, is too great an error. If Jesus’ words are to be believed, then that has eternal consequences. Dan Clark explains from the Bible who Jesus is, and clearly he is not the BBC Jesus, or even the RE lesson Jesus.

Perhaps Dan’s logical presentation of what it really means to be a Christian is what held my attention. Step by step, he builds a case that is straightforward to follow, and makes so much sense. Dan takes his arguments directly from the Bible, rather than imposing his interpretations on the text. In so doing, the Bible comes to life. The Christian message is penetratingly clear, and left me wondering how it is that so many people just miss the point.

As I read on, I found myself anticipating the real-life stories of people being confronted with the Christian faith, some coming to God in a life-transforming way. Again, it all seemed anchored in what Jesus taught, as well as the realities of life.

The people Dan has met, and the questions they ask, are just like the friends I have, and the issues with which some of them struggle. Dan is an ordinary vicar, working in a thriving parish church, writing about the extraordinary God who is working today in the lives of all types of men and women. To miss out on this is the greatest tragedy. Dan explains why as he puts the pieces of Christian experience together.

What he says is too important to neglect.

Roger Carswell