Ive seen this guy talk a few times, and read a number of his books. A Jesus scholar, really, and this is probably the one most important book in convincing me that following a "christian" faith, apart from connection to any particular religion, is still valuable to me. I dont know how to explain my complete lack of interest in the Bible as anything more than a literary/political work yet my continued membership in an Episcopalian church and my absolute spiritual hunger for the ritual of communion, prayer, and hymns. There is still a way to find a spiritual path to better wholeness, better peace, better generosity, and if you get the church as a whole out of the way, Jesus still embodies that (as does Buddha and probably lots of others I know less about).