Publisher's Synopsis
Fountain of Change: How the Life and Ideas of Jesus Reshaped Our World. (2nd Ed.) In the critically acclaimed first edition, author Oscar R. Nordstrom portrayed Jesus as a moral philosopher and social reformer, just as one might study the teachings of the Buddha or the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Nordstrom expands this theme in his present edition by showing the amazing connections between Jesus' teachings and all of the world's major religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the philosophies of Aristotle, Zeno, and others.
In the first edition of Fountain of Change, Nordstrom showed why Jesus would be hailed today as the world's greatest social reformer, if he were not seen as the leader of its largest religious group! Nordstrom deftly advances this argument by showing how the Gospels reveal Jesus was a gifted teacher, philosopher, social reformer and humanitarian who was a fearless fighter for justice.
Learn too of Jesus' human-centered beliefs about non-Christians, women's rights, social justice, interpersonal relationships, anger management, child raising, civil disobedience, tough love, resistance movements, and many other modern concerns. Also, how Jesus' words persist in an increasingly secular age - in such common expressions as:
"Render unto Caesar; A house divided against itself cannot stand; Those who live by the sword will die by the sword; The truth will set you free; A sign of the times; Sufficient unto the day; The blind leading the blind; Den of thieves; Eat, drink, be merry; and many more.
Non-Christians (and Christians) will also learn how the man Mahatma Gandhi called a "transcendental" figure for "all" mankind influenced many other leading figures throughout history, including authors, composers, and scientists who identified themselves as Christians, including:
Authors: Dante Alighieri, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Søren Kierkegaard, John Milton, Charles Dickens, John Updike, Vaclav Havel, and more recently, J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and even J. K. Rowling.
Composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johan Sabastian Bach, G. F. Handel, Franz Shubert, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and others.
Scientists: Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Sir Isaac Newton, René Descartes, Robert William Boyle, Francis Bacon, André-Marie Ampère, Alessandro Volta, Michael Faraday, Louis Pasteur, Georges Lemaitre, Gregor Mendel - an Augustinian Friar who developed theories in genetics (before the field was given its name).
Whether the reader is an atheist, agnostic, of a different faith, or subscribe to no belief system, Jesus has something timeless to say to each one of us. In a world beset by hate, violence, hostility, and uncertainties, Jesus' teachings offer a road map and compass to inner peace, happiness, and love.
