The following extracts from Michael Morwood, Is Jesus God? were contributed by Jan Snook (Toowoomba) for use in NCNW session 3.

page 57: The task is to understand Jesus and his message in the context of the Spirit of God being actively present in all places at all times in a universe that has existed for at least twelve billion years.

page 58: Can we imagine the Spirit of God coming to expression in Jesus of Nazareth in the context of the Spirit prompting people all over the world-for thousands of years before Jesus was born-to ask questions about the purpose of life, to explore interest in the sacred dimension of life, to ask what connection there might be between a God, gods, or spirits and human beings?

page 58: Can we examine the teaching of Jesus as people who believe that in him the Spirit of God came to its clearest, most wonderful human expression?

page 58-59: Many Christians, when asked what message it was that Jesus preached, give bland responses: he preached "love", he preached "forgiveness", he preached a "loving God" and so on. And that's true. But such responses do not do justice to Jesus or his preaching nor are they persuasive for people looking to see if Christianity has a worthwhile message to offer. If the Christian religion has something worthwhile to say to a contemporary world that is fast becoming more and more dismissive of many of Christianity's traditional theological images, language and claims, this "something worthwhile" has to be and will be found in the preaching of Jesus. And Christians must be able to articulate it with clarity and enthusiasm.

page 59: How are people to recognise that the reign, kingdom or rule of God is in their midst? Jesus made clear that there were clear, unmistakable signs: when people act or see others act in ways that are good, truthful, loving, forgiving, just and merciful they should realise these are the signs of God's Spirit present and active in human interactions. Jesus urged people to see the connection: live in love and you live in God.

page 66: ... all of this impinges on our understanding of "salvation". For what Jesus did was to show how we might set one another free in the here and now. Serve one another; break down boundaries; affirm one another; treat one another as equals; share with one another; forgive one another; challenge one another; be with one another; listen to one another; and show you understand the longings of another's hearts. Be neighbour to one another rather than ask who your neighbour is. This is what will set the Spirit of God free in our midst. This is what will make the world a better place.

page 85: Jesus will still be for us who are Christian the one who uniquely reveals what God is like. We will continue to believe and to proclaim that this human person incarnated God as best a human person could do so, but we will not give him a divine nature that the rest of us do not possess. We will question the thinking and the world view that made that step seem necessary. We will, however, joyfully call him "divine" and our rejoicing will reflect our belief that the very same Spirit of divine Love that moved in him, moves in all of us.