Grand Theft Jesus
 | This article contains promotional content. (April 2013) |
| File:McElvaine Grand Theft Jesus Cover.jpg | |
| Author | Robert S. McElvaine |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Christianity Political satire Liberalism |
| Publisher | Crown Publishing Group |
Publication date | 2008 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 336 |
| ISBN | 978-0-307-39578-8 |
| OCLC | 171151547 |
| 277.3/083 22 | |
| LC Class | BR515 .M36 2008 |
| Website | http://grandtheftjesus.com |
Grand Theft Jesus: The Hijacking of Religion in America (ISBN 978-0-307-39578-8) is a book by American author Robert S. McElvaine. It was published in 2008 by The Crown Publishing Group. The book is described as a passionate and often hilarious wake-up call to Christians to reject those who have stolen Jesus from Christianity and replaced what the author believes is His true message with an easy, feel-good scheme that promises salvation without sacrifice.
The book has been widely praised by people as diverse as the late comedian George Carlin, who said, “If Robert McElvaine had been Jesus’s lawyer, Pontius Pilate would have released him on his own recognizance” and South African Methodist minister Alan Storey, who wrote: “Jesus never wrote a book, but I recognize his hand writing in Grand Theft Jesus ... McElvaine uses lively illustrations and a serious sense of humor to cleanse the temple of exclusive and exploitative religion.” Harvey Cox of the Harvard Divinity School says, “Grand Theft Jesus vigorously and passionately attacks the pseudo-Christianity so prevalent today, but does so from a Christian perspective. It makes its powerful case with humor as well as serious argument.”[citation needed]