New book examines the Gospels side-by-side in an effort to show ‘the true Jesus’

In his new book, "The True Jesus: Uncovering the Divinity of Christ in the Gospels," David Limbaugh seeks to differentiate between the “pop culture Jesus” and the true Jesus presented in the Gospels.

Limbaugh, a New York Times best-selling author, told TheBlaze in an interview that non-Christians often invoke Jesus to make an argument for tolerance, but Jesus did come to make judgments — and to enact a “demanding moral standard.”

“He wasn’t some hippie skipping through the tulips,” Limbaugh said, adding that pop culture often seeks to erase the standards Jesus set in order to make Him “conform” to the culture “instead of us conforming to Christ.”

“He is the ultimate judge,” Limbaugh said. “He made discriminating judgments all the time. That’s what he was about. And he wanted us to live up to them.”

These judgments, he noted, were about love: Believers should be willing to follow Christ’s rules in order to “behave lovingly toward your fellow man.”

The book, released during Holy Week, examines each of the four Gospel accounts in the Bible, presenting them together as one account.

Although naysayers of Christianity point to inconsistencies in the four accounts, he argued, the four works show “remarkable unity.”

“I want people to read my book, people that are intimidated by the Gospels, I’m hoping they become less intimidated by the Gospels,” he said, adding that he wants the book to “accelerate the learning curve” for new believers.

Limbaugh also hopes the book convinces skeptics of Christianity as well, arguing that as a “former skeptic,” he can understand what their “mindset is.”

The goal of his book, he said, is really to encourage others to read the Bible:

If you really immerse yourself into reading the Bible with an open heart and mind, you will discover that it is the word of God and that Jesus is the living Son of God, you will discover that he is like no other person that ever lived, no fiction writer could ever create such a character.