false 480597 5 <p> Jesus came preaching, but the church wound up preaching Jesus. Why does the church insist upon making Jesus the <i>object</i> of its attention rather than heeding his <i>message</i>? Esteemed Harvard minister Peter J. Gomes believes that excessive focus on the Bible and doctrines about Jesus have led the Christian church astray. "What did Jesus preach?" asks Gomes. To recover the transformative power of the gospel&#8212;"the good news"&#8212;Gomes says we must go beyond the Bible and rediscover how to live out Jesus' original revolutionary message of hope: </p> <p> <i>"Dietrich Bonhoeffer once warned against cheap grace, and I warn now against cheap hope. Hope is not merely the optimistic view that somehow everything will turn out all right in the end if everyone just does as we do. Hope is the more rugged, the more muscular view that even if things don't turn out all right and aren't all right, we endure through and beyond the times that disappoint or threaten to destroy us."</i> </p> <p> This gospel is offensive and always overturns the status quo, Gomes tells us. It's not good news for those who wish not to be disturbed, and today our churches resound with shrill speeches of fear and exclusivity or tepid retellings of a health-and-wealth gospel. With his unique blend of eloquence and insight, Gomes invites us to hear anew the radical nature of Jesus' message of hope and change. Using examples from ancient times as well as from modern pop culture, <i>The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus</i> shows us why the good news is every bit as relevant today as when it was first preached. </p> 468975 1 11 2007 The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News? total:75|5:21|4:30|3:21|2:1|1:2| 75 292 178 27 4 1 false false Sun Feb 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 21 09:48:06 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 19 16:28:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri May 30 09:23:22 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 05 12:38:53 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 09:23:22 -0700 2008 The Good Book, this book was pretty much preaching to the choir as far as I was concerned, so of course I liked it. Also, Gomes uses hymns to make his point a lot of the time, which was great. As a gay, liberal Christian, chaplain at "Godle...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat May 24 15:30:06 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 15:34:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 09 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 20:25:17 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 00:14:48 -0800 2009
The essential criteria for good preaching -- and books by preachers -- are eloquence and edification, and not (as some think) a deep intellectual depth. Gomes satisfies all three, but his writing is saved from the dead language of a theological tome, and instead blessed with...more...]]> 1 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 19 15:12:58 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 01 09:31:38 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jun 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 27 21:43:13 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 07 11:26:16 -0700 2009 Irresistable Revolution at the same time and I was struck by how much they had in common. Gomes is more of an older, intellectual version of Claiborne's radical hippy themes. Both talk a lot about how the church has...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Oct 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 30 14:24:46 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 24 16:36:28 -0800 2008
It is an amazing and brilliant book, talking so much on how what we see is really not what Christianit...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 02 22:55:39 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 10 08:09:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 05 20:30:41 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 11 07:17:08 -0700 2008
Not only are they slow to promote social change but they have come to be the keepers of the status quo.
This is in star...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed May 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 10:11:46 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 10:17:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun May 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 02:05:52 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 02:07:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 06 08:22:23 -0800 2009 Sat Aug 08 01:16:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 19:04:34 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 19:06:22 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Apr 20 21:41:05 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 21:41:31 -0700 2009 http://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/bulletin...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jul 27 13:09:40 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 13:10:34 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 07 21:29:58 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 07 21:30:53 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Dec 11 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 11:50:19 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 08:09:31 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 17 21:15:28 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 08 07:53:20 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jan 26 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 19:11:11 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 19:14:27 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Thu Dec 20 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Feb 25 18:30:25 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 11 06:18:46 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=480597