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I just came across this video promo for Scot McKnight’s upcoming book, “The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited”:
I am very excited to read this book, as Scot has significantly shaped my understanding of the Gospel over the years. Reduced to a sentence (therefore needing much qualification), I’ve liked to frame the Gospel this way:
“Gospel is the work of the Trinitarian God to reconcile human beings to union with Himself, to communion with others, to fullness of life, and to harmony with Creation, in the context of community for the glory of God and the good of all”
Granted, it does run on a bit, but it gives you an idea. I’ll be interested to see how this compares with Scot’s views. Though I have not read the book yet, I encourage you to check out the sample of the book here, which is likely to make you want to pre-order a few copies today.
I like what Scott is saying in this book but I don’t think he gets at another crucial bit. It’s not only that we’ve been preaching the Christ’s gospel poorly but that we have been led to follow another gospel almost entirely: the Gospel of Affluence.
Jesus it is harder for the wealthy to enter the Kingdom of God than it is for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle. I’m not sure we’re taking Jesus that seriously when we suggest that the biggest problem of the church today is not preaching the bible well enough (as Scott suggests)… It seems that just as big a problem is that we’re all so stinking rich.
Marco, knowing Scot & his writings as I do, I would suspect that, when he says we need a closer reading/preaching of Scripture, it would result in the emphasis you mention. I think you might be surprised.