The Gospel and the Kingdom of God
As modern Americans we like to take concepts or things that are big and complicated, and reduce them, or demystify them. Sometimes this is done for understanding (even things we can't really understand), other times it is done to hold power over people, other times it is done for oppression.
How many examples could I give . . . We label people by a word, and in that word we define who they are (whether it is good or bad), we can no longer see them past that simple concept of them, and that give us permission to treat them the way we want to.
We reduce atoms to models so that we can understand, even when our models fall so short because there is still much mystery that surrounds the atom.
Well you get the point . . . the problem is when reductionism hits Christianity, and faith. We have the ability to reduce christianity to see it the way we want to see it, and to read the bible through our reduce version. Or theological grid as some call it. Kind of works like a filter we take what makes it through our system of understanding latch on to this and discard the rest.
I of course am the worst offender at this. But recently I have been more aware, and have noticed things that make me wonder if we have reduced the gospel and the kingdom of God to a simplistic form that has lost it's meaning.
For Example, Dallas Willard refers to a "Gospel of sin management" where the gopsel is about ridding ourselves of sin. Other Gospels are about fire insurance . . . just getting your butt into heaven is all that matters.
Anyway, I am on a quest to better understand the gospel and the kingdom of God . . . so here is my plan, I am going to blog my way through the four gospels, paying special attention to what the Gospels and the Kingdom of God look like. I hope this is of interest to you, but if not it will at least be good for me.
How many examples could I give . . . We label people by a word, and in that word we define who they are (whether it is good or bad), we can no longer see them past that simple concept of them, and that give us permission to treat them the way we want to.
We reduce atoms to models so that we can understand, even when our models fall so short because there is still much mystery that surrounds the atom.
Well you get the point . . . the problem is when reductionism hits Christianity, and faith. We have the ability to reduce christianity to see it the way we want to see it, and to read the bible through our reduce version. Or theological grid as some call it. Kind of works like a filter we take what makes it through our system of understanding latch on to this and discard the rest.
I of course am the worst offender at this. But recently I have been more aware, and have noticed things that make me wonder if we have reduced the gospel and the kingdom of God to a simplistic form that has lost it's meaning.
For Example, Dallas Willard refers to a "Gospel of sin management" where the gopsel is about ridding ourselves of sin. Other Gospels are about fire insurance . . . just getting your butt into heaven is all that matters.
Anyway, I am on a quest to better understand the gospel and the kingdom of God . . . so here is my plan, I am going to blog my way through the four gospels, paying special attention to what the Gospels and the Kingdom of God look like. I hope this is of interest to you, but if not it will at least be good for me.
posted by Jon Knapp at
9:34 AM
4 Comments:
Jon, as always, you can count on me to be interested.
Yours truly,
Aaron
I do count on your to be interested Aaron.
Thanks,
Jon
It is interesting that we would have different 'gospels'. Shouldn't there be one gospel?
It reminds me of my required readings at Multnomah Bible College from - Randall Balmer - Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey Through the Evangelical Subculture in America and others.
One such 'gospel' we studied was the 'social gospel' (one that takes care of the person's physical body, or takes care of structural problems.
Interestingly enough, Evancelical's were passionate about redeeming not only the person's soul, but their physical body as well...at least until the modernist/liberal movement came along and pushed socail work only as the gospel. (leaving out the whole sin part)
Evangelicals then tended to move away from anything social gospel related because it would identify them with people that didn't belive that Christ is Lord, or that there were miracles.
It seems that we're rediscovering the wholistic gospel again. Realizing that just because one group of people clings onto part of the gospel doesn't mean that we have to cling onto the other part. We need to grab on with both hands.
Jesus talked about the gospel, and preached the gospel before He was crucified, and rose again. So certianly, it is not all about getting rid of sin, and getting to heaven. (but some)
Where is the balance? Should there be a balance?
Or have we let our gospel of sin managment get us off the hook from bringing about wholistic change, change only God can bring, to our world?
One Gospel . . . One Good News?
Who knows, but it is multilayered and it needs to touch into our whole life . . . every part of us (emotional, physical, spiritual, soulish?, relational, etc.), and not onlt us, but the whole world, if it is going to be REALLY good news.
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