The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus
Title: The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What’s so Good About the Good News?
Author: Peter Gomes
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2007
Available: Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
Most of the Christian books reviewed on the Created Gay web site are directly related to the queer community. They are by queer authors, for queer Christians. This book breaks the mould. The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus relates generally to all of Christianity.
Peter Gomes’ book has a lot to offer sexual minorities. Nobody needs to get a fresh view of the gospel more than those who have been abused in the name of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus offers a spiritually refreshing picture of God. We would expect that from a book written by a person of Peter Gomes’ qualifications. Gomes was a minister at Harvard University’s Memorial Church. He is the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals, and is an American Baptist minister. Gomes wrote The Good Life, Strength for the Journey, and the New York Times bestseller The Good Book. According to the book cover, Peter Gomes was named one of America’s top preachers by Time magazine. He received over thirty honorary degrees.
The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus is written for the entire Christian community. In a book for the Christian church, not just for gay Christians, Gomes makes several very positive comments about gay people. That might seem out of place for a Baptist minister, possibly even more out of place for a Black Baptist pastor. God’s scandalous grace has many more surprises to offer. God's grace is extended to everybody, Black and White, gay and straight.
The gospel is more than an insurance policy. Turn or burn is not the essence of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a conservative, status quo spiritual expression. There is a radical element in the gospel, an element that calls us to transform ourselves, our society, and our world. Gomes uses many gems to help us see The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus, and that makes his book an excellent addition to the library of any thoughtful Christian, and to any Christian who wishes to be challenged to more deeply live out the faith.
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