The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News? (Paperback)

by Peter J. Gomes (Author)
Key Phrases: offending gospel, inclusive gospel, old social gospel, Roman Catholic, New Testament, Saint Paul (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. As minister of Harvard University's Memorial Church, Gomes was a popular preacher well before The Good Book became a bestseller in 1996. Several subsequent books were, or read like, first-rate sermon collections, but this is an incisive original aimed at cautious defenders of conventional wisdom. Asserting that we are meant to go beyond the Bible in order to discover the gospel, Gomes points away from the past toward a future in which promise and fulfillment meet. Meanwhile, we must manage to live in the world as it is—a world steeped in hostility, suffering and injustice. If we take the gospel seriously, then like Jesus we will risk all, and might even lose all. Still, we hang on to a muscular hope that is not mere nostalgia for what never was, but an earnest expectation of what is to be. A born storyteller, Gomes knows how to spin an aphorism: The opposite of fear is not courage but compassion. And indeed his tone is compassionate even when he chides those who fear conflict and change, but especially when he extols God's provision for the healing and care of all his creation, and not simply our little part of it. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
"An incisive original... [Gomes is] a born storyteller." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; Reprint edition (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060000740
• ISBN-13: 978-0060000745
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #144,135 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jesus as the ultimate "change agent" ... , January 12, 2008

By	Kevin Quinley "GeezerJock" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News? (Hardcover)

"Change agent" is a phrase that we hear a lot in business. On the 2008 Presidential campaign trail, all candidates proclaim their fealty to change. Harvard's Peter Gomes argues persuasively that Jesus was an ardent change agent who rarely - if ever - supported the status quo.

It has been said that the mission of the Christian church and faith is to "Comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable." Gomes makes a compelling case that Jesus was the ultimate subversive - in a good sense - but that his aim was to change, force new ways of thinking, include the marginalized and to break some crockery. I would summarize the book's thesis with one quote (p. 240), "When Jesus came preaching, it was to disturb the status quo."

Instead of asking ourselves, "What would Jesus do?" Gomes argues we should reframe the question, asking the tougher query -- "What would Jesus have US do?" The answer is perhaps never going to comfort us but, instead, invariably push us out of our comfort zones.

Among the interesting sideline arguments, Gomes tackles the problems that the modern church has with homosexuality, suggesting that Jesus would have embraced this group and that the church's obsession on the issue is a waste of time, especially when, say, divorce is a bigger problem and threat to family life.

Gomes' thoughtful book is a radical wake-up call for the ministry of church, all churches and individuals who see themselves as followers of Christ. The arguments are clear, articulate, never patronizing. He sprinkles his discussion with real-life examples. The guy can flat-out write and his skill and passion in this book have prompted me to go back and locate his prior writings.

This is a book that will likely "afflict the comfortable"!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the scandalous gospel of jesus, January 3, 2008

By	Bible Student "Serious Bible Student" (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News? (Hardcover)

I made a Christmas gift to myself of Dr. Gomes' trilogy: The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart; The Good Life: Truths That Lasts in Troubled Times (?); and The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About The Good News? In addition I own Sermons and Strength for the Journey. For ANY Christian who is serious about his/her walk, these are the books to read, study and DIGEST. At 72, having been born into the AME faith,converted to Baptist as an adult, and a PK, I have never in all my years known TRUTH as Dr. Gomes speaks it. These readings are to the point, candid, inspiring and NOT for the faint-of-heart!!!

33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The real good news!, December 6, 2007

By	Karalyn Yegge "bookaddict" (Northern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News? (Hardcover)

This book is fantastically written, intelligently thought-out, and presented with grace. Gomes truly does have a bead on what Jesus was trying to convey, the truth about loving our neighbors, the truth about dogma and religious doctrine, and the truth about what it means to actually ask, "what would Jesus do?" I have longed for a book that would discuss the teachings of JESUS, and this book is my answer. Thank you, Mr. Gomes, for bringing a light to my part of the world.