It’s the good news, stupid.
In previous iterations of this blog I wrote a decent amount about issues of faith. This didn’t change because I became any less interested in the subject — you don’t get to be an historian of Jewish and Middle Eastern History without taking a long swim in the deep waters of religion — but I felt I wasn’t adequately getting my point across regarding faith in general and Christianity in particular.
When pressed on a denomination I tend to say I’m an Episcopalian, but this is largely because I’m drawn to the traditional trappings and rituals of the church and not because I share a theological kinship with it. I tend to be a Bishop Spong sort of Episcopalian (not all that popular among the laity these days) and would probably better qualify as a Unitarian than anything else. I’m not a fan of received wisdom or doctrinaire thinking and if there’s one thing the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Episcopal Churches have is plenty of both.
Leaving aside some of my more small-u unitarian ideas for now, I want to talk about the biggie, the thing that I feel most Christians just don’t get. You might be surprised to know that it’s the Gospel.
For those not in the know, the word gospel means good news. In the case of the Gospels we all (supposedly) know and love, the good news is this: Jesus died to earn forgiveness for humanity. This what it means in the Nicene Creed when we talk about remission of sins and “for us and for our salvation.” In other words the good news is you’re not going to Hell! In the eyes of God your slate has been wiped clean.
