david_wright 's review for:

The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News? by Peter J. Gomes

4.0

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Harvard chaplain Gomes does a fine job of afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted in this eloquent call to look beyond Jesus as personal savior, and to learn from and realize his demanding teachings. Gomes calls for a return to the vigorous, active social gospel exemplified by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Salvation Army, a religion working towards salvation in this world rather than the next, and that finds loving one’s neighbor incompatible with gated communities and a winner-take-all, materialist theology. Gomes reminds us that the scriptural Jesus – more radical than liberal - would hardly know what to make of the condemnation of homosexuality (which he never mentions) so prevalent among right-wing evangelicals, who are quick to cite the sanctity of marriage even as they blithely ignore Christ’s own explicit precepts against divorce. While the persuasive force of Gomes’ words is hardly lessened by Patrick Lawlor’s mostly serviceable and intelligent reading, it is hard to understand why the author, a gifted preacher with a wonderful voice and delivery, wasn’t enlisted to breathe life into his own spirited words. Still this is a worthwhile purchase for most libraries, and should prove a thought-provoking listen for faithful and non-believers alike, in states red and blue.