To begin with, (The Miracle Free Gospel) was claimed to be a response written at the end of the first century against the myriad of miracles supposedly wrought by Jesus in traditions that were circulating at the time. I had previously wondered about this, since Paul never mentioned any miracles, and many skeptics have questioned this aspect of Jesus’ ministry. I love skeptics when it comes to the Bible, but to claim this was recently discovered, well salt and pinch came to mind.
The meat: As I began to read I was taken by the author's attitude which, as I progressed, began to make sense and, the more I read, the more plausible his Jesus came to be. By the end, I knew this was one of Paul’s “another gospel, another Jesus”, but you know what? I found this Jesus more believable and approachable and human than any before. More than that, he was FUNNY! Yes, a very witty and funny Jesus! Who would have believed it?
If for no other reason, you must read (The Miracle Free Gospel) for the creative style and reasoned provocation to the average Christian who, although I’m sure wont love it, will increase their thinking about how the gospels came to be and how the earthly Jesus was promoted by the authors (for religious-political reasons) from man, to son of man, son of God, and ultimately God himself. You just have to read it to realize he was a man and probably a funny man. Poking fun at Peter playing with less than a full deck strikes me as quite close to the truth, plausible even.
The removal of miracles and some very neat explanations of what ‘really’ happened mean you can apply this stuff to your life! Okay some miracles are ‘explained away’ or left with a different ending, eg John 4:46, but hey, life is about understanding right? And this certainly provokes that, in my opinion.
The meat: As I began to read I was taken by the author's attitude which, as I progressed, began to make sense and, the more I read, the more plausible his Jesus came to be. By the end, I knew this was one of Paul’s “another gospel, another Jesus”, but you know what? I found this Jesus more believable and approachable and human than any before. More than that, he was FUNNY! Yes, a very witty and funny Jesus! Who would have believed it?
If for no other reason, you must read (The Miracle Free Gospel) for the creative style and reasoned provocation to the average Christian who, although I’m sure wont love it, will increase their thinking about how the gospels came to be and how the earthly Jesus was promoted by the authors (for religious-political reasons) from man, to son of man, son of God, and ultimately God himself. You just have to read it to realize he was a man and probably a funny man. Poking fun at Peter playing with less than a full deck strikes me as quite close to the truth, plausible even.
The removal of miracles and some very neat explanations of what ‘really’ happened mean you can apply this stuff to your life! Okay some miracles are ‘explained away’ or left with a different ending, eg John 4:46, but hey, life is about understanding right? And this certainly provokes that, in my opinion.
I could go on a lot more, but if you want to go out on a limb, get a copy and read it and make your own mind up.
- Paul Pells. London, UK
- Paul Pells. London, UK