Аннотация

How can we connect the Gospels–the fundamental texts of Christian faith–to our own experience of inner and outer life? This is the question that animates Connecting to the Gospel. In it James Boyd White presents a series of Gospel passages, together with the sermons he gave on these passages as a lay preacher in the Episcopal Church, with brief commentaries and questions on each as well. The whole is designed as an aid to thought and reflection about the issues raised by the Gospel passages, as they relate both to our own larger culture and to our internal religious experiences. The texts are old texts, from the past. What relation do they have, can they have, with life in the twenty-first century? One aim of the book is to establish a set of questions, both about the Gospels and about our own lives, which the reader is invited to pursue on his or her own. It can be used both by individuals and groups engaged in study and exploration.

Аннотация

How are we to read the Gospels and bring them into our lives? The idea of this book is that the Gospels are not merely rules for life, or stories illustrating moral lessons, or statements of theological doctrine, but invitations to thought and conversation. The Gospels are full of problems, uncertainties, and tensions; these difficulties call upon us to engage with the Gospels in a new way: to read them, to ask questions about them, to live with them, alone and together. The way we do that is by a kind of conversation, with each other, or within ourselves. The Gospel as Conversation is meant to engage the reader in the conversation by which the Gospels maintain their life today among us. It contains Gospel passages, sermons given on those passages, and questions for reflection. It is intended both for individual readers and for groups in adult education classes.