Jesus came preaching, but the church wound up preaching Jesus. Why does the church insist upon making Jesus the object of its attention rather than heeding his message? Esteemed Harvard minister Peter J. Gomes believes that excessive focus on the Bible and doctrines about Jesus have led the Christian church astray. "What did Jesus preach?" asks Gomes. To recover the transformative power of the gospel—"the good news"—Gomes says we must go beyond the Bible and rediscover how to live out Jesus' original revolutionary message of hope:
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer once warned against cheap grace, and I warn now against cheap hope. Hope is not merely the optimistic view that somehow everything will turn out all right in the end if everyone just does as we do. Hope is the more rugged, the more muscular view that even if things don't turn out all right and aren't all right, we endure through and beyond the times that disappoint or threaten to destroy us."
This gospel is offensive and always overturns the status quo, Gomes tells us. It's not good news for those who wish not to be disturbed, and today our churches resound with shrill speeches of fear and exclusivity or tepid retellings of a health-and-wealth gospel. With his unique blend of eloquence and insight, Gomes invites us to hear anew the radical nature of Jesus' message of hope and change. Using examples from ancient times as well as from modern pop culture, The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus shows us why the good news is every bit as relevant today as when it was first preached.

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

Gomes, Peter J.

Religion & Spirituality

HarperOne

How the Church Domesticated Jesus
With his unique blend of eloquence and insight, the esteemed Harvard minister Peter J. Gomes invites us to hear anew the radical nature of Jesus' message of hope and change. Using examples from ancient times as well as from modern pop culture, The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus shows us why the good news is every bit as relevant today as when it was first preached.

What do I need to be good? How can I truly be happy? To whom or to what dare I give my ultimate loyalty, my deepest love, my full and total service? Out of all this moral discourse and analysis, what can I find and use to make a life, and not just a living? -from the Introduction
After more than thirty years as minister at Harvard University, Peter J. Gomes has given his share of advice to the best and the brightest as they set sail into the world. Yet he has found that even these highly privileged students often run aground on the harsh realities of a life based in values that lead to ruin. The Good Life is his distillation of years of observation and insight into what is wrong and how we can all set our minds and hearts on higher things.
Gomes begins with the contemporary crisis of moral education in higher learning and subverts the prevalent assertion that the youth of today's colleges and universities are spoiled and lacking in the capacity and desire to become good people and good citizens. Impressed by the sharp moral curiosity of young people today, as well as their strong desire to know, to be, and to do good, Gomes sets out to reclaim the tradition of virtue he believes can make this the greatest generation.
In this search for a new nobility, he distinguishes between the plausible lies that our culture tells us about the good life and the fantastic truths that alone can bring true and abiding happiness, working through each of the unquestioned values of modern life. Along the way he redefines the central elements
of the pursuit of the good life (failure, success, discipline, and freedom), then offers a new presentation of the four cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude), and finally concludes with a passionate argument for the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.
A challenge to educators, civic leaders, parents, and the youth who hold our collective future, The Good Life is a timely and important book about the recovery of moral knowledge and the choices we must make in order to live truly well.

The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need

Religious Studies

The author of the New York Times bestseller The Good Book champions the recovery of the Western moral tradition.

Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need

Reference

Peter J. Gomes is widely acclaimed as one of America's greatest preachers. In Strength for the Journey, Gomes offers a new collection of his most important sermons, which draw on the wisdom of the Bible to guide us through the year and enrich our daily lives. Sermons have always played a central role in American culture, serving as beacons of hope in trying times and illuminating the path ahead when the prevailing wisdom grows dim. Gomes is one of the few remaining great practitioners of this lost art. Strength for the Journey features twenty-two of his stirring addresses dealing with themes of daily life such as commitment, death, happiness, innocence, patriotism, and struggle; and eighteen enduring sermons focusing on the seasons of the liturgical year. Never one to shy away from controversy, Gomes preaches sermons such as "In Praise of Harlots,""Plenty Good Room,"and "Patriotism Is Not Enough."Publishers Weekly called Gomes's historic "Outer Turmoil, Inner Strength"sermon, delivered just days after the tragic events of September 11, "one of the most eloquent, sensitive Christian responses to the attack." Gomes's latest collection is sure to satisfy his loyal fans as well as to attract new ones. With his characteristic eloquence and compassion, Gomes offers us the spiritual resources we need to bring joy and inspiration to everyday life.

Strength for the Journey: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living

Christian Books & Bibles

Churches & Church Leadership

With his characteristic eloquence and compassion, Peter J. Gomes offers a new collection of his most important sermons, which draw on the wisdom of the Bible to guide us through the year and enrich our daily lives.

Bibles

"The Bible and the social and moral consequences that derive from its interpretation are all too important to be left in the hands of the pious or the experts, and too significant to be ignored and trivialized by the uninformed and indifferent.

The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart

History

World

The man Time magazine hailed as one of America's finest preachers presents a collection of forty timeless addresses to guide us through the year. With his characteristic eloquence and compassion, quoting from scripture as well as from T.S. Eliot and Woody Allen, Gomes offers us the tools we need to understand the wisdom of the Bible and the joy and inspiration it can bring to everyday life.

Sermons: Biblical Wisdom For Daily Living

Politics & Social Sciences

Gates, Henry L.

Philosophy

Harper Large Print

Harper-perennial

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Gomes, Peter J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Gomes, Peter J.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Gomes, Peter J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

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

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

The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need

Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need

Strength for the Journey: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living

Strength for the Journey: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living

The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart

Sermons: Biblical Wisdom For Daily Living

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

The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart