Gospel reductionism

Gospel reductionism

For all practical purposes, Christian evangelicals today, basically and essentially, have abandoned Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-15). Instead, they major almost solely on this latter gospel of salvation. This reality has prompted some perceptive Christian writers to vocalize this methodological problem in how we moderns are presenting our faith to the world in these terms:

  • Dallas Willard terms this kingdom deficiency, “the great omission” in his recent book by this title and the primary reason “why . . . today’s church [is] so weak.” [Instead, the Church is preaching the] “gospel of sin management”—in his classic, The Divine Conspiracy (San Francisco, CA. HarperSanFrancisco, 1997), 40-41).
  • Darrell Guder calls it “reductionism of the gospel”—in his book, The Continuing Conversion of the Church (xiii).
  • Robert Lynn laments that “the gospel we proclaim has been shrunk”—in his article, “Far as the curse is found” (Breakpoint Worldview magazine, October, 2006, 14).
  • Scot McKnight worries that “we have settled for a little gospel, a miniaturized version that cannot address the robust problems of our world”—in his article, “The 8 Marks of a Robust Gospel” (Christianity Today, March 2008, 36).
  • Not surprisingly, therefore, in 2003 Christian researcher George Barna in a poll about who does or doesn’t have a biblical worldview—had no kingdom in his definition of a biblical worldview. In other words, Barna edited out or failed to include the central teaching and worldview of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Barna Research Online, “A Biblical Worldview Has a Radical Effect on a Person’s Life” (www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PagePressRelease.asp., 1 December 2003), 1-2)

Question: why shouldn’t this depreciation of the gospel be viewed in terms of the “other gospel” that Paul warned about in Galatians 1:8-9? Please keep in mind to be an “other gospel” it does not need to be totally different, only slightly.

Sources:

1 A Once-Mighty Faith (future book – est. 2014-2015) by John Noe

2 The Great Omission by Dallas Willard

3 The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

4 The Continuing Conversion of the Church by Darrell L. Guder