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{"id":8452,"date":"2015-07-30T02:12:10","date_gmt":"2015-07-30T06:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?p=8452"},"modified":"2015-07-23T02:39:28","modified_gmt":"2015-07-23T06:39:28","slug":"book-notice-becoming-the-gospel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2015\/07\/book-notice-becoming-the-gospel\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Notice: Becoming the Gospel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a>Michael J. Gorman<\/strong><\/span>
\nBecoming the Gospel: Paul, Participation, and Mission<\/em><\/span>
\n<\/strong>Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2015.
\nAvailable at Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Gorman is a genius at weaving together Pauline theology, cruciformed spirituality, and the Missio Dei<\/em>. This volume is part three of a \u201cpartly deliberate, partly accidental\u201d trilogy beside the prior books\u00a0Cruciformity\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Inhabiting the Cruciform God<\/em>. Here Gorman tries to show that in the first century the Apostle Paul wanted the communities he addressed to not only believe the gospel, but to become the gospel, and in doing so, participate in the very life and mission of God. Gorman\u2019s thesis \u2013 in his own words \u2013 is that \u201ctheosis \u2013 Spirit-enabled transformative participation in the life and character of God revealed in the crucified and resurrected Messiah Jesus \u2013 is the starting point of mission and is, in fact, its proper theological framework\u201d (p. 4). To sum it up, again in Gorman\u2019s own words, \u201cthe cross of Christ reveals a missional, justifying, justice-making God and creates a missional, justified, justice-making people\u201d (p. 9). \u00a0The chapters cover the topics of Paul and the Mission of God, missional readings of Paul, and then how it works out in several letters including 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, Ephesians, 1-2 Corinthians, and Romans. The concluding chapter is rich and drips with great wisdom: \u201cA thin lightweight view fo the gospel entails a similar thin, lightweight understanding of salvation and the\u00a0missio Dei<\/em>. But a thick, robust understanding of the gospel involves an equally complex and comprehensive perspective on salvation and the\u00a0missio Dei<\/em>\u201d (p. 298).<\/p>\n

Gorman\u2019s book reminds me of something that John Wesley said: \u201cGo on in the work where to God has called you, and He will do all things well. I hope our preachers preach and live the gospel \u2013 I am.\u201d \u2013 John Wesley To George Merryweather, 20 Dec 1766.<\/p>\n

I really like\u00a0this book because it dovetails with the notion of evangelical theology as concerned with the science of \u201cgospelizing,\u201d which I\u2019ve argued elsewhere, that is cultivating the spiritual and missional realities that the gospel sows into us. So I can definitely recommend this book to anyone engaging in missional or Pauline studies.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"