John Bell (1) (1949–)

A readable debunking of all those traditional attitudes towards Jesus which have more to do with hymnals and stained glass windows than anything in the biblical accounts. John Bell notes the passivity of traditional Western depictions (primarily based on the Nativity or the Crucifixion), and counters this by looking directly at the gospels, often drawing on discussions with congregations, youth groups, or others, and refusing to view Jesus only through the filter of Paul. He looks at Jesus' show more ancestry among foreign women with curious sexual histories, and his rootedness in ordinary humanity (highlighted by the incontestable assertion that Jesus had a penis). He points out that, despite the image of countless nativity plays, the Christmas story is predominantly about old people (and does not involve either a solemn hush or a donkey), He portrays Jesus the religious reprobate, the counter-cultural friend of women and non-Jews, angered by social and religious injustice, and delighting in funny stories, good food, and company, while (like Old Testament figures before him) signally failing to live up to ideals of "Christian" family life. Many points struck me enough to want to quote them:

In thinking of the first century, we should see one-parent families as the norm rather than the exception because of the high death rate.

Here are over twenty women [in the gospels] who in one way or another were admirers or followers of Jesus.... Somehow the teaching of the church has stressed discipleship as a primarily male activity, modelled by men.
It seems odd that we have no difficulty in thinking of or physically depicting God as the Shepherd who brings back the lost lamb, but seldom do we think of God as the woman who goes down on her knees to find the lost coin.

We could stop here and ponder whether there is any other figure in world history who is so frequently referred to as being in the proximity of a meal table.
Somehow it has been more important to associate him with the tragedy of life than with its enjoyment, even though he specifically said that it was for the latter that he came.
Hospitality is at the heart of God. Indeed, though it is often unrecognised, the world's favourite psalm has God depicted as a host. "You spread a table for me... My cup overflows."
Think of Christ as the gregarious guest, the contented diner, the generous host, the breakfast cook.

We should be aware that when Jesus says that he has come to fulfil the law and the prophets, there is within that an implicit expectation that the social welfare provided for the impoverished as required by the Law, and the indictments against social injustice articulated by the Prophets are not surpassed by Jesus but are part and parcel of the gospel.

Much in this book was not really new to me, but it is clearly and engagingly expressed, and Bell's passion for the gospel of love and justice is palpable.

MB 4-xi-2012 show less