Paul as Preacher: The Gospel Then and Now

Abstract

What was Paul doing when he was `preaching' the gospel? He was a pioneer missionary, whose message must have sounded very Jewish and very politically subversive. He was announcing news that was challenging at a public, not merely a personal, level. He was telling a story about the whole world, and about its creator revealing himself in a dramatically unexpected way. In Jesus, this God had put the world to rights, and was summoning all people to join in the community of those who hailed Jesus, not Caesar, as the true Lord. To announce this gospel in today's world means confronting postmodernity, postsecularism and the new forms of empire with the same challenging word, the overarching narrative of new creation, and the generation of fresh community, to let today's Caesars know that Jesus is Lord.