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The Scandal of the Gospel

Preaching and the Grotesque

Charles L Campbell author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Westminster/John Knox Press,U.S.

Published:26th Oct '21

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Scandal of the Gospel cover

Through its shocking incongruities and transgressive forms, the grotesque offers an intriguing lens for exploring the scandal of the gospel and the challenges of Christian preaching. Drawing on diverse sources—from Swedish crime fiction and contemporary poetry to James Cone, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Pussy Riot—this book will examine the theological, homiletical, and social implications of a grotesque gospel for contemporary preachers. The book focuses on three aspects of preaching and the grotesque: (1) the ways in which a grotesque gospel unsettles the preacher and challenges the "false patterns" that often shape Christian preaching; (2) the importance and challenges of resisting the weaponized grotesque, which dehumanizes people and furthers the power of dominant groups; (3) the incarnate Word as the carnivalesque, grotesque body of Jesus, which calls the church to become the porous and inclusive body of Christ. The Scandal of the Gospel is the written adaptation of Yale Divinity School's Beecher Lectures, given by Charles Campbell in 2018. The last chapter, "Preaching and the Environmental Grotesque," is a new addition.

"These essays are a first, not the final, word on preaching and the grotesque. They are an invitation to look with new eyes upon the cross, to consider again the ways its strange aesthetic can transform us and our world." – Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology

ISBN: 9780664266202

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

140 pages