Beasley-Murray, George Raymond. Preaching the gospel from the Gospels. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson, 1996

Langknecht, Henry

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Preaching the gospel from the Gospels

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ConsensusVolume 25Issue 1 Contextual Perspectives in Pastoral Care andCounsellingArticle 295-1-1999Preaching the gospel from the GospelsHenry LangknechtFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationLangknecht, Henry (1999) "Preaching the gospel from the Gospels," Consensus: Vol. 25 : Iss. 1 , Article 29.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol25/iss1/29148 ConsensusPreaching the Gospel from the GospelsGeorge R. Beasley-MurrayPeabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996282 pages, $17.50 SoftcoverAs a Lutheran pastor, I immediately assumed that the title Preaching theGospel from the Gospels alluded to the struggle of finding “good news”(understood through the lens of St. Paul and Martin Luther) in the first fourbooks of the New Testament. The so-called “hard sayings” of Jesus, thefrequent exhortations to cross-bearing and discipleship, the “go and dolikewise” message of the parables frequently confront our Lutheran paranoiaabout “good works” and make preaching “the Gospel” from the gospels atheological and homiletical challenge. On the other hand, those who dwellin the religio-linguistic community of George R. Beasley-Murray probablyjump to a different conclusion assuming that “preaching the gospel” is therough linguistic equivalent of “preaching” even when that preaching tendstoward the law side of the law/gospel dialectic. In fact, they turn out to beright. This book is not about theological tensions at all. It is a conservativeevangelical Bible study of the life, miracles, teachings, and parables of Jesusas they are reported to us through the four gospels.For this work, Beasley-Murray has revised a series of his lectures from the1950s when “form criticism was all the rage”. Unfortunately, the revision isnot extensive enough to disguise the author’s historicist-literalistassumptions. There is not even a mention of the literary or philosophicalhermeneutical movements. Beasley-Murray is convinced that thoroughexegesis of the gospels will reveal “what really happened” and what Jesus“really said”. In fact, most of the revisions are drawn from the work of such“Third Quest for the Historical Jesus” authors as J. D. Crossan and MarcusBorg. Although Beasley-Murray reminds us of Albert Schweitzer’s wryobservation that our quest for the historical Jesus always concludes with thediscovery of our own reflection, he fails to escape that fate himself (e.g., in hisdebunking Roman Catholic exegesis of Matthew 16:18, p. 47).This reader intuited five principles supporting Beasley-Murray’sexegetical/interpretive strategy: history of (conservative) interpretations,source and redaction criticism, word study, common sense assumptionsabout “what must have happened” in the gaps (for example, Jesusmeditating on the Old Testament in the years before his ministry, p. 1 10),and an odd speculative translation theory. This last suggests that we canaccess the “authentic words of Jesus” by translating back from Greek toAramaic and then giving preference to the Greek passages which yield themost pleasing Aramaic results. So, for example, both Luke’s and Matthew’sBook Reviews 149versions of the Lord’s Prayer can be “retroverted” to produce Aramaicversions which have both pleasing meter and rhyme clearly (?) suggestingthat they must, therefore, be authentic.Beasley-Murray does provide some high quality philology. Althoughpeppered with his common sense imaginings, his descriptions of the first-century Sitzim Leben are helpful. However, much of this material could belocated in any number of excellent commentaries. Beasley-Murray shouldbe affirmed, too, for recalling Martin Dibelius’ conviction that the root sourceof all the gospels is the preaching of the apostles and their students. Whata shame that a book nominally about preaching makes no effort to suggesthow exegetical insights might be developed in actual sermons.Henry LangknechtEmmanuel CollegeSpirituality and Health: A New Journey of Spirit, Mind and BodyBruce G. EpperlyMystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1997126 pages, $9.95 GS SoftcoverThe popular press is full of articles on spirituality and health. Holisticmedicine, alternative medicines, and multi-understandings of spiritualityhave been some of the prime causes for this interest. Bruce Epperly seeksin his book “to provide a Christian vision of health and wholeness forcontemporary persons” (5). He succeeds partly in this ambitious goal.Epperly is an ordained minister in the Church of Christ, has a doctorate fromClaremont Graduate School in California and is adjunct professor oftheology and community medicine at Georgetown University.Epperly believes that the Christian notion of health is the integration ofbody, mind, and spirit. Drawing on biblical texts, he argues that Jesus healedeveryone in some form or another. He also argues that prayer, a healthy diet,exercise, spiritual healing, alternative medicines are aids to health. Hemaintains that spirituality and health affect each other. Just as one’sspirituality can help one’s health so one’s health can also influence one’sspirit. Epperly is careful to note that spirituality does not determine health.There are many persons who are sick with chronic illness whose spiritualityhas not cured their physical body.This book is easy to read, cites some relevant medical and theologicalstudies in terms of spirituality and health, and offers some concrete helps in

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