The Gospel as Conversation

James Boyd White is a lay reader in the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. He is also Hart Wright Professor of Law Emeritus, Professor of English Emeritus, formerly Adjunct Professor of Classics at the University of Michigan, and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of many books, most recently Connecting to the Gospel: Texts, Sermons, Questions and Living Speech: Resisting the Empire of Force.

Description:How are we to read the Gospels and bring them into our lives? The idea of this book is that the Gospels are not merely rules for life, or stories illustrating moral lessons, or statements of theological doctrine, but invitations to thought and conversation. The Gospels are full of problems, uncertainties, and tensions; these difficulties call upon us to engage with the Gospels in a new way: to read them, to ask questions about them, to live with them, alone and together. The way we do that is by a kind of conversation, with each other, or within ourselves. The Gospel as Conversation is meant to engage the reader in the conversation by which the Gospels maintain their life today among us.It contains Gospel passages, sermons given on those passages, and questions for reflection. It is intended both for individual readers and for groups in adult education classes.