How to be good
"The sermon [on the Mount, Matthew 5-7] – to take it for the moment as a whole – is not mere miscellany of ethical instruction. It cannot be generalised into a set of suggestions, or even commands, on how to be 'good'. Nor can it be turned into a guide-map for how to go to 'heaven' after death. It is rather, as it stands, a challenge to Israel to be Israel … The question of how to apply the sermon to different times and places is another matter"-- (Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, 288, 292)
Would anyone be able to recommend an article or book that attempts to do the work of applying Mt 5-7 in the modern world without merely anachronistically moralising and universalising everything?
posted by Chris Tilling @ 1:58 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Scot McKnight's "Jesus Creed" is indeed the place to start. Also, Talbert's recent book on the Sermon on the Mount has had good reviews.
Yes, I'm actually about a third of the way through Scot's Jesus Creed - but I haven't yet encountered anything (as far as I can remember) on the Sermon on the Mount. So I look forward to getting there. I have also been following the posts on his blog site recently, and they have been helpful. But I want something more substantial, so I'll definitely have a look at Talbert's book – thanks for that tip – which I have just found at Tübingen library. Oh the joys of this superb library!
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