Phillips: tragic idealist?

Thursday, November 10, 2011
    Feast of Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, 461
Meditation:
    Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
    They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."
    “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
    Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
    —Luke 9:18-20 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is easy to criticise the many failings of the Church; it is all too easy to criticise the lives of those who profess and call themselves Christians; but I should say that it is almost impossible to read the Gospels thoroughly with adult, serious attention and then dismiss the central Figure as a mere human prophet or a tragic idealist. The reaction to such a study may indeed prove to be conversion or open hostility, but it would at least mean the end of childish and ill-informed attacks upon what is supposed to be the Christian religion.
    ... J. B. Phillips (1906-1982), New Testament Christianity, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1956, chapt. i, p. 12 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, help Your church to show forth the truth of Christ. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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