Paul’s mission was to seek to “order the lives of Christian congregations by pulling everything into the tremendous gravitational field of the cross.” (Neil Elliott, Liberating Paul, p. 93)
(During Lent I will be posting some well-known and lesser known quotations about the cross. If their source is not indicated, then the author of this blog post is the source. I invite any reflections or observations about them.)
“Christianity without the cross is not Christianity.” (Borg and Crossan, The First Paul, 125)
I would add “and the resurrection”–”…the tremendous gravitational field of the cross and the resurrection.” Would we remember Good Friday without Easter Sunday? Without the resurrection, Jesus might have been forgotten long ago–like the many other Jews who were crucified by the Romans.
Mike—Thanks. I’ve not read the Borg and Crossan book, though Crossan’s earlier book on Paul was very good. (He should probably stick to Paul and not Jesus.
)
Josh—
You make a good point. Here’s how I have sometimes put it: