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The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits to humankind. In
Ancient Greek religion Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. The application of the modern concept of "religion" to ancient cultures has been ...
, the word designated a type of sacrifice or ritual dedication intended to thank the gods upon receiving good news. The religious concept dates back at least as far as Greece's Classical era. Roman authors are known to have adopted it toward the end of the
1st century BCE The 1st century BC, also known as the last century BC and the last century BCE, started on the first day of 100 BC and ended on the last day of 1 BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero; however, astronomical year numberi ...
, and Christians somewhat later. It is a central message of Christianity today, in which written accounts of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ are known as Gospels.


Etymology

''Gospel'' () is the
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
translation of Greek , meaning "good news". This may be seen from analysis of ( grc, εὖ, eû, "good", label=none + grc, ἄγγελος, ángelos, "messenger", label=none + grc, -ιον, -ion, label=none
diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
suffix). The Greek term was Latinized as in the Vulgate, and translated into Latin as . In Old English, it was translated as (, "good" + , "news"). The Old English term was retained as in
Middle English Bible translations Middle English Bible translations (1066-1500) covers the age of Middle English, beginning with the Norman conquest and ending about 1500. Aside from Wycliffe's Bible, this was not a fertile time for Bible translation. English literature was limite ...
and hence remains in use also in Modern English. In Greek the term originally designed a reward or
tip Tip commonly refers to: * Tip (gambling) * Tip (gratuity) * Tip (law enforcement) * another term for Advice (opinion), Advice Tip or TIP may also refer to: Science and technology * Tank phone, a device allowing infantry to communicate with the oc ...
customarily paid to a
messenger ''MESSENGER'' was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. The name is a backronym for "Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geoche ...
who has delivered good news. The term then came to designate the good news itself, and also a religious offering of thanks for good fortune.


In Greek and Roman religion


Classical Greece

In
Ancient Greek religion Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. The application of the modern concept of "religion" to ancient cultures has been ...
the word εὐαγγέλια means a sacrifice offered for good tidings or good news. Like other Greek religious thanks-offerings, gospel offerings took the form of
animal sacrifice Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of one or more animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spr ...
, offerings of food and drink, and ritual dedications. News of military victory was frequently celebrated with a gospel offering. In the play ''
The Knights ''The Knights'' ( grc, Ἱππεῖς ''Hippeîs''; Attic: ) was the fourth play written by Aristophanes, who is considered the master of an ancient form of drama known as Old Comedy. The play is a satire on the social and political life of clas ...
'' by Aristophanes of 424 BCE, the comic character Paphlagon proposes an excessive sacrifice of a hundred heifers to Athena to celebrate good news. This word in Greek has a double meaning: the singular form means a reward paid to a human messenger who brings good news, and the plural form means a thanks-offering to the gods for good news.


Rome

The Roman Imperial cult celebrated the gospel of the August One or Divus Augustus, a mythologized version of the first Roman emperor Octavian, also known as Augustus Caesar. Augustus was both a man and a god, "a
savior Savior or Saviour may refer to: *A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something Religion * Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years * Maitreya * Messiah, a saviour or li ...
who has made war to cease and who shall put everything in peaceful order." This period of peace is called the '' Pax Romana''. To celebrate the good tidings of peace with an unusually grand gospel offering, governor
Paullus Fabius Maximus Paullus Fabius Maximus (died AD 14) was a Roman senator, active toward the end of the first century BC. He was consul in 11 BC as the colleague of Quintus Aelius Tubero, and a confidant of emperor Augustus. Background The patrician Fabii were on ...
suggested the ritual dedication of the calendar to Augustus, starting the new year on Augustus's birthday. This dedication to the August One served to synchronize diverse local calendars across the Empire, and is the origin of the name of the month August. The idea of dedication to a divine king's birthday later formed the basis of the
Julian Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (give ...
and Gregorian calendars. One implementation of this gospel calendar dedication is recorded the
Calendar Inscription of Priene The Priene Calendar Inscription (''IK Priene'' 14) is an inscription in stone recovered at Priene (an ancient Greek city, in Western Turkey) that records an edict by Paullus Favius Maximus, proconsul of the Roman province of Asia and a decree of ...
. In it, the Koine Greek word for "good news" appears in celebrating the birth of the god and savior Augustus, sent by
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
to bring peace. It announces the intention of the city of Priene to change their calendar so that it begins on the birthday of Augustus, the first day of the good news. The Priene inscription is the most famous pre-Christian use of the concept of the gospel. Dated to 9 BCE, a few years before the birth of Jesus, the inscription demonstrates that the gospel was used as a political term before it was applied to Christianity.


In the Bible and Christianity


Hebrew scripture

The
ancient Hebrew Ancient Hebrew (ISO 639-3 code ) is a blanket term for pre-modern varieties of the Hebrew language: * Paleo-Hebrew (such as the Siloam inscription), a variant of the Phoenician alphabet * Biblical Hebrew (including the use of Tiberian vocalization ...
noun (''besorah'') appears to carry the same double meaning as the equivalent Greek word for gospel, used for both a messenger delivering good news and a thanks-offering to a god upon receiving good news. The noun and verb forms are used several times in the Hebrew Bible. When Jewish scriptures were adopted by Christians as the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
, these mentions of good news came to be viewed as prefiguring the later story of Jesus in the New Testament.


New Testament


The Gospels

A genre of ancient biographies of Jesus took on the name Gospel because they tell good news of Jesus as the Christian savior, bringing peace and acting as a sacrifice who has redeemed mankind from sin. The first four books of the Christian New Testament are the canonical gospels:
Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
, Mark,
Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
, and John. In addition, a number of non-canonical gospels give accounts of the life of Jesus but are not officially included in the Christian Bible.


In the Pauline epistles

Paul gave the following summary, one of the earliest Christian Creeds, (translated into English) of this good news (gospel) in the
First Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...
: Paul describes the gospel as being powerful and salvific:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16


In Acts

The good news can be summarized in many ways, reflecting various emphases. C. H. Dodd has summarized the Christian good news as taught by the apostle Peter in the
Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
: * The age of fulfilment has dawned; * This has taken place through the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus; * By virtue of the resurrection, Jesus has been exalted at the right hand of God, as Messianic head of the new Israel; * The Holy Spirit in the Church is the sign of Christ's present power and glory; * The Messianic Age will shortly reach its consummation in the return of Christ.


In various Christian movements

The good news is described in many different ways in the Bible. Each one reflects different emphases, and describes part or all of the biblical narrative. Christian teaching of the good news—including the preaching of the Apostles in the Book of Acts—generally focuses upon the resurrection of Jesus and its implications. Sometimes in the Bible, the good news is described in other terms, but it still describes God's saving acts. For example, the Apostle Paul taught that the good news was announced to the patriarch Abraham in the words, "All nations will be blessed through you." (Galatians 3:6–9; c.f. Genesis 12:1–3).


Liberation theology

Liberation theology, articulated in the teachings of Latin American Catholic theologians
Leonardo Boff Leonardo Boff (, born 14 December 1938), born as Genézio Darci Boff (), is a Brazilian theologian, philosopher writer, and former Catholic priest known for his active support for Latin American liberation theology. He currently serves as Prof ...
and Gustavo Gutiérrez, emphasizes that Jesus came not only to save humanity, but also to liberate the poor and oppressed. A similar movement among the Latin American evangelical movement is the integral mission, in which the church is seen as an agent for positively transforming the wider world, in response to the good news. This can likewise be seen in
black theology Black theology, or black liberation theology, refers to a theological perspective which originated among African-American seminarians and scholars, and in some black churches in the United States and later in other parts of the world. It context ...
of certain African and African American Christians.


Christian mission

The Christian missions movement believes the Christian good news to be a message for all peoples, of all nations, tribes, cultures and languages. This movement teaches that it is through the good news of Jesus that the nations of humanity are restored to relationship with God and that the destiny of the nations is related to this process. Missiology professor Howard A. Snyder writes, "God has chosen to place the Church with Christ at the very center of His plan to reconcile the world to himself". Another perspective described in the
Pauline epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...
is that it is through the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection, and the resulting worship of people from all nations, that evil is defeated on a cosmic scale. Reflecting on the third chapter of Ephesians 3, theologian Howard A. Snyder writes:


See also

* Atonement *
Evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...
* Gospel * Messiah *
Ministry of Jesus The ministry of Jesus, in the canonical gospels, begins with his baptism in the countryside of Roman Judea and Transjordan, near the River Jordan by John the Baptist, and ends in Jerusalem, following the Last Supper with his disciples.''Chri ...
* Threefold office


Notes


Footnotes


Sources

*


References


Dodd, C. H. 1964 ''The Apostolic Preaching and its Developments '' Harper and Row.
*Goldsworthy, G, 1991, ''According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible'' Sydney: Lancer Press. *Johnstone, P, 2001, Operation World, Carlisle, UK: Paternoster Lifestyle. *Köstenberger, A and P. O'Brien, 2001, ''Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission'' New Studies in Biblical Theology 11, Leicester: Apollos. *Padilla, R, 2004, 'An Ecclesiology for Integral Mission,' in The Local Church, Agent of Transformation: An Ecclesiology for Integral Mission, T. Yamamori and C. R. Padilla, eds, Buenos Aires: Kairos Ediciones. *Snyder, H. A., 1999, 'The Church in God's Plan,' in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 3rd edn, Pasadena, California: William Carey Library. *Jepsen, Bent Kim, 2009 ''The Origin of Good News


External links


Catholic Encyclopedia: Judaizers
- Concerning the cultural implications of the Good News


Lordship salvation
Reformed Christian Gospel presentation emphasizing Lordship Salvation {{DEFAULTSORT:The gospel Christian terminology Christian missions Christology Heresy in Judaism Life of Jesus in the New Testament Missional Christianity New Testament words and phrases