Gospel

[TBC: Too many have taken the timeless Gospel and leaning upon their own understanding seek to make it more relevant for today's world. Consider the following description of the gospel as advanced by minister specializing in "outreach." Although the author correctly notes that too many have made the gospel a system of points rather than a coherent message, his confused solution seems rather to create a works oriented version of the gospel along with a Catholic flavored view of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ.]
 
"Imagine a pamphlet explaining the Gospel of Jesus that said something like this:
 
"You are the bride to the Bridegroom, and the Bridegroom is Jesus Christ. You must eat of His flesh and drink of His blood to know Him, and your union with Him will make you one, and your oneness with Him will allow you to be identified with Him, His purity allowing God to interact with you. And because of this, you will be with Him in eternity, sitting at His side and enjoying His companionship, which will be more fulfilling than an earthly husband or an earthly bride. All you must do to engage God is be willing to leave everything behind, be willing to walk away from your identity, and embrace joyfully the trials and tribulations, the torture and perhaps, martyrdom that will come upon you for being a child of God in a broken world working out its own redemption in empty pursuits.
 
"Though it sounds absurd, this is a much more accurate summation of the Gospel of Jesus than the bullet points we like to consider when we think about Christ's Gospel" (http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/006053.php).