Twitter Chat: Newsweek, Andrew Sullivan & #WhoisJesus
On April 4, 2012, Biola hosted a live, one-hour Twitter chat with professor Fred Sanders and alumnus Matthew Lee Anderson ('04), discussing the Newsweek cover story by Andrew Sullivan: "Forget the Church. Follow Jesus." This is how the conversation unfolded.
Greetings all. Welcome to our Twitter chat! @brettmccracken here, acting as moderator of this discussion on behalf of @biolau. #WhoIsJesus- The article we’ll be discussing is by Andrew Sullivan & is the cover story of the current @Newsweek: bit.ly/HcZrau #WhoIsJesus
Andrew Sullivan: Christianity in Crisis - The Daily Beast3 days ago ... Ignore them, writes Andrew Sullivan, and embrace Him. ... He removed what he felt were the “misconceptions” of Jesus'...- We’ll start our discussion with a few questions for Biola prof & theologian @FredFredSanders. #WhoIsJesus
- Biola alum @MattLeeAnderson blogged about the @Newsweek article (bit.ly/Hi1Geq) & will join our conversation as well. #WhoIsJesus
- Question 1:
- @FredFredSanders First off, what does Sullivan’s article get right about Jesus? Any helpful correctives for the church? #WhoIsJesus
@biolau Sullivan really likes Jesus, & that's great to see. He also focuses on the message of forgiveness; nice to in Newsweek. #WhoIsJesus- Sullivan notes that Jesus, even when distorted by selective reading, is still a morally compelling figure. #WhoIsJesus
Anyone sitting at a computer right now should be following the @biolau @FredFredSanders @mattleeanderson live discussion #WhoIsJesus- Question 2:
- @FredFredSanders What do you see as the biggest flaw in Sullivan’s reasoning in the article? #WhoIsJesus
- @biolau Biggest flaw: Sullivan is making his own personal Jesus by selecting whichever bits and pieces of sayings he prefers. #WhoIsJesus
- He even starts the article w/the image of Jefferson cutting apart and pasting together bits of Jesus' sayings. Bad move. #WhoIsJesus
- Question 3:
- @FredFredSanders Is Thomas Jefferson’s method of “red letter” Christianity valid? Sullivan seems to think so. #WhoIsJesus
- @biolau "Red letter" Christianity is at its worst when it says the Gospel writers themselves distorted the message of Jesus. #WhoIsJesus
- Trying to sift the real Jesus out from the 4 gospels is hopeless. You have to think you have better spiritual insight than them. #WhoIsJesus
- Question 4:
- Fred, Sullivan says “the message of Jesus was the deepest miracle.” But without the miraculous, why does Jesus’ message matter? #WhoIsJesus
- The orthodox point would be that the person of Jesus, his incarnation, is the deepest miracle. Sullivan drives a wedge... #WhoIsJesus
- CS Lewis' trilemma (Liar, Lunatic, or Lord) is really a helpful response here: since part of his message was his divine person. #WhoIsJesus
- Question 5:
