Gospel Beyond the Gospels

Within a few decades of the death of Jesus of Nazareth, there emerged within the infant church five literary and theological geniuses: Paul and the writers of the Gospels. No works of literature have been subjected to such close, persistent scrutiny by so many over the centuries. Yet the Gospels continue not only to fascinate, challenge and inspire, but to reveal new treasures and throw up fresh problems.Much depends on the questions we ask of them and the level of curiosity and honesty we bring to this task. For while the Gospels represent four magnificent attempts to come to terms with Jesus and the God he revealed, we cannot be surprised when they fail. We should, however, be astonished that they take us so far into Truth – then point even further on. In this glorious book, Trevor Dennis urges us to follow some of those pointers, to investigate where they lead in the search for the bright gospel beyond the Gospels. We will find ourselves in territory that is sometimes disturbing and sometimes heartening . . . But never less than truly exhilarating.

With characteristic sensitivity and freshness, Trevor Dennis asks the Gospel authors why they describe things in the way that they do. His rigorous interrogation is attentive to details that are often missed, to characters that are overlooked, and to expressions that are sometimes misconstrued. His own rich analysis of what is going on shows that sometimes the Gospel narratives do not always seem to be fair to their subjects . . . in a most remarkable way Trevor Dennis gives those very narratives a second chance., On The Christmas Stories: Trevor Dennis peels away centuries of presumption . . . mediated more through carols and nativity plays than the words of scripture themselves to reveal the amazing, mysterious truth behind the stories Matthew and Luke told so long ago., Trevor Dennis continues to delight and challenge his readers in this new book . . . [his] vivid, imaginative writing truly lights up the ‘Christmas Story’ for our twenty-first century world., On The Easter Stories: For the pastor or preacher, Trevor Dennis is always an interesting and fruitful guide to the scriptures. His strength is in his deep involvement with the text as story, combined with an understated scholarship which means that his readings are never careless or indefensibly idiosyncratic. He ranges across the Old and New Testaments to make unexpected connections and shed new light on old tales., Contains a host of helpful wide-ranging reflections on the Gospel stories of the resurrection, and will prove a helpful resource for preachers looking for a fresh way in to the message of Easter.

Trevor Dennis, one-time school chaplain, Old Testament Studies tutor at Salisbury and Wells Theological College, and finally Canon Chancellor and Vice Dean at Chester Cathedral, retired in 2010, but continues to teach and to write. He has a passion for sharing contemporary biblical scholarship with a wider audience (including children: he published a children's Bible in 2003), and his work in the area of preaching through storytelling or poetry, undertaken since the early 1980s and represented in six collections published by SPCK, has been ground-breaking.