It\u2019s clear that Rutledge \u2014 a self-described \u201cpreacher and pastor\u201d rather than an academic theologian \u2014 sees her book as part of this process of filtration.<\/p>\n
The essence of the apocalyptic framework as outlined by Rutledge is that the gospel \u2014 and in particular the crucifixion of Jesus which lies at its heart \u2014 isn\u2019t simply a matter of individual salvation from the penalty for our sins. Rather, it is God\u2019s assault on the powers of Sin and Death that hold all humanity captive; a confrontation between two realms, two aeons<\/em>: the reign of Sin and Death and Satan and the other Powers on the one hand, and the reign of righteousness and grace through Christ on the other.<\/p>\n Rutledge argues that, far from this perspective overriding or setting aside more traditional motifs such as sacrifice, redemption, substitution and so on, apocalyptic provides the framework within which those motifs can be better appreciated:<\/p>\n This book has been designed to highlight the whole cluster of images surrounding the death of Christ, within the overarching apocalyptic drama that consistently presents God as the acting subject while at the same time enlisting even the humblest Christian (especially <\/em>the humblest Christian) in God\u2019s band of resistance fighters.<\/p>\n p.393<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This in turn can bridge the gap that has often opened up between the gospel of individual salvation and the call to social justice: to confronting the Powers of evil in the world. For Rutledge, the meaning of the cross is twofold: it is both <\/em>God\u2019s action in making vicarious atonement, and <\/em>God\u2019s decisive victory over the powers of Sin and Death. Too often, she argues, the former has devolved into an individualistic approach in which \u201cmy sins\u201d are somehow \u201cpaid for\u201d, giving me the prospect of life with God after death, but in the meantime leaving the wider world largely unchanged. This in turn can have an appeal to those for whom the wider world \u2014 however much they (we) may pay lip-service to the idea of societal sin \u2014 has shaken out pretty much OK. It has less appeal to those who have been on the receiving end of severe injustice, for whom an apocalyptic message of God\u2019s incursion on a world under the control of alien powers has greater resonance: as Rutledge illustrates with frequent references to the US civil rights movement and the South African anti-apartheid struggle.<\/p>\n So, perhaps this shows us the one thing that the prosperity gospel gets right: its diagnosis that the \u201cmainstream\u201d gospel of individual forgiveness is inadequate to the plight faced by millions of people; that it is not good enough<\/em> to tell people that they simply need to \u201cbear up patiently\u201d in the face of poverty or suffering or injustice, and certainly not good enough to cite the crucifixion of Jesus in support of this; that God really does want something better <\/em>for his people, and that he really does intervene in a dramatic way to bring this about, to lay waste to the Powers that oppose him and oppress his creation.<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n New post: What the prosperity gospel gets right. Featuring Joel Osteen and Fleming Rutledge. https:\/\/t.co\/kAsanTEyjc<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/tPr0zLZw8M<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 John H \ua66e (@johnthelutheran) April 20, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n