The New Gospel

The Apostles’ Creed, we find, dehistoricizes the portrait of Jesus [found in the Synoptic Gospels], shearing him from his Jewish context and stripping from him his humanity.  He is now a supernatural being engaged on a rescue mission, someone who swooped down from heaven to take loyal followers with him back there.  We would not think of him as human, debating the Torah, encouraging strict adherence to its requirements, honoring the Sabbath, sharing bread and wine with his followers, engaging in festivals, planning and plotting his next moves, and delighting audiences with his amazing parables about the coming Kingdom.  All of this is lost.