Viral Gospel Part 1.

The English word “Gospel” is powerful. Its etymological root is the ancient Greek word “εὐαγγέλιον” (euaggelion) which means “good news”. The history behind this word “euaggelion” is complicated and fascinating, and I will address this, and Jesus’s awesomeness, in Gospel Part 2. For now I want to focus on the idea the Gospel is like a virus.

A virus is composed of two components: the capsid and the nucleic acid (yes some viruses also have a membrane envelope, but for the sake of simplicity we will not concern ourselves with this). The nucleic acid within a virus can be either RNA or DNA and contains all the biological information, the identity, of the virus. The capsid is the protein shell of the virus and serves as the vehicle for transporting the nucleic acid and interacting with the virus’s environment. The formation of the capsid is directed by the nucleic acid.

With this in mind the Gospel, the unchanging truth of this message, is like the nucleic acid of a virus; it cannot be changed without fundamentally altering the identity of the virus. The capsid is the cultural expression of the Gospel and our faith; its role is to interact and adapt to the context. The resurrection is true and the Gospel is truth, but without embodiment or cultural expression nothing happens and no one hears the good news.

A problem facing our post-Christian culture is vaccination. The best way to prevent a virus is to vaccinate. Vaccines are created one of two ways: stripping the nucleic acid from the virus and chopping up the capsid, or mutating the nucleic acid and changing the identity to a weakened form. We live in a world which thinks it has tried and rejected Jesus, but for many people all they have experienced is a false gospel. These false gospels are misrepresentations of the Gospel and Jesus which I as a Christian have also rejected, but they can vaccinated others to the truth about Jesus. These vaccines can look like tradition and behavior; empty routines without the truth of the Gospel in them. A vaccine can also mirror Christianity, have all the trappings of faith, but the truth of the Gospel has been altered: legalism or the belief 'I must obey God to be loved by God'. Gospel clothed with judgment or pride is not the true Gospel, but it can turn people away.

How do we reach a vaccinated world? How do we share Jesus with people who think they have already said no to Him? First we need to seek God and be rooted in His truth; we need to have the right DNA. Next we need some antigenic drift. Antigenic drift is the process of a virus changing its capid to adjust to the environment; the proteins change, but the nucleic acid stays the same. For the Gospel this means the truth is unaltered, but we have to rethink how we present the Gospel. We need to understand our audience, to really listen to their experiences, hurts, and preconceived ideas; maybe it’s as simple as explaining to a friend the ‘Jesus’ they rejected is a lie. Just as Jesus had to explain and embody the truth of the Gospel in His culture and context, not their previous understandings of what was “gospel”, we need to look to Jesus and explain this same Gospel to our world.

What are some common accusation non-Christians have of Christians? Ask your non-Christian friends. This may shed light on what false gospels they have been vaccinated by, which may open the door for you to share the truth. Maybe they are turned off by nonessentials like going to church on Sunday mornings, but would be down to meet weekly an talk about Jesus over coffee or go with you to a bible study?

I think it’s important we take the time to seek God and ask if everything we believe about being a Christian is derived from the true Gospel. Then let’s pray for wisdom in how to re-communicate the Gospel to our culture.

Thankfully God is very creative, and the Gospel of Jesus is really good news.