Liz Nadolny Project 2 A Gospel About Gospel There are many viewpoints and beliefs on what the term

gospel means. When one hears the word gospel, the first thing that generally comes to mind is the Bible. However, nowadays the meaning of the term gospel is heavily weighted in the context it is used, which tends to create many unique views and interpretations of the term. In order to create a firm foundation on the understanding of the term gospel, the best place to start is in its biblical origins and work out towards the more abstract secular uses. In Christian culture the term gospel is most commonly known as the telling of good news. But what is this good news and how does the gospel spread it? Bakers Evangelical Dictionary states The gospel bears witness to every aspect of Christ's saving work, from his birth and public ministry to his second coming and the last judgment. But Christ's death and resurrection, the crucial saving events, are the gospel's most prominent themes(Elwell). Eastons Bible Dictionary proclaims that the gospel spreads good news by teaching men how to avail themselves of the offer of salvation, the declaring of all the truths, precepts, promises, and threatenings of Christianity (Easton). An article on information leaks in the music industry from Alternative Press accentuates their article by saying that they are more concerned when fallacies and plain old lies are being perceived as gospel truths(Pettigrew). This secular use of the term gospel is heavily rooted in its Christian origins in that it symbolizes a coming of good news that is truly believed by many fans. However, the article uses it as the complete

opposite of truthful good news, to convey their difficulties of people spreading lies about events, and their gullible fan base. In 1889, a very successful businessman named Andrew Carnegie published a book in which he titled The Gospel of Wealth. Andrew lived up to his word, and gave away his fortune to socially beneficial projects, most famously by funding libraries (Halsall). In a way, the title alludes to the telling of Jesus great deeds by telling the story of his own accomplishments enlightening his readers to follow in his footsteps. Because Carnegie uses the word gospel in the title of his book, the audience is subconsciously swayed into good feelings toward book, even though it is filled with conniving financial tricks like death taxes. The Case of George Adamski is yet another entertaining illusion to the original definition of the term gospel. Adamski was a con artist who founded the Royal Order of Tibet claiming that his teachings drew on his psychic channelings from Tibetan masters(George). Adamski basically forged some fake UFO pictures and claimed to have contact with aliens. In Adamski's wake other contactees emerged to spread the interplanetary gospel and to count the take at gatherings of the faithful (George). The use of the word gospel in this context is very similar to the way that Jesus was trying to spread the good news; however, Adamskis news was vastly different. An article by antimusic associates the term gospel to emphasize a false belief that is imposed in an article by L.A. times about the traits of people who associate themselves in the electronic music scene. Antimusic states, that L.A. Times treated the opinions of a few people as gospel, turned everyone who enjoys electronic music events into villains, and ignored anyone that did not agree with their biased opinion(Rave). Antimusics use

of the term gospel in this context adds a pang of hostility in their argument; which connotes the reader into feeling a sense of betrayal in the L.A. Times false preachings. Another example of false preachings is an article titled The Batman Gospel. The use of gospel in the title is misleading because the entire article explains why the new Batman game was not enjoyable in the eyes of the author (Elwell). Both the religious and nonreligious uses of gospel are similar in that they are both striving to convey a predominant idea. The main difference between the two types of uses is that the religious use of the term is rooted in its historical context of the actual gospel, while the secular use of the term is much more versatile and can be used in many other contexts.

Sources Easton, Matthew. "Gospel." BibleStudyTools.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/eastons-bible-dictionary/gospel.html>. Elwell, Walter. "Gospel." BibleStudyTools.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelicaldictionary/gospel.html>.http://www.howstuffworks.com/space/aliens-ufos/georgeadamski.htm Elwell, Walter A. "The Batman Gospel." Jelani Greenidge. Meungai Media, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. <http://jelanigreenidge.com/the-batman-gospel/>. "George Adamski and the Space Brothers." HowStuffWorks. The Editors of Publications International, Ltd., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/space/aliens-ufos/george-adamski.htm>. Pettigrew, Jason. "February 15, 2013." Alternative Press. Alternative Press, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/the_lead_does_first_mean_worse_can_informati on_leaks_affect_bands_adversely/>. Halsall, Paul. "Internet History Sourcebooks." Internet History Sourcebooks. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1889carnegie.asp>. "Rave Drug Report Sparks Controversy - AntiMusic.com." Rave Drug Report Sparks Controversy - AntiMusic.com. Iconoclast Entertainment Group, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. <http://www.antimusic.com/news/13/February/07Rave_Drug_Report_Sparks_Controver sy.shtml>.