Between Two Worlds: Red-Letter Christians

Justin Taylor links to a good article by Stan Guthrie regarding Tony Campolo's "Red-Letter Christians" (Red-Letter Christians). For a long time I have been frustrated by editions of the Bible that have the words of Jesus in red. The danger is that we will assume that Jesus' words are more inspired or more holy than the rest of inspired Scripture. This assumption will lead to bad biblical interpretation which leads to bad theology which leads to bad living. Campolo's response to Guthrie misses the point on a number of levels. He confuses categories throughout. He also makes the mistake of thinking that what Jesus taught was something entirely new. Actually what Jesus taught was the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Jesus was not in opposition to the Penteteuch, Prophets, etc. The things Jesus taught should have been very familiar to those who knew the Old Testament Scriptures well. The love and justice and mercy that Jesus called for were repeatedly commanded in the Old Testament. However, the man-made traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees had come to cloud the clear message of the Scriptures. By seeing a difference in value between the words in red and the words in black, Campolo betrays a poor understanding of inspiration.

Be sure to read Gene Bridges' comments posted on the link.

Also, Campolo's assertion that the "religious left" (a term he refuses to use) are not driven by a political agenda the way the "religious right" (a term he relishes) are is simply ridiculous.