Beatitudes, Not Platitudes: Jesus' Invitation to the Good Life - Paperback

by Paul Louis Metzger (Author)

Beatitudes, Not Platitudes shows that the Beatitudes are not overused, well-worn answers to the question, "What would Jesus do?" Rather, they are undervalued and hardly touched claims that transform our destinies. More than spiritual nuggets for personal devotion, practical advice, or propositions to be believed, the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 envision and entail a reorientation of the good life in view of Jesus' kingdom. Jesus' teachings reveal to us that living our best purpose-driven life now involves dying to self and the world system, and dying for our enemies. Ideal for group study, this series of meditations on each of the Beatitudes, followed by cultural reflections and study questions, helps to bridge the gaps between personal devotion and societal revolution, the academic and the practical, the ancient and the contemporary. All of us want to be happy, to be well and blessed, and esteemed with honor. However, we look for happiness, wellness, blessing, and honor in different places and with mixed results. This book helps us reimagine the good life by taking a fresh look at the Beatitudes as citizens of Jesus' ever-new kingdom order.

Author Biography

Dr. Paul Louis Metzger is the founder and director of the Institute for Cultural Engagement: New Wine, New Wineskins, and Professor of Christian Theology and Theology of Culture at Multnomah University and Seminary. Dr. Metzger is also the editor of New Wine's journal Cultural Encounters: A Journal for the Theology of Culture. Integrating theology and spirituality with cultural sensitivity stands at the center of Dr. Metzger's ministry vision. He and his wife, Mariko, a native of Japan, have been active in intercultural ministry in churches in the United States, Japan, and England.



Dr. Metzger is the author of Evangelical Zen: A Christian's Spiritual Travels With a Buddhist Friend (2015); Connecting Christ: How to Discuss Jesus in a World of Diverse Paths (2012); The Gospel of John: When Love Comes to Town (2010); Exploring Ecclesiology: An Evangelical and Ecumenical Introduction (co-authored with Brad Harper; 2009); and Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church (2007). He is co-editor of A World for All?: Global Civil Society in Political Theory and Trinitarian Theology (co-edited with William F. Storrar and Peter J. Casarella; 2011); and editor of Trinitarian Soundings in Systematic Theology (2005). Dr. Metzger is a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, New Jersey, and Senior Mission Scholar in Residence, Spring 2018, at the Overseas Ministries Study Center, New Haven, Connecticut. The Metzgers have two children and one grandchild. He has a keen interest in the art of Katsushika Hokusai and Georges Rouault, the writings of John Steinbeck, and the music of Johnny Cash, The Doors, and Nirvana. Dr. Metzger blogs frequently at "Uncommon God, Common Good." Dr. Metzger's present research projects include a forthcoming volume on social ethics inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s personalist philosophy and public theology, most notably Dr. King's prophetic critique of the Vietnam War.