How “The Lion King” Teaches Us the “King Jesus” Gospel
I watched a rerun of “The Lion King” on TV the other night. It struck me that this film is a parable of the gospel as the “King Jesus” gospel (hereafter KJG), to use Scot McKnight’s term, in contrast to what McKnight dubs the “Soterian” gospel (hereafter SG) of much traditional western theology. The latter version of the gospel focuses on the cross of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins appropriated by the individual through faith thus assuring that person of their eternal security. The “King Jesus” gospel, on the other hand, focuses on the act of God in Jesus Christ to defeat the powers of sin, evil, and death to secure God’s eternal purpose of having a world of creatures with whom he will live in loving communication, communion, and community through the ages on this earth. God calls fallen humanity back to relationship with him through the cross and the resurrection of Jesus so that, forgiven, we might take up the delight and duty of our...