What is "gospel"

Gospel \Gos"pel\, a. Accordant with, or relating to, the gospel; evangelical; as, gospel righteousness.
--Bp. Warburton.

Gospel \Gos"pel\, v. t. To instruct in the gospel. [Obs.]
--Shak.

Gospel \Gos"pel\, n. [OE. gospel, godspel, AS. godspell; god God + spell story, tale. See God, and Spell, v.]

1. Glad tidings; especially, the good news concerning Christ, the Kingdom of God, and salvation.

   And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
   --Matt. iv. 23.

   The steadfast belief of the promises of the gospel.
   --Bentley.

   Note: It is probable that gospel is from. OE. godspel, God story, the narrative concerning God; but it was early confused with god spell, good story, good tidings, and was so used by the translators of the Authorized version of Scripture. This use has been retained in most cases in the Revised Version.

   Thus the literal sense [of gospel] is the ``narrative of God,'' i. e., the life of Christ.
   --Skeat.

2. One of the four narratives of the life and death of Jesus Christ, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

3. A selection from one of the gospels, for use in a religious service; as, the gospel for the day.

4. Any system of religious doctrine; sometimes, any system of political doctrine or social philosophy; as, this political gospel.
   --Burke.

5. Anything propounded or accepted as infallibly true; as, they took his words for gospel. [Colloq.]

   If any one thinks this expression hyperbolical, I shall only ask him to read [OE]dipus, instead of taking the traditional witticisms about Lee for gospel.
   --Saintsbury.

Old English godspel "gospel, glad tidings announced by Jesus; one of the four gospels," from god "good" (see good) + spel "story, message" (see spell (n.1)); translation of Latin bona adnuntiatio, itself a translation of Greek euangelion "reward for bringing good news."\n

\nThe first element of the Old English word had a long "o," but it shifted under mistaken association with God. The word passed early from English to continental Germanic languages in forms that clearly indicate the first element had shifted to "God," such as Old Saxon godspell, Old High German gotspell, Old Norse goðspiall. Used of anything as true as the Gospel from mid-13c. Gospel-gossip was Addison's word ("Spectator," 1711) for "one who is always talking of sermons, texts, etc."

n. 1 The first section of the Christian New Testament scripture, comprising the books of http://en.wikipedi

1. org/wiki/Gospel%20of%20Matthew, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel%20of%20Mark, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel%20of%20Luke and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel%20of%20John, concerned with the life, death, resurrection, and teachings of Jesus. 2 An account of the life, death, resurrection, and teachings of Jesus, generally written during the first several centuries of the Common Era. 3 A message expected to have positive reception or effect. 4 (context Protestantism English) the teaching of Divine grace as distinguished from the Law or Divine commandments 5 (context uncountable English) gospel music 6 (context uncountable English) That which is absolutely authoritative (gloss: definitive). v

2. (context obsolete transitive English) To instruct in the gospel.

A gospel is an account of the life and teachings of Jesus.

Gospel may also refer to:

• The gospel or "good news", the message of Jesus, especially his offer of the New Covenant
• Gospel (liturgy), readings from the Gospels in liturgical use
• Matins Gospel, readings from the Gospels at Matins in the Eastern Churches

The Narrow-typed Gospel Book was the first book to be printed in Moscow, in 1553-1554. It was published by an anonymous printing house. There are currently copies in the Russian State Library in Moscow and elsewhere.

Gospel (stylized as gospel.) is the second studio album by American rock band Fireworks, released May 24, 2011 on Triple Crown Records. The album charted at number 40 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.

A gospel is an account describing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The most widely known examples are the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John which are included in the New Testament, but the term is also used to refer to apocryphal gospels, non-canonical gospels, Jewish-Christian gospels, and gnostic gospels.

Christianity places a high value on the four canonical gospels, which it considers to be a revelation from God and central to its belief system. Christianity traditionally teaches that the four canonical gospels are an accurate and authoritative representation of the life of Jesus, but many scholars and historians, as well as some liberal Christians, believe that much of that which is contained in the gospels is not historically reliable. This position however, requires a liberal view of Biblical inerrancy. For example, professor of religion Linda Woodhead notes some scholarship reinforces the claim that "the gospels' birth and resurrection narratives can be explained as attempts to fit Jesus’s life into the logic of Jewish expectation". However, New Testament scholar N. T. Wright holds firmly to the historical authenticity of the death and resurrection of Jesus, stating that of the whole Bible, this is the story with the most overwhelming historical evidence.

The Gospel in Christian liturgy refers to a reading from the Gospels used during various religious services, including Mass or Divine Liturgy ( Eucharist). In many Christian churches, all present stand when a passage from one of the Gospels is read publicly, and sit when a passage from a different part of the Bible is read. The reading of the Gospels, often contained in a liturgical edition containing only the four Gospels (see lectionary), is traditionally done by a minister, priest or deacon, and in many traditions the Gospel Book is brought into the midst of the congregation to be read.