M. Bird: “It is not only the importance of the gospel to the Church’s witness that should lead us to be vigilant and uncompromizing about the integrity of the gospel, but the entire task of being theological communities rests on our capacity to construe, imbibe, digest, and apply with greater effect the gospel in our theological and ministerial formation. For the gospel is the beginning point for theological investigation, it is the link between the Old and New Testaments, the integrating theme for theological discourse, and proclamation of the gospel is the goal of theological instruction.
