gospel music, American religious musical form that owes much of its origin to the Christian conversion of West Africans enslaved in the American South. Gospel music partly evolved from the songs slaves sang on plantations, notably work songs, and from the Protestant hymns they sang in church. However, gospel music did not derive as much from Protestant hymns as did spirituals. Gospel music, more emotional and jubilant, also stemmed from the call-and-response singing between preacher and congregation, which became common in black churches. Gospel lyrics often call for obedience to God and avoidance of sin in order to obtain the reward of heaven's kingdom; they also celebrate God's love. Gospel style makes use of choral singing in unison or harmony, often, but not always, led by a lead singer or singers. The songs are performed with fervent enthusiasm, vigor, and spiritual inspiration, with much ornamentation in the solo vocal lines.

In the black culture of the first half of the 20th cent., gospel music was considered antithetical to blues and jazz, despite their similarity of origins, and gospel performers rarely sang in nonreligious settings. Later, as all three forms became popular outside the black community, they were less mutually exclusive. A strong gospel element underlies the "soul" jazz and rock music of the 1950s and 60s. Composer and pianist Thomas A. Dorsey, often referred to as "the father of the gospel song," played a major role in the development of gospel music. Important gospel performers have included Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Alex Bradford, James Cleveland, The Swan Silver Tones, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, The Dixie Hummingbirds, and The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. Pop singers who have been heavily influenced by gospel include Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles. While the greatest era in gospel is widely considered to be c.1945-1965, the tradition and the music remain vital in contemporary culture. The Gospel Music Association rewards achievements in the genre with the annual Dove Awards.

Thomas, Gospel of, a collection of sayings, composed originally in Greek, attributed to the "living" (i.e., resurrected) Jesus. Some of the sayings were previously known from papyri discovered at Oxyrhynchus and published in the late 19th cent. The sayings are similar to those of Jesus in the canonical Gospels. It is possible that the Gospel of Thomas is as early as the New Testament Gospels; more likely, the work is based on the sayings of Jesus preserved in the Gospels and edited from a gnostic point of view. The Gospel of Thomas is more encratite (antimarriage) and ascetic in tone than most gnostic works. See also Nag Hammadi.

Social Gospel, liberal movement within American Protestantism that attempted to apply biblical teachings to problems associated with industrialization. It took form during the latter half of the 19th cent. under the leadership of Washington Gladden and Walter Rauschenbusch, who feared the isolation of religion from the working class. They believed in social progress and the essential goodness of humanity. The views of the Social Gospel movement were given formal expression in 1908 when the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America adopted what was later called "the social creed of the churches." Advocated in the creed were the abolition of child labor, better working conditions for women, one day off during the week, and the right of every worker to a living wage. With the rise of the organized labor movement in the early 20th cent. the Social Gospel movement lost much of its appeal as an independent force. However, many of its ideals were later embodied in the New Deal legislation of the 1930s.

Nicodemus, Gospel of, book composed of the Acts of Pilate and Christ's Descent into Hell, part of the loosely defined New Testament Apocrypha. The Acts of Pilate is an amplified account of the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus; it focuses on Pilate in its first section. Justin Martyr (fl. mid-2d cent. A.D.) refers to the Acts in Apology I, 35,48.

Matthew, Gospel according to, 1st book of the New Testament. Scholars conjecture that it was written for the church at Antioch toward the end of the 1st cent. Traditonally regarded as the earliest Gospel, it is now generally accepted that it postdates the Gospel of St. Mark and drew considerable material from it (see Synoptic Gospels). However, Matthew differs from the other Gospels in its narration of Jesus' birth, in the arrangement of the Sermon on the Mount, and in the length of the discourse on the end of the world. There are more allusions to the Old Testament in this Gospel than in the others; it was clearly written for Jewish Christians, the purpose being to prove that Jesus was the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. Much of the book is devoted to his teaching. The Gospel can be divided into five sections: the origins of Jesus the Messiah; the first two years of his ministry in Galilee; his third year of ministry, including his rejection by religious opponents and his journey and stay in Jerusalem; the passion and resurrection; the instruction to the disciples to evangelize. The traditional ascription of the Gospel to St. Matthew, which dates from the 2d cent., is questioned by most scholars. See J. D. Kingsbury, Matthew (1975); G. Stanton, ed., The Interpretation of Matthew (1983).

Mark, Gospel according to, 2d book of the New Testament. The shortest of the four Gospels and probably the earliest, it is usually thought to have been composed shortly before the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Tradition claims St. Mark as the author and St. Peter as the eyewitness authority who supplied much of his information. Because much of the material in Mark is found in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke, it is likely that Mark's Gospel was an important source for those later Gospels (see Synoptic Gospels). The Gospel of St. Mark may be divided into four sections: beginning of the ministry of Jesus; his first two years of preaching and healing in Galilee; his third year of ministry, including the journey to Jerusalem; the passion and resurrection. The earliest manuscripts of the Gospel conclude with the news of Christ's resurrection proclaimed at his open tomb; later manuscripts conclude with a longer passage in which the risen Jesus appears to some of his disciples. A large portion of the Gospels is devoted to the events of the week leading up to Christ's trial and crucifixion; they are foreshadowed earlier in the Gospel by Christ's three "passion predictions." Mark teaches that true discipleship comes from an appreciation not so much of Christ's miracles as of the service and suffering that characterize his ministry and messiahship. Jesus is presented as reluctant to disclose his true nature to those who lack the understanding that comes from insight into his suffering.

Luke, Gospel according to Saint, third book of the New Testament. It was composed in the second half of the 1st cent. Since the 2d cent. it and the Acts of the Apostles have been ascribed to St. Luke; Acts is sometimes considered a sequel to the Gospel. Apparent sources for the Gospel are the Gospel of St. Mark and a hypothetical source containing material on which the Gospel of St. Matthew also drew. Traditions peculiar to Luke would account for the Gospel's infancy narrative and several parables—of the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, the unjust judge, and the rich man and Lazarus. Luke emphasizes that the era of the church makes Christian salvation available to all, Jews and Gentiles alike. The Gospel might be divided into the following sections: prologue addressed to one Theophilus; infancy and life of Jesus before his public career; his ministry in Galilee; travel narrative; ministry in Jerusalem; Christ's passion and resurrection.

John, Gospel according to Saint, fourth book of the New Testament. This account of Jesus' life is clearly set off from the other three Gospels (see Synoptic Gospels), although it is probable that John knew and used both Mark and Luke as sources. The Gospel opens with a prologue in which Jesus is identified with the Word (see Logos). This term echoes usages of the Old Testament ("Word of God"), contemporary Jewish Wisdom speculation, and contemporary Hellenistic philosophy, and designates a figure that mediates between God and the cosmos. Hence "the Word was made flesh" is the classic formulation of the Incarnation. The Gospel is also concerned with the dualism of darkness and light, a theme found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Gospel falls into two main sections. The first narrates a series of selected events from Christ's ministry. Lengthy monologues, often polemical in tone, reveal his claim to divine status, underscored by his performance of "signs." In chapter 9, for example, he heals a blind man, who is then expelled from the synagogue for declaring Jesus a prophet. This has been interpreted as reflecting a dispute between Christians of 1st-century Palestine and Jews who denied Jesus' significance. Hence the Gospel's presentation of Jesus, who repudiates all religious tradition not founded on him and asserts that no one can have access to God the Father except through him. The second section of the Gospel consists of a long account of the Last Supper, followed by the Passion and the Resurrection. The traditional date of composition is c.A.D. 100; according to 20th-century scholarship it was composed probably between A.D. 95 and 115. Writers of the late 2d cent. ascribed the work to John, son of Zebedee, who according to tradition lived in Ephesus. However, it is unlikely that this John was the author. Most modern scholars agree that a brief passage in chapters 7 and 8 was not part of the Gospel as originally composed; otherwise the book is usually considered to have been written almost exactly as it stands. The influence of the Gospel of St. John in Christianity has been great. It is an early and articulated statement of Christ's unique position in Christian theology as God and man—a doctrine central to the dogmas of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Atonement.

Hebrews, Gospel according to the: see Pseudepigrapha.

Gospel [M.E.,=good news; evangel from Gr.,= good news], a written account of the life of Jesus. Though the Gospels of the New Testament are all anonymous, since the 2d cent. they have been named Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The first three are called Synoptic Gospels because they agree in much of their subject matter, wording, and narrative order and so appear to be written from a common vantage point. Some Pseudepigrapha—e.g., the Gospel of Thomas—partly resemble the canonical Gospels. The solemn reading of the day's Gospel is a special feature of the liturgy in many churches. Formerly the Gospel (i.e., a book of the Gospels) was used instead of the Bible for the oath in courts in Christian countries. This sort of honor paid to the book resulted in some outstanding examples of illumination—e.g., the Lindisfarne Gospels (see Holy Island) and the Book of Kells (see under Ceanannus Mór). Sometimes the term "gospel" is used in a broader sense to indicate the Christian message of salvation.

Foursquare Gospel, International Church of the, fundamentalist Christian Church and evangelistic missionary body organized in California by Aimee Semple McPherson and Minnie Kennedy in 1927. It derived its name from the fourfold teaching of Christ as savior, healer, baptizer, and coming king. The parent church is Angelus Temple in Los Angeles. Ministers are trained at the Lighthouse of International Foursquare Evangelism (LIFE) Bible Training College, a coeducational institution in Los Angeles. There are 228,000 members in 1,850 churches in the United States and Canada (1999).

Egyptians, Gospel of the: see Pseudepigrapha.

Form of black American music derived from Pentecostal church worship services and from spiritual and blues singing. Recordings of Pentecostal preachers' sermons were immensely popular among African Americans in the 1920s. Taking the scriptural direction “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord” (Psalm 150), Pentecostal churches welcomed timbrels, pianos, banjos, guitars, other stringed instruments, and even brass into their services. Choirs often featured the extremes of female vocal range in antiphonal counterpoint with the preacher's sermon. Other forms of gospel music have included the singing and acoustic guitar playing of itinerant street preachers; individual secular performers; and harmonizing male quartets, whose acts included dance routines and stylized costumes. Gospel music's principal composers and practitioners included Thomas A. Dorsey, who coined the term; the Rev. C.A. Tindley (1851–1933); the blind wandering preacher Rev. Gary Davis (1896–1972); Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915–73), whose performances took gospel into nightclubs and theatres in the 1930s; and Mahalia Jackson. Gospel music was a significant influence on rhythm and blues and soul music, which have in turn strongly influenced contemporary gospel music.

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Religious social-reform movement in the U.S., prominent from circa 1870 to 1920 among liberal Protestant groups. The movement focused on applying moral principles to the improvement of industrialized society and particularly to reforms such as the abolition of child labour, a shorter workweek, and factory regulation. Many of its aims were realized through the rise of organized labour and through legislation of the New Deal.

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Any of the four New Testament books narrating the life and death of Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are placed at the beginning of the New Testament and make up about half its total text. Since the 18th century, the first three have been called the Synoptic Gospels, because they give similar accounts of the ministry of Jesus. The term is also applied to apocryphal works of the 2nd century (e.g., The Gospel of Thomas).

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