Too Good To Be Gone Soon: Remembering Tom Gilson

Ever wondered why Jesus who spoke about the power and necessity of faith never once mentioned His faith in the Father/God? This surprising silence on the part of Christ is a veiled reference to His self-understanding as Divine. And it was Tom Gilson who pointed it out.

This was one of the many insightful findings in his book 'Too Good To Be False: How Jesus' Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality'. The book was my introduction to his work and led to my interaction with him on SAFT Podcast back in November 2020. Tom Gilson's thesis was decisively novel: the character of Jesus is just too 'good' to be the product of fables and hashed together legends. The thesis presented Jesus' greatness unnoticed by many and drew the readers to worship of the Lord.

Later, we had the distinct privilege to invite him to speak at Areopagus 2021. He shared publicly for the first time a novel argument for the Resurrection based off of Paul's love for the church in Corinth. And there lies what set Tom Gilson apart.

The Resurrection argument was simple: Paul loved the church at Corinth so much that he couldn't lie to them about something as monumental - to Paul's ministry to the Corinthians - as the Resurrection. This is a remarkable insight that we've often missed. Paul's writings make clear how much he loved and, more importantly, suffered for and with the Corinthians. It took someone like Tom Gilson to wake us up to it.

Though my interactions with him were limited, the lingering memory that I share with those who have known him much longer remains the same: a wise and kind man. Tom's legacy to this end stands not because he avoided difficult topics, for he surely wrote on such issues at The Stream. But it is solely due to his character. He possessed the ability to narrate well, while retaining the sting of his arguments.

Tom Gilson's departure at the end of his cancer battle last week, as with all departures, leaves mixed feelings. He had so much more to teach us about conveying ideas with meekness and strength, yes strength indeed! As I write this, Aslan comes to mind. Maybe he was a bit like when Aslan would speak. There was something in his writings that I cannot put a finger on, despite my attempts above, that spoke to me about how good, nay great, a writer he was. I wonder how much more I'll appreciate his works as I read more of his penmanship. Or maybe he had shared all he was commissioned to.

For now he rests in the presence of the Lord, who is too good to be the concoction of men of lowly ambitions.