Have modern Christians forgotten what the Bible really means by "kingdom"? Theologian Scot McKnight thinks so, developing the idea in his latest book, Kingdom Conspiracy (Brazos, 2014). Paul J. Pastor interviewed McKnight to find out more.

You argue that "kingdom" is the term most misused by Christians today. In short, how do we misuse it?

We all assume we know what it means. Like the word "gospel," which I examined in King Jesus Gospel, which we constantly assume means "how to get saved" or the "message that can be shaped into the plan of salvation." But this is not how "gospel" was used in the New Testament. So it is with the word "kingdom," which has become nearly synonymous with two different standard uses.

For some "kingdom" means acting in the public sector for the common good in order to create a world with better conditions. For others it has come to mean little more than salvation, or what ...