Interpretation articles from April 2004

Interpretation archives from April 2004

Editorial.(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... "WHAT A FRIEND We Have in Jesus." Regardless of the sentimental notions that characterize this hymnic portrayal, the gospels clearly depict Jesus as a friend to the friendless: "the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a...

Friends with God? Moses and the possibility of covenantal friendship.(Critical Essay)
April 1, 2004... After accepting the invitation to write on "friendship and covenant," a Bible scholar friend asked me: "What are you going to say? Those ideas seem completely antithetical to me." At first glance, the evidence seems to support this assessment....

Jonathan's gift of friendship.(Critical Essay)
April 1, 2004... Neither of the two most striking stories of interpersonal devotion in Hebrew scripture actually employs the term "friendship." In both of these stories, the relationship is between in-laws: Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, and Jonathan and...

Jesus as friend in the Gospel of John.(Critical Essay)
April 1, 2004... Hannah is my best friend," says my seven-year-old neighbor about the eight-year-old girl who lives two doors down from her. I do not know how Solveig would define friendship. But I do know that Solveig expresses her friendship when she walks to...

Making connections: the material expression of friendship in the New Testament.(Critical Essay)
April 1, 2004... Regarding friendship in the New Testament, this essay makes three kinds of connections. The first is the connection between the explicit and the implicit, between denotation and connotation. Although rarely discussed explicitly, friendship...

1 Samuel 20:1-17.(Between Text & Sermon)(Critical Essay)
April 1, 2004... Tell all the Truth but tell it slant-- Success in Circuit lies. --Emily Dickinson Dickinson's advice to poets and artists applies to those who preach from 1 Sam 20:1-17. This text has a truth to tell about friendship, but...

John 11:1-53.(Between Text & Sermon)(Critical Essay)
April 1, 2004... THE STORY OF THE RAISING OF LAZARUS could keep a preacher busy well beyond the lectionary's recommended times of Lent 5 in Year A and All Saints Day. I have used it as an Easter text, and the dialogue with Martha is a common reading at...

Philippians 2:5-11.(Between Text & Sermon)(Critical Essay)
April 1, 2004... The Revised Common Lectionary does us a favor by including v. 5, rather than isolating the narrative or "hymn" (vv. 6-11) from its context. (May preachers follow that lead!) The "mind" mentioned in v. 5 is not simply knowledge or a private...

John 15:12-17.(Between Text & Sermon)(Critical Essay)
April 1, 2004... John 15:12-17 (Easter 6, Year B) stands at the very heart of the Farewell Discourse and speaks pointedly of love, the distinguishing mark of the community that continues to exist in the world in Jesus' name. At the outset of the discourse, upon...

The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations.(Major Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations by Carol A. Newsom Oxford University Press, New York, 2003. 301 pp. $49.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-19-515015-5. NEWSOM'S BOOK is difficult and deep, not unlike the object of her study. The...

Jeremiah.(Major Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Jeremiah by Terence Fretheim Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary. Smyth & Helwys, Macon, 2002. 704 pp. $65.00 (cloth). ISBN 1-57312-072-3. FRETHEIM'S VOLUME IS concerned with readers. One can scarcely turn a page in the first half of...

Judaism When Christianity Began: A Survey of Belief and Practice.(Major Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Judaism When Christianity Began: A Survey of Belief and Practice by Jacob Neusner Westminster John Knox, Louisville, Kentucky. 2002. 202 pp. $19.95. ISBN 0-664-22527-6. THIS LATEST WORK COMPLEMENTS Neusner's substantial...

John.(Major Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... John by D. Moody Smith, Jr. Abingdon New Testament Commentary Series. Abingdon, Nashville, 1999. 428 pp. $28.00. ISBN 0-687-05812-0. WITH A DISTINGUISHED CAREER THAT SPANS nearly forty years, D. Moody Smith is one of the...

Marriage and Modernization: How Globalization Threatens Marriage and What to Do about It.(Major Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Marriage and Modernization: How Globalization Threatens Marriage and What to Do about It by Don S. Browning Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2003. 258 pp. $30.00. ISBN 0-8028-1112-4. BETWEEN 1991 AND 1997, the Religion, Culture, and Family...

The Forgotten God: Perspectives in Biblical Theology, Essays in Honor of Paul J. Achtemeier on the Occasion of his Seventy-Fifth Birthday.(Shorter Reviews)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... The Forgotten God: Perspectives in Biblical Theology, Essays in Honor of Paul J. Achtemeier on the Occasion of his Seventy-Fifth Birthday edited by A. Andrew Das and Frank J. Matera Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2002. 300 pp....

Just Wives? Stories of Power and Survival in the Old Testament and Today.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Just Wives? Stories of Power and Survival in the Old Testament and Today by Katharine Doob Sakenfeld Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2003. 136 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-664-22660-4. AT FIRST GLANCE, Sakenfeld's study of eleven...

First and Second Chronicles.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... First and Second Chronicles by Paul K. Hooker Westminster Bible Companion. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2001. 305 pp. $19.95. ISBN 0-664-25591-4. HOOKER RESPONDS WITH conspicuous success to the challenge to write an...

Injustice Made Legal: Deuteronomic Law and the Plight of Widows, Strangers, and Orphans in Ancient Israel.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Injustice Made Legal: Deuteronomic Law and the Plight of Widows, Strangers, and Orphans in Ancient Israel by Harold V. Bennett Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2002. 222 pp. $28.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8028-3909-6. THE CONTENTION OF THE author...

Daniel.(Shorter Reviews)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Daniel by Ernest C. Lucas Apollos Old Testament Commentary 20. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 2002. 359 pp. $35.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8308-2519-3. THIS COMMENTARY SUCCEEDS admirably in meeting the purposes of its series: to offer...

Amos--The Prophet and His Oracles: Research on the Book of Amos.(Shorter Reviews)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Amos--The Prophet and His Oracles: Research on the Book of Amos by M. Daniel Carroll R. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2002. $32.95. ISBN 0-664-22455-5. CARROLL'S COMPILATION of essays and bibliography on the book of Amos is...

Jesus in His Jewish Context.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Jesus in His Jewish Context by Geza Vermes Fortress, Minneapolis, 2003. 208 pp. $19.00 ISBN 0-8006-3623-6. IN A PREFACE TO THIS COLLECTION of studies (which first appeared as Jesus and the World of Judaism, [Fortress, 1984]),...

Apocalypse Recalled: The Book of Revelation After Christendom.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Apocalypse Recalled: The Book of Revelation After Christendom by Harry O. Maier Fortress, Minneapolis, 2002. 250 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-8006-3492-6. THIS BOOK IS NOT A COMMENTARY but a provocative and complex study of how to read the...

Revelation.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Revelation by Grant R. Osborne Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Baker, Grand Rapids, 2002. 889 pp. $49.99 (cloth). ISBN 0-8010-2299-1. Revelation by John R. Yeatts Believers Church Bible Commentary....

Blessed One: Protestant Perspectives on Mary.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Blessed One: Protestant Perspectives on Mary edited by Beverly Roberts Gaventa and Cynthia L. Rigby Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2002. 158 pp. $19.95. ISBN 0-664-22438-5. THIS COLLECTION of essays about Mary, the mother of...

The Cost of Moral Leadership: The Spirituality of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... The Cost of Moral Leadership: The Spirituality of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Geffrey B. Kelly and F. Burton Nelson Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2003. 300 pp. $25.00. ISBN 0-8028-0511-6. THE AUTHORS OF THIS WORK bring years of experience to...

Treasures Old and New: Images in the Lectionary.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Treasures Old and New: Images in the Lectionary by Gail Ramshaw Fortress, Minneapolis, 2002. 477 pp. $35.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8006-3189-7. LIKE A GARDEN, the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) provides nourishment and beauty. Like a...

Too Deep For Words: A Theology of Liturgical Expression.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Too Deep For Words: A Theology of Liturgical Expression by Clayton J. Schmit Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2002. 143 pp. $18.95. ISBN 0-664-22392-3. SCHMIT IS MASTERFUL IN HIS reflection on artful worship. He adeptly...

Making Time for God: Daily Devotions for Children and Families to Share.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Making Time for God: Daily Devotions for Children and Families to Share by Susan R. Garrett and Amy Plantinga Pauw Baker, Grand Rapids, 2002. 384 pp. $16.99. ISBN 0-8010-4505-3. HOW MUCH CAN ONE EXPECT of a daily devotional book...

Confessing Jesus Christ: Preaching in a Postmodern World.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Confessing Jesus Christ: Preaching in a Postmodern World by David J. Lose Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2003. 264 pp. $27.00. ISBN 0-8028-4983-0. THROUGH THIS PUBLICATION, based upon the author's doctoral dissertation, Lose establishes...

Preaching God's Compassion.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Preaching God's Compassion by LeRoy H. Aden and Robert G. Hughes Fortress Resources for Preaching. Fortress, Minneapolis, 2002. 176 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-8006-3577-9. FORMER COLLEAGUES AT Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia,...

Other-Wise Preaching: A Postmodern Ethic for Homiletics.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Other-Wise Preaching: A Postmodern Ethic for Homiletics by John S. McClure Chalice, St. Louis, 2001. 175 pp. $26.99. ISBN 0-8272-2715-9. MCCLURE APPLIES THE deconstruction method of French phenomenological philosopher Emmanuel...

Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in Ecumenical, International, and Contextual Perspective.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in Ecumenical, International, and Contextual Perspective by Veli-Matti Karkkainen Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2002. 195 pp. $15.99. ISBN 0-8010-2448-X. TOWARD THE END OF HIS theological career, Karl...

Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know.(Shorter Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know by John Kaltner Fortress, Minneapolis, 2003. 152 pp. $6.00. ISBN 0-8006-3583-3. BY THE AUTHOR'S OWN admission, this is not a comprehensive introduction to Islam. Still, it covers a lot of ground...

On the Cutting Edge: The Study of Women in Biblical Worlds, Essays in honor of Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... On the Cutting Edge: The Study of Women in Biblical Worlds, Essays in Honor of Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza edited by Jane Schaberg, Alice Balch, and Esther Fuchs Continuum, New York, 2003. 254 pp. $29.95. ISBN 0-8264-1582-2. These...

Are We Amused? Humour About Women in the Biblical Worlds.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Are We Amused? Humour About Women in the Biblical Worlds edited by Athalya Brenner JSOT Supplement Series 383. T & T Clark, New York, 2003. 158 pp. $105.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8264-7083-1. This book contains seven essays that explore...

The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric by David E. Aune Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2003. 595 pp. $49.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-664-21917-9. This dictionary is designed to provide a...

Narrative Reading, Narrative Preaching: Reuniting New Testament Interpretation and Proclamation.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Narrative Reading, Narrative Preaching: Reuniting New Testament Interpretation and Proclamation edited by Joel B. Green and Michael Pasquarello III Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2003, 198 pp. $16.99. ISBN 0-8010-2721-7. The essays...

The Continuum History of Apocalypticism.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... The Continuum History of Apocalypticism edited by Bernard McGinn, John J. Collins, and Stephen J. Stein Continuum, New York, 2003. 720 pp. $75.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8264-1520-2. This one volume edition is a condensation of the...

Reformed Theology for the Third Christian Millennium: The 2001 Sprunt Lectures.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Reformed Theology for the Third Christian Millennium: The 2001 Sprunt Lectures edited by B. A. Gerrish Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2003. 120 pp. $19.95. ISBN 0-664-22586-1. This book contains the 2001 Sprunt Lectures,...