Interpretation articles from January 1999

Interpretation archives from January 1999

Christ takes our place: rethinking atonement.
January 1, 1999... Rethinking Atonement MY FAVORITE BAPTIST PREACHER, Will Campbell, was once asked to state the Christian message in ten words or less. He took eight. "We're all bastards," he said, "but God loves us anyway."(1) That summary--and I can't think...

Atonement and the Christian life: reformed doctrine from a feminist perspective.
January 1, 1999... Reformed Doctrine from a Feminist Perspective AS A SEMINARY PROFESSOR I frequently meet women in theological education who share a common stance toward feminist theology. While rejecting many of the constructive moves of feminist and womanist...

The atonement: healing in postmodern society.
January 1, 1999... Healing in Postmodern Society HOW IS THE ATONING WORK of Christ efficacious for healing in contemporary postmodern society? I propose in this essay to correlate a revised Christus Victor view of the atonement with a psychodynamic understanding...

The word of the cross at the turn of the ages.(Christian theology)
January 1, 1999... "THE CROSS HAD COME TO REPRESENT complacency and exclusivity, the pastor said, and Glide had no use for '"self-righteous" people who conspire to use religion as a means of standing far off from the world.'" In 1967, Cecil Williams, pastor of...

Mark 9:33-37: discipleship of equals at the cradle and the cross.
January 1, 1999... Discipleship of equals at the cradle and the cross IN MARK 9:33--37 the disciples' argument over which of them is the greatest is juxtaposed to Jesus' teaching that "the one who wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all,"...

Hebrews 10:19-25.
January 1, 1999... I RECENTLY HEARD that the Episcopal Church refers to the Sunday after Easter as Low Sunday--because it has the lowest attendance at worship of any Sunday of the year! Most Protestant denominations could borrow that terminology. It is a common...

I John 2:1-11.
January 1, 1999... "LIFE, FAITH, AND THE CHURCH--are all essentially about relationships." I recal an elderly member sharing this insight in a discussion we had about what it means to be a faith community. That person would feel very comfortable with the words of 1...

Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy.(Review)
January 1, 1999... Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy, by Walter Brueggemann. Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, 1997. 777 pp. $48.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8006-3087-4. BRUEGGEMANN OPENS his newest work with a thorough and bracing review of Old...

Ecclesiastes: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary.(Review)
January 1, 1999... Ecclesiastes: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, by C. L. Seow. AB 18C. Doubleday, New York, 1997. 419 pp. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-385-41114-6. TWO MAJOR COMMENTARIES on Ecclesiastes have recently burst upon the exegetical...

The Book of Ecclesiastes.(Review)
January 1, 1999... The Book of Ecclesiastes, by Tremper Longman, III. NICOT. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1998. 306 pp. $35.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8028-2366-1. TWO MAJOR COMMENTARIES on Ecclesiastes have recently burst upon the exegetical scene (not to mention the recent...

The Theology of Paul the Apostle.(Review)
January 1, 1999... The Theology of Paul the Apostle, by James D. G. Dunn. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1998. 808 pp. $45.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8028-3844-8. THIS IMPRESSIVE EFFORT deals with the full range of issues pertaining to Paul's theology. Dunn's study builds on...

First Corinthians.(Review)
January 1, 1999... First Corinthians, by Richard B. Hays. Interpretation: A Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. John Knox, Louisville, 1997. 299 pp. $24.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8042-3144-3. THERE IS MUCH TO PRAISE. In Richard Hays's excellent and reliable guide...

Go Out and Meet God: A Commentary on the Book of Exodus.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Go Out and Meet God: A Commentary on the Book of Exodus, by Godfrey W. Ashby. ITC. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1998. 146 pp. $16.00. ISBN 0-8028-4332-8. THESE BOOKS HAVE ENOUGH IN COMMON that they can easily be reviewed by comparing one with the...

Exodus.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Exodus, by J. Gerald Janzen. Westminster Bible Commentary. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1997. 275 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-664-25255-9. THESE BOOKS HAVE ENOUGH IN COMMON that they can easily be reviewed by comparing one with the other. Both...

The Pentateuch: A Liberation-Critical Reading.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... The Pentateuch: A Liberation-Critical Reading, by Alice Laffey. Fortress, Minneapolis, 1998, 216 pp. $21.00. ISBN 0-8006-2872-1. THE BIBLE HAS SOMETIMES been accused of being antithetical to environmental concerns. In this book, Laffey provides...

Ruth: A Commentary.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Ruth: A Commentary, by Kirsten Nielsen. Translated by Edward Broadbridge. OTL. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1997. 106 pp. $20.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-664-22092-4. NIELSEN HAS CONTRIBUTED a fresh, thoughtful, and in some cases venturesome Ruth...

Reading from the Beginning: The Shaping of the Hebrew Psalter.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Reading From the Beginning: The Shaping of the Hebrew Psalter, by Nancy L. DeClaisse-Walford. Mercer University Press, Macon, 1997. 13 pp. $30.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-86554-567-7. IN UNDERTAKING A CANONICAL STUDY of the Hebrew Psalter,...

Hear, My Son: Teaching and Learning in Proverbs 1-9.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Hear, My Son: Teaching & Learning in Proverbs 1-9, by Daniel J. Estes. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1997. 174 pp. $20.00. ISBN 0-8028-4404-9. WRITTEN MORE FOR THE PASTOR than the academician, this work focuses on the descriptive and normative...

Reading Prophetic Narratives.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Reading Prophetic Narratives, by Uriel Simon. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1997. 368 pp. $44.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-253-33227-3. THIS LONG-AWAITED VOLUME by a senior Israeli scholar is a superb example of modern Orthodox Jewish biblical...

Africa and the Africans in the Old Testament.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Africa and the Africans in the Old Testament, by David Tuesday Adamo, Christian University Press, Bethesda, 1998. 208 pp. $54.95. ISBN 1-57309-204-5. ADAMO SETS as his task the recovery of the place and significance of Africa in the ancient...

Missing Persons and Mistaken Identities: Women and Gender in Ancient Israel.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Missing Persons and Mistaken Identities: Women and Gender in Ancient Israel, by Phyllis A. Bird. Fortress, Minneapolis, 1997. 291 pp. $19.00. ISBN 0-8006-3128-5. READERS WILL WELCOME this collection of twelve previously published essays,...

The Strange Woman: Power and Sex in the Bible.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... The Strange Woman: Power and Sex in the Bible, by Gail Corrington Streete, Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1997. 219 pp. $19.00. ISBN 0-664-25622-8. THIS INTRIGUING VOLUME focuses on the "bad women" of the Bible, marginal females who are...

The Temptations of Jesus in Mark's Gospel.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... The Temptations of Jesus in Mark's Gospel, by Susan R. Garrett. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1998. 212 pp. $20.00. ISBN 0-8028-4259-3. DECLARING THAT "TEMPTATION" or "test" was a cultural convention among Jews and Christians of the first century,...

The Gospel of Luke.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... The Gospel of Luke, by Joel B. Green, NICNT. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1997. 928 pp. $50.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8028-2315-7. THIS COMMENTARY'S METHODS, scope, insight, and practical use make it a significant contribution for scholars, preachers,...

The Gospel of John.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... The Gospel of John, by Francis J. Moloney. Sacra Pagina, vol.4. Liturgical Press, Collegeville, 1998. 594 pp. $34.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8146-5806-7. MOLONEY'S COMMENTARY concentrates on the narrative of the text without ignoring the historical...

To Every Nation Under Heaven: The Acts of the Apostles.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... To Every Nation Under Heaven: The Acts of the Apostles, by Howard Clark Kee, Trinity Press International, Harrisburg, 1997. 361 pp. $24.00. ISBN 1-56338-221-0. KEE'S NEW COMMENTARY on Acts, part of Trinity Press' "The New Testament in Context"...

1 John, 2 John, 3 John.(Review)
January 1, 1999... 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, by David Rensberger. ANTC. Abington, Nashville, 1997. 174 pp. $19.95. ISBN 0-687-05722-1. WOULD THAT THE JOHANNINE EPISTLES had been composed with the clarity shining throughout this commentary! Following a carefully...

The God of Jesus: The Historical Jesus and the Search for Meaning.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... The God of Jesus: The Historical Jesus and the Search for Meaning, by Stephen J. Patterson. Trinity Press International, Harrisburg, 1998. 305 pp. $20.00. ISBN 1-56338-228-8. PATTERSON INDICATES in this book what the words and deeds of Jesus...

The Revelation of God and/as Human Reception in the New Testament.(Review)
January 1, 1999... The Revelation of God and/as Human Reception in the New Testament, by Dan O. via. Trinity Press International, Harrisburg, 1997. 256 pp. $20.00. ISBN 1-56338-198-2. EVEN THOUGH THE BOOK'S TITLE suggests that Via is ambiguous about the...

'Into the Name of the Lord Jesus': Baptism in the Early Church.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... `Into the Name of the Lord Jesus': Baptism in the Early Church, by Lars Hartman. Studies of the New Testament and Its World. T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1997. 214 pp. 19.99 [pounds sterling]. ISBN 0-567-08589-9. THIS CONCISE STUDY of early Christian...

One Right Reading? A Guide to Irenaeus.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... One Right Reading? A Guide to Irenaeus, by Mary Ann Donovan. Liturgical Press, Collegeville, 1997. 197 pp. $18.95. ISBN 0-8146-5875-X. THE THREAT POSED by Gnosticism in the late second century forced the church to clarify and secure such...

Postmodernity: Christian Identity in a Fragmented Age.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Postmodernity: Christian Identity in a Fragmented Age, by Paul Lakeland. Guides to Theological Inquiry. Fortress, Minneapolis, 1997. 126 pp. $14.00. ISBN 0-8006-3098-X. LAKELAND'S WORK provides a clear and concise introduction to postmodern...

We Shall All Be Changed: Social Problems and Theological Renewal.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... We Shall All Be Changed: Social Problems and Theological Renewal, by James H. Evans Jr. Fortress, Minneapolis, 1997. 108 pp. $9.00. ISBN 0-8006-3084-X. EVANS ADDRESSES three significant social problems and their relationship to the Christian...

Ethics and Theology: Innovation and Transformation in Community Contexts.(Review)
January 1, 1999... Ethics and Theology: Innovation and Transformation in Community Contexts, by John Hart. Pilgrim Press, Cleveland, 1997. 174 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-8298-1222-9. IN THIS BOOK HART OFFERS a communitarian perspective on technological innovation....

By the Renewing of Your Minds: The Pastoral Function of Christian Doctrine.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... By the Renewing of Your Minds: The Pastoral Function of Christian Doctrine, by Ellen T. Charry. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997. 264 pp. $45.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-19-509710-6. LONG HAS DOCTRINAL THEOLOGY suffered under the suspicion of being...

Reckoning With Aggression: Theology, Violence and Vitality.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Reckoning With Aggression: Theology, Violence and Vitality, by Kathleen J. Greider. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1997. 144 pp. $15.00. ISBN 0-644-25668-6. GREIDER OBSERVES the polar aspects of aggression--its constructive and destructive...

God Never Forgets: Faith, Hope, and Alzheimer's Disease.(Review)
January 1, 1999... God Never Forgets: Faith, Hope, and Alzheimer's Disease, edited by Donald K. McKim. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1998. 118 pp. $12.00. ISBN 0-664-25704-6. THIS IS THE SECOND BOOK on this topic from separate mainline-Protestant publishing...

Preaching That Matters: The Bible and Our Lives.(Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Preaching that Matters: The Bible and Our Lives, by Stephen Farris. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1998. 170 pp. $17.00. ISBN 0-664-25759-3. PREACHERS FACE the perennial problem of composing a sermon that relates the biblical text for the...