Interpretation articles from January 2005

Interpretation archives from January 2005

Editorial.(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... "TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY," the nineteenth century hymn writer exhorted worshippers in that era. For some twenty-first century hearers that injunction may sound like an obsolete expectation or conjure up memories of repressive religious habits. For...

Manna and Sabbath: a literary-theological reading of Exodus 16.(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2005... There is no scholarly consensus on the historical origin of the institution of the Sabbath. (1) Although some maintain it was a post-exilic invention, most scholars, while conceding that the Sabbath rose to prominence in that period as a...

"Holy, as the Lord your God commanded you": Sabbath in the new testament.(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2005... Prominent in the homogenized gospel that many Christians carry in our memories are accounts in which Jesus is in conflict with Jewish religious authorities when he heals people on the Sabbath. Having learned (and accepted by faith) that Jesus...

Christian formation in and for Sabbath rest.
January 1, 2005... Stanley Wiersma, poet, professor and heir of the Dutch Reformed tradition, introduced a story about his Iowa childhood with a question: Were my parents right or wrong not to mow the ripe oats that Sunday morning with the...

Reclaimed by Sabbath rest.
January 1, 2005... The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27 Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and...

Genesis 2:1-3.(Between Text and Sermon)(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2005... THIS SPRING, WENDY AND I WATCHED AS OUR oldest son walked down the aisle to receive his high school diploma--an event Sean is treating with far more maturity and aplomb than his parents! It was hard, watching him take this step into independent...

Exodus 8-11.(Between Text and Sermon)(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2005... But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. Exodus 8:15 Dance, dance, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the dance said he. I will lead you...

Mark 2:23-28.(Between Text and Sermon)(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2005... "BECAUSE I COULD" WAS FORMER PRESIDENT Bill Clinton's answer, in an interview about his biography, My Life, to the question of why he engaged in actions that violated his marriage vows and ultimately risked damaging his presidential legacy, if...

John 5:1-9.(Between Text and Sermon)(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2005... AS YOU READ JOHN 5:1-19, you have to wonder, "Why does he do it?" You have to wonder, "Why does Jesus heal this man on this day, of all days, a Sabbath?" I mean, why doesn't he wait until tomorrow? The man has been ill for thirty-eight...

The God of Old: Inside the Lost World of the Bible.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The God of Old: Inside the Lost World of the Bible by James L. Kugel Free Press, New York, 2003. 270 pp. $13.00. ISBN 0-7432-3584-3. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JAMES KUGEL, RECENTLY OF HARVARD AND NOW in Jerusalem, here continues...

Leviticus.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Leviticus by Samuel E. Balentine Interpretation. John Knox, Louisville, 2002. 220 pp. $24.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8042-3103-6. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THIS VOLUME IS PART OF THE Interpretation series that is designed for use in the...

Understanding Old Testament Ethics: Approaches and Explorations.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Understanding Old Testament Ethics: Approaches and Explorations by John Barton Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2003. 212 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-664-22596-9. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR THE LAST TWO DECADES JOHN BARTON has been...

I & II Timothy and Titus: A Commentary.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... I & II Timothy and Titus: A Commentary by Raymond Collins New Testament Library. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2002. 408 pp. $34.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-664-22247-1. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE OLD TESTAMENT LIBRARY COMMENTARY...

Theology in America: Christian Thought from the Age of the Puritans to the Civil War.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Theology in America: Christian Thought from the Age of the Puritans to the Civil War by E. Brooks Holifield Yale University Press, New Haven, 2003. 617 pp. $35.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-300-09574-0. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE...

Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming by Catherine Keller Routledge, New York, 2003, 307pp. $25.95. ISBN0-415-25649-6. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ONE NEEDS TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH and to cross one's fingers when attempting to...

Psalms 1-72.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Psalms 1-72 by Richard J. Clifford Abingdon, Nashville, 2002. 338 pp. $28.00. ISBN 0-687-02711-X. ONE WHO SITS IN THE SEATS of the scoffers might well ask, "Does the world really need another Psalms commentary?" To such an...

Psalms 101-150, revised.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Psalms 101-150, revised by Leslie C. Allen Word Biblical Commentary, 21. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002. 423 pp. $39.99 (cloth). ISBN 0-7852-4773-4. GIVEN THE NUMEROUS recent works in Psalms studies, this revision has provided a...

Qoheleth: A Continental Commentary.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Qoheleth: A Continental Commentary. by Norbert Lohfink Translated by Sean McEvenue. Fortress, Minneapolis, 2003. 176 pp. $23.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8006-9604-2. THIS BRIEF VOLUME BY a leading European scholar of Qoheleth...

Micah: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Micah: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by Francis I. Andersen and David Noel Freedman The Anchor Bible Vol. 24 E. Doubleday, New York, 2000. 601 pp. $42.50 (cloth). ISBN 0-385-08402-1. WITH THIS VOLUME the...

Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Context, and Significance.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Context, and Significance by David A. deSilva Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2002. 428 pp. $32.99 (cloth). ISBN 0-8010-2319-X. THOSE CULTURED OFT-DESPISERS of the Apocrypha, evangelical...

The Word in This World: Essays in New Testament Exegesis and Theology.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Word in This World: Essays in New Testament Exegesis and Theology by Paul W. Meyer; edited by John T. Carroll New Testament Library. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2004. 338 pp. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-664-22701-5 PAUL...

Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views by Dan O. Via and Robert A. J. Gagnon Fortress, Minneapolis, 2003. 117 pp. $13.00. ISBN 0-8006-3618-X. IF EVER A BOOK HAS DEMONSTRATED the deep rift between rival appropriations of the Bible...

101 Questions & Answers on Paul.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... 101 Questions & Answers on Paul by Ronald D. Witherup Paulist, New York, 2003. 220 pp. $16.95. ISBN 0-8091-4180-9. IN THIS WORTHY ADDITION to Paulist Press's helpful 101 Questions & Answers series, Ronald Witherup treats a wide...

The Letters to the Thessalonians.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Letters to the Thessalonians by Gene L. Green Pillar New Testament Commentary, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2002, 400 pp. $42.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8028-3738-7. GENE L. GREEN, ASSOCIATE professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in...

Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary by Harold Hoehner Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2002. 941 pp. $59.99 (cloth). ISBN 0-8010-2614-8. THIS COMMENTARY IS NOT part of any current...

Revelation and the End of All Things.(The Throne, the Lamb, and the Dragon)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Revelation and the End of All Things. by Craig R Koester Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2001. 209 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-8028-4660-2. The Throne, the Lamb, and the Dragon. by Paul Spilsbury InterVarsity Press, Downer's Grove, 2002....

Karl Barth's Anthropology in Light of Modern Thought.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Karl Barth's Anthropology in Light of Modern Thought by Daniel J. Price Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2002. 322 pp. $34.00. ISBN 0-8028-4726-9. THE AUTHORARGUES THAT Barth's anthropology bears "intriguing similarities to the anthropology...

The Salvation of Souls: Nine Previously Unpublished Sermons on the Call of Ministry and the Gospel by Jonathan Edwards.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Salvation of Souls: Nine Previously Unpublished Sermons on the Call of Ministry and the Gospel by Jonathan Edwards edited by Richard A. Bailey and Gregory A. Wills Crossway, Wheaton, III., 2002. 190 pp. $19.99 (cloth). ISBN...

A History of Lutheranism.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... A History of Lutheranism by Eric W. Gritsch Fortress, Minneapolis. 2002. 346 pp. $29.00. ISBN 0-8006-3472-1. FOR AWHILE NOW, THERE has been a need for a single-volume history of global Lutheranism that can clearly provide a sense...

Terror and Triumph.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Terror and Triumph by Anthony B. Pinn Fortress, Minneapolis, 2003. 274 pp. $22.00. ISBN 0-8006-3601-5. IN THIS IMPORTANT BOOK, we have a recounting of black people's suffering in the United States of America and the role of the...

The Angry Christian: A Theology for Care and Counseling.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Angry Christian: A Theology for Care and Counseling by Andrew W. Lester Westminster John Knox, Lousiville, 2003. 308 pp. $28.95. ISBN 0-664-22519-5. THIS BOOK IS AN ATTEMPT to gather foundational ingredients that inform our...

Bullying: A Spiritual Crisis.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Bullying: A Spiritual Crisis by Ronald Hecker Cram Chalice, St. Louis, 2003. 121 pp. $18.99. ISBN 0-8272-0234-2. "WHAT IS BULLYING? WHY should Christian people take bullying seriously?" (p. 2). Cram begins his book on this...

Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens edited by Dorothy C Bass and Don C Richter Upper Room Books, Nashville, 2002. 310 pp. $16.00. ISBN 0-8358-0975-7. AT FIRST GLANCE, this book is written for teens. With another look you...

Hearing God's Call: Ways of Discernment for Laity and Clergy.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Hearing God's Call: Ways of Discernment for Laity and Clergy by Ben Campbell Johnson Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2002. 180 pp. $16.00. ISBN 0-8028-3961-4. STRUGGLING WITH ONE'S CALL to ministry is a familiar activity both in seminaries...

Habits of the High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Habits of the High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age. by Quentin J. Schultze Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2002. 256 pp. $24.99. ISBN 0-8010-2322-X. HOW SHOULD WE LIVE with the Internet and its attendant digital...

To Kill and Take Possession: Law, Morality, and Society in Biblical Stories.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... To Kill and Take Possession: Law, Morality, and Society in Biblical Stories by Daniel Friedman Hendrickson, Peabody, 2002, 327 pp. $29.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56563-641-4. THIS BOOK CONSISTS OF twenty-two essays, each of which deals...

Covenant, Community and the Common Good.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Covenant, Community and the Common Good by Eric Mount, Jr. Pilgrim Press, Cleveland, 1999. 188 pp. $19.95. ISBN 0-8298-1355-1. RECENT DISSATISFACTION with secular liberalism has led to a retrieval of earlier social ideals that...

With All Your Mind: A Christian Philosophy of Education.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... With All Your Mind: A Christian Philosophy of Education by Michael L. Peterson Notre Dame University Press, Notre Dame, 2002. 260 pp. $18.95. ISBN 0-268-01968-1. THIS BOOK IS A READABLE study of a complex topic. In the opening...

Worship as Meaning: A Liturgical Theology for Late Modernity.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Worship as Meaning: A Liturgical Theology for Late Modernity by Graham Hughes Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003. 330 pp. $26.00. ISBN 0-521-53557-3. IN THIS BREATHTAKING SCHOLARLY...

Preaching and Worship.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Preaching and Worship by Thomas H. Troeger Preaching and its Partners. Chalice, St. Louis, 2003. 137 pp. $19.99. ISBN 0-8272-2978-X. PREACHING AND WORSHIP IS THE most recent book in the "Preaching and Its Partners" series...

Christian Assembly: Marks of the Church in a Pluralistic Age.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Christian Assembly: Marks of the Church in a Pluralistic Age by Gordon W. Lathrop and Timothy J. Wengert Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004., 180 pp. $17.00. ISBN 0-8006-3660-0. GORDON LATHROP AND Timothy Wengert, who have taught...

"Let me know you ...": Reflections on Augustine's Search for God.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... "Let me know you...": Reflections on Augustine's Search for God by Donald X. Burt, O.S.A. Liturgical Press, Collegeville, 2003. 117 pp. $11.95. ISBN 0-8146-2957-1. IN THIS BRIEF, ACCESSIBLE volume, Burt contributes a personally...

Reading the Bible Today: A 21st Century Appreciation of Scripture.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Reading the Bible Today: A 21st Century Appreciation of Scripture by Edgar V. McKnight Smith & Helwys, Macon, 2003. 151 pp. $17.00. ISBN 1-57312-407-9. Biblical scholar McKnight treats the human nature of the Bible in its cultural...

Family in the Bible: Exploring Customs, Culture, and Context.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Family in the Bible: Exploring Customs, Culture, and Context edited by Richard S. Hess and M. Daniel Carroll R. Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2003. 175 pp. $16.99. ISBN 0-8010-2628-8. Seven contributors explore family as it is...

The Fiery Throne: The Prophets and Old Testament Theology.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Fiery Throne: The Prophets and Old Testament Theology by Walther Zimmerli Fortress Classics in Biblical Studies. Fortress, Minneapolis, 2003. 179 pp. $16.00. ISBN 0-8006-3620-1. This work by a renowned scholar on Ezekiel,...

Reading the Gospels in the Dark: Portrayals of Jesus in Film.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Reading the Gospels in the Dark: Portrayals of Jesus in Film by Richard Walsh Trinity Press International, Harrisburg, 2003. 209 pp. $18.00. ISBN 1-56338-387-X. This discussion brings together "Jesus films," the canonical Gospels,...

Preaching the Gospels without Blaming the Jews: A Lectionary Commentary.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Preaching the Gospels without Blaming the Jews: A Lectionary Commentary by Ronald J. Allen and Clark M. Williamson Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2004. 261 pp. $24.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-664-22763-5. The authors focus on the...

And You Welcomed Me: A Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... And You Welcomed Me: A Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity edited by Amy G. Oden Abingdon, Nashville, 2001. 316 pp. $27.00. ISBN 0-687-09671-5. Excerpts from early Christian letters, diaries, sermons, community...

Early Christian Reader.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Early Christian Reader by Steve Mason and Tom Robinson Hendrickson, Peabody, 2004. 780 pp. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56563-043-2. This volume contains the canonical New Testament texts along with first and second century Christian...

Elusions of Control: Biblical Law on the Words of Women.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Elusions of Control: Biblical Law on the Words of Women by Jione Havea Society of Biblical Literature Semeia Studies, 41. Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, 2003. 223 pp. $29.95. ISBN 1-58983-033-4. This scholarly treatment...

Does Christianity Teach Male Headship? The Equal-Regard Marriage and its Critics.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Does Christianity Teach Male Headship? The Equal-Regard Marriage and its Critics edited by David Blankenhorn, Don Browning, and Mary Stewart Van Leeuwenn Religion, Marriage, and Family Series. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 157 pp....

Broken We Kneel: Reflections on Faith and Citizenship.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Broken We Kneel: Reflections on Faith and Citizenship by Diana Butler Bass Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2004. 144 pp. $23.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-7879-7284-3. Bass examines Christian identity and citizenship in the United States,...

Having: Property and Possession in Religious and Social Life.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Having: Property and Possession in Religious and Social Life edited by William Schweiker and Charles Mathewes Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 242 pp. $36.00. ISBN 0-8028-2484-6. Scholars from the fields of theology, ethics, economics,...

An Introduction to Third World Theologies.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... An Introduction to Third World Theologies by John Parrat Cambridge University Press, New York, 2004. 189 pp. $65.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-521-79335-1. This book presents the first overview of trends and contributions of Third World...

From Prophecy to Testament: The Function of the Old Testament in the New.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... From Prophecy to Testament: The Function of the Old Testament in the New by Craig A. Evans Hendrickson, Peabody, 2004. 280 pp. $29.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56563-765-8. Thirteen scholars examine the insights and interpretation of Old...

Opting for the Margins: Postmodernity and Liberation in Christian Theology.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Opting for the Margins: Postmodernity and Liberation in Christian Theology edited by Joerg Rieger Oxford University Press, New York, 2003. 208 pp. $49.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-19-516119-X. This collection of essays seeks to recover the...

I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Future of Multicultural America.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Future of Multicultural America edited by James Echols. Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 102 pp. $15.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8006-3685-6. Leading religious and theological thinkers from...

Exploring and Proclaiming the Apostles' Creed.(BookNotes)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Exploring & Proclaiming the Apostles' Creed edited by Roger E. Van Harn. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 178 pp. $24.00. ISBN 0-8028-2120-0. Fifteen essays by biblical scholars highlight the articles of faith of the Apostle's Creed....