Interpretation articles from July 2006

Interpretation archives from July 2006

Editorial.(Editorial)
July 1, 2006... THIS ISSUE OF INTERPRETATION is devoted to the Catholic Epistles. The letters of James, 1-2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Jude do not always get the attention they deserve, especially in the lectionaries that many congregations follow. The loss...

James as the first Catholic Epistle.
July 1, 2006... When I was asked to write this piece on James, I was told that the issue of Interpretation had initially been conceived to cover what some have called the "junk mail of the New Testament." This provides an opportunity for me to start on the...

Narrating the Gospel in 1 and 2 Peter.
July 1, 2006... Recent interest in theological interpretation of the Bible brings to the surface a number of important and not a few difficult questions. (1) For persons trained in biblical studies as this has been practiced in the last two centuries, these...

Conflict and community in the Johannine Letters.
July 1, 2006... For some of the shortest texts in the Bible, 1, 2, and 3 John come well supplied with literary, historical, and theological difficulties. Working at these problems can be frustrating, since their solutions in many cases seem to elude us. Yet...

The letter of Jude: a rhetoric of excess or an excess of rhetoric?
July 1, 2006... Not so long ago it was obligatory to begin one's commentary, article, or monograph on the letter of Jude with reference to the lack of commentaries, articles, and monographs on the letter of Jude. "No NT books have been more neglected by...

1 Peter 1:13-21.(Between Text & Sermon)
July 1, 2006... LARGE SIZE IS NOT ALWAYS AN ADVANTAGE. This was especially true of the nascent Christian movement toward the end of the first century A.D. During its initial decades, it had been a small movement, often confused with the Judaism from which it...

2 Peter 3:1-13.(Between Text & Sermon)
July 1, 2006... We wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. (2 Peter 3:13) IN THIS ELOQUENT DISTILLATION of biblical hope and vocation, the author of 2 Peter directs his readers to renew their faith in the promises of God....

1 Timothy 1:3-17.(Between Text & Sermon)
July 1, 2006... THE TEXTS FROM 1 TIMOTHY surface only in Year C of the lectionary, and only on three occasions. The scant attention is typical of the epistle's history. The Pastoral Epistles, claiming Pauline authorship, are generally considered pseudepigrapha...

2 Timothy 1:3-7.(Between Text & Sermon)
July 1, 2006... THE PASTORALS PROBABLY REPRESENT an attempt to apply the Pauline tradition for believers at the end of the first century, evoking Paul as spiritual director for the communities he founded. Most scholars do not believe that the Pastoral Epistles...

Hebrews-James.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Hebrews-James by Edgar McKnight and Christopher Church Smyth & Helwys, Macon, 2004. 451 pp. $60.00 (cloth). ISBN 1-57312-085-5. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WITH THE ONGOING COMMITMENT of religious publishers to biblical...

1 Chronicles 1-9.(1 Chronicles 10-29)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... 1 Chronicles 1-9 by Gary N. Knoppers Anchor Bible. Doubleday, New York, 2003. 514 pp. $49.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-385-46928-4. 1 Chronicles 10-29 by Gary N. Knoppers Anchor Bible. Doubleday, New York, 2004. 531 pp. $49.95...

The Gospel of John: A Commentary (2 Volume Set).(Book review)
July 1, 2006... The Gospel of John: A Commentary (2 Volume Set) by Craig S. Keener Hendrickson, Peabody, 2003. 1636 pp. $79.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56563-378-4. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN THIS IMPRESSIVE TWO-VOLUME commentary on John, Craig Keener...

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... The Second Epistle to the Corinthians by Murray J. Harris Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2005. 989 pp. $75.00. ISBN 0-8028-2393-3. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THIS LATEST ADDITION TO The New International Greek Testament Commentary brings...

When Children Became People: The Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... When Children Became People: The Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity by O. M. Bakke. Translated by Brian McNeil. Fortress, Minneapolis, 2005. 348 pp. $18.00. 0-8006-3725-9. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THIS LIVELY AND...

Reframing Her: Biblical Women in Postcolonial Focus.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Reframing Her: Biblical Women in Postcolonial Focus by Judith E. McKinlay Sheffield Phoenix. Sheffield, 2004. 195 pp. $60.00 (cloth). ISBN 1-905048-00-9. A SETTLER-DESCENDANT RESIDENT of Aotearoa New Zealand, Judith McKinlay takes...

Constituting the Community: Studies on the Polity of Ancient Israel in Honor of S. Dean McBride, Jr.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Constituting the Community: Studies on the Polity of Ancient Israel in Honor of S. Dean McBride, Jr. edited by John T. Strong and Steven S. Tuell Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, 2005. 331 pp. $49.50 (cloth). ISBN 1-57506-078-7. IT IS...

Rewriting Moses: The Narrative Eclipse of the Text.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Rewriting Moses: The Narrative Eclipse of the Text by Brian Britt T & T Clark, London, 2004. 208 pp. $49.95. ISBN 0-567-08087-0. BRIAN BRITT ANALYZES biblical and post-biblical representations of Moses in order to explore ancient...

Leviticus-Numbers.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Leviticus-Numbers by Lloyd R. Bailey Smyth & Helwys, Macon, 2005, 648 pp. $65.00 (cloth). ISBN 1-57312-060-X. THIS COMMENTARY ON Leviticus-Numbers is the ninth volume to appear in a new series by Smyth & Helwys, beginning with...

Living through Pain: Psalms and the Search for Wholeness.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Living Through Pain: Psalms and the Search for Wholeness by Kristin M. Swenson Baylor University Press, Waco, 2005. 273 pp. $19.95 (cloth), ISBN 1-932792-15-5. IN HER STUDY OF Psalms 6, 22, 38, 69, 88, and 102, Swenson invites us...

Jesus and Gospel.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Jesus and Gospel by Graham N. Stanton Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004. 239 pp. $23.99. ISBN 0-521-00802-6. GRAHAM STANTON'S EARLIER book The Gospels and Jesus addressed issues pertaining to the study of the canonical...

Paul's Rhetoric in Its Contexts: The Argument of Romans.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Paul's Rhetoric in Its Contexts: The Argument of Romans by Thomas H. Tobin, SJ. Hendrickson, Peabody, 2004. 469 pp. $24.95, ISBN 1-56563-946-4. THOMAS TOBIN'S STUDY arises from dissatisfaction with commentaries on Romans that by...

Philippians and Philemon.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Philippians and Philemon by Bonnie B. Thurston and Judith M. Ryan Sacra Pagina. Liturgical, Collegeville, 2005. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8146-5820-2. THIS VOLUME BRINGS together two letters written by Paul to Christians with whom he...

The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... The Rapture Exposed: the Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation by Barbara R. Rossing Westview, Boulder, 2004. 212 pp. $24.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8133-9156-3. THIS BOOK AIMS "to reclaim 'traditional' Christian interpretations of...

Transfiguration.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Transfiguration by Dorothy Lee Continuum, London, 2004. 158 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-8264-7595-7. IN THIS COMPACT TOME Dorothy Lee, professor of New Testament in Melbourne, explores the theme of transfiguration in order to draw out all...

The Fall and Sin: What Have We Become as Sinners.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... The Fall and Sin: What Have We Become As Sinners by Marguerite Shuster Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 280 pp. $30.00. ISBN 0-8028-0994-4. MARGUERITE SHUSTER here completes a three-volume systematic theology begun by Reformed...

Before God.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Before God by George Stroup Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 210 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-8028-2214-2. THEOLOGIAN GEORGE STROUP laments that Christian life has become indistinguishable from other forms of life in the United States. The...

Violence, Hospitality, and the Cross: Reappropriating the Atonement Tradition.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Violence, Hospitality, and the Cross: Reappropriating the Atonement Tradition by Hans Boersma Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2004. 288 pp. $29.99 (cloth). ISBN 0-8010-2720-9. IF ONE WERE TO CHOOSE a topic that is vital to the...

God and Violence: Biblical Resources for Living in a Small World.(Conceiving Peace and Violence: A New Testament Legacy)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... God and Violence: Biblical Resources for Living in a Small World by Patricia M. McDonald Herald Press, Scottsdale, Penn., 2004. 373 pp. $16.99. ISBN 0-8361-9269-9. Conceiving Peace and Violence: A New Testament Legacy by...

House Church and Mission: The Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... House Church and Mission: The Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity by Roger W. Gehring Hendrickson, Peabody, 2004. 408 pp. $29.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56563-812-3. FROM THE RISE OF Christianity to about 150 C.E.,...

Symbolic Blackness and Ethnic Difference in Early Christian Literature.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Symbolic Blackness and Ethnic Difference in Early Christian Literature by Gay L. Byron Routledge, New York, 2002. 223 pp. $33.95. ISBN 0-415-24369-6. GAY BYRON'S BOOK UNDERSCORES how literary critical method yields new insights...

The Great Passion: An Introduction to Karl Barth's Theology.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... The Great Passion: An Introduction to Karl Barth's Theology by Eberhard Busch Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 302 pp. $29.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8028-4893-1. IN THIS "INTRODUCTION," Eberhard Busch explicates the major themes in the work...

Teologia: An Introduction to Hispanic Theology.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Teologia: An Introduction to Hispanic Theology by Luis G. Pedraja Nashville: Abingdon, 2003. 204 pages. $20.00. ISBN 0-687-09064-4. LUIS PEDRAJA PROVIDES a commendable exposition of Hispanic/Latina theology. His lucid and scholarly...

An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity by Allan Anderson Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004. 302 pp. $65.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-521-82573-3. ALLAN ANDERSON'S book presents multicultural,...

Clerical Celibacy: The Heritage.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Clerical Celibacy: The Heritage by William E. Phipps Continuum, New York, 2004. 288 pp. $27.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8264-1617-9. WILLIAM PHIPPS'S BOOK appears at a propitious moment. The Catholic Church in North America is in serious...

Pastors in Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Pastors in Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry by Dean Hoge and Jacqueline Wenger Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2005. 257 pp. $21.00. ISBN 0-8028-2908-2. MY BROTHER ROBERT and I are third-generation ministers. Add our...

Preaching the Parables: From Responsible Interpretation to Powerful Proclamation.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Preaching the Parables: From Responsible Interpretation to Powerful Proclamation by Craig Blomberg Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2004. 251 pp. $16.99. ISBN 0-8010-2749-7. FROM HIS PH.D. DISSERTATION on Lucan parables in 1982 to...

The Homiletic of All Believers: A Conversational Approach.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... The Homiletic of All Believers: A Conversational Approach by O. Wesley Allen, Jr. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2005. 161 pp. $17.95. ISBN 0-664-22860-7. ON SUNDAY MORNING, many preachers stand in the pulpit with trembling...

Lift Your Hearts on High: Eucharistic Prayer in the Reformed Tradition.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Lift Your Hearts on High: Eucharistic Prayer in the Reformed Tradition by Ronald P. Byars Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2005, 138 pp. $16.95. ISBN 0-664-22855-0. RON BYARS TRACES THE development of Eucharistic prayer with...

Lament: Reclaiming Practices in Pulpit, Pew, and Public Square.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Lament: Reclaiming Practices in Pulpit, Pew, and Public Square Edited by Sally A. Brown and Patrick D. Miller Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2005. 174 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-664-22750-3. IN THIS EXCELLENT multidisciplinary volume,...

Understanding Other Religious Worlds: A Guide for Interreligious Education.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Understanding Other Religious Worlds: A Guide for Interreligious Education by Judith A. Berling Orbis, Maryknoll, 2004. 148 pp. $20.00. ISBN 1-57075-516-7. JUDITH BERLING'S MAIN concern in this book is "to help Christians (most...

Religious Thought and the Modern Psychologies (Second Edition).(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Religious Thought and the Modern Psychologies (Second Edition) by Don S. Browning and Terry D. Cooper Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 304 pp. $25.00. ISBN 0-8006-3659-7. NEAR THIS BOOK'S CONCLUSION, Don Browning and Terry Cooper...

Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling by Pamela Cooper-White Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 246 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-8006-3454-3. PAMELA COOPER-WHITE offers those interested in pastoral care and...

Ending Violence in Teen Dating Relationships: A Resource Guide for Parents and Pastors.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Ending Violence in Teen Dating Relationships: A Resource Guide for Parents and Pastors by Al Miles Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, 2005. 176 pp. $12.99. ISBN 0-8066-5131-8. IN THIS IMPORTANT AND provocative book, Al Miles opens...

Economy of Grace.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Economy of Grace by Kathryn Tanner Fortress, Minneapolis, 2005. 158 pp. $16.00. ISBN 0-8006-3774-7. INCREASINGLY OVER THE last serveral years, Christians from a variety of traditions have discussed and debated contemporary economic...

The Church Enslaved: A Spirituality of Racial Reconciliation.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... The Church Enslaved: A Spirituality of Racial Reconciliation by Tony Campolo and Michael Battle Fortress, Minneapolis, 2005. 159 pp. $15.00. ISBN 0-8006-3697-X. THIS SMALL VOLUME TACKLES the malignancy of racism in the church,...

Chasing Down a Rumor: The Death of Mainline Denominations.(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Chasing Down A Rumor: The Death of Mainline Denominations by Robert Bacher and Kenneth Inskeep Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, 2005. 192 pp. $13.99. ISBN 0-8066-5142-3. WE HAVE ALL HEARD the story. The mainline denominations have...

Hebrew Bible Monographs.
July 1, 2006... Hebrew Bible Monographs This series from a newly formed publishing house offers academic works for biblical studies. Editors are David J. A. Clines, J. Cheryl Exum, and Keith W. Whitelam. The first four volumes published are these titles:...

Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies: A Guide to the Background Literature.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies: A Guide to the Background Literature by Craig A. Evans Hendrickson, Peabody, 2005. 539 pp. $34.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56563-409-8. This volume is an expansion and revision of the 1992 book...

Violence in the New Testament.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Violence in the New Testament edited by Shelly Matthews and E. Leigh Gibson T & T Clark, Harrisburg, 2005. 160 pp. $34.95. ISBN 0-567-02500-4. The essays in this slim volume tackle methodological questions concerning passages that...

Essential Theological Terms.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Essential Theological Terms by Justo L. Gonzalez Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2005. 187 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-664-22810-0. Discussion of over 300 theological terms offers ready access to meaning, significance, and both historic...

Resistance and Theological Ethics.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Resistance and Theological Ethics edited by Ronald H. Stone and Robert L. Stivers Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, 2004. 332 pp. $28.95. ISBN 0-7425-4160-6. From an approach of nonviolent resistance, this collection addresses...

Conversations with the Confessions: Dialogue in the Reformed Tradition.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Conversations with the Confessions: Dialogue in the Reformed Tradition edited by Joseph D. Small Geneva, Louisville, 2005. 248 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-664-50248-2. Fourteen scholars examine the confessions of the Presbyterian Church...

Radical Orthodoxy and the Reformed Tradition: Creation, Covenant, and Participation.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Radical Orthodoxy and the Reformed Tradition: Creation, Covenant, and Participation edited by James K. A. Smith and James H. Othuis Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2005. 301 pp. $24.99. ISBN 0-8010-2756-X. Radical Orthodoxy holds...

The Witness of Preaching (Second Edition).(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... The Witness of Preaching (Second Edition) by Thomas G. Long Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2005. 267 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-664-22943-3. The revision of this classic text incorporates the use of video clips and PowerPoint,...

Sermons from Duke Chapel.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Sermons from Duke Chapel edited by William H. Willimon Duke University Press, Durham, 2005. 370pp. $34.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8223-3483-6. This collection presents fifty-seven of the most notable sermons preached at Duke University...

Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition, 2d ed.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition (Second Edition) by Barbara MacHaffie Fortress, Minneapolis, 2006. 384 pp. $39.00. ISBN 0-8006-3826-3. This new edition's historical overview has been fully updated and revised. Portraits,...

Images of Pastoral Care: Classic Readings.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... Images of Pastoral Care: Classic Readings edited by Robert C. Dykstra Chalice Press, St. Louis, 2005. 248 pp. $29.99. ISBN 0-8272-1624-6. Contributors explore pastoral care from the perspective of pastoral theology, offering a rich...