Interpretation articles from October 1996

Interpretation archives from October 1996

The 'Third Quest' and the apostolic faith.(The Historical Jesus)
October 1, 1996... THE MAJOR PRESENTATIONS OF JESUS vying for attention in the current North American revival of interest in the historical Jesus may be briefly catalogued as follows: Hellenistic Cynic Sage: Burton L. Mack pictures Jesus as the representative...

Dividing lines in Jesus research today: through dialectical negation to a positive sketch.
October 1, 1996... Through Dialectical Negation to a Positive Sketch PARENTS WHO HAW CHILDREN going through the "terrible two's" come to dread the word no. Yet for all the struggle involved in that painful period of development, parents appreciate that the...

"I believe ... in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord."
October 1, 1996... The Earthly Jesus and the Christ of Faith DURING THE PAST DECADE, scholarly and popular interest in the historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth has intensified greatly, especially in North America. Numerous studies, varying widely in religious...

The social world of Jesus.(The Historical Jesus)
October 1, 1996... WHAT DO WE MEAN when we speak of the "social world" of Jesus? Do we mean the social world Jesus inhabited? Or do we mean the social world Jesus helped shape? As a preliminary question, what exactly do we mean by the term, so familiar in biblical...

John, the Son of Zebedee: The Life of a Legend.
October 1, 1996... John, the Son of Zebedee: The Life of a Legend, by R. Alan Culpepper. Studies in Personalities of the New Testament, University of South Carolines Press, Columbia, 1994. 376 pp. $49.95. ISBN 0-87249-968-6. THE SUBTITLE TO CULPEPPER'S BOOK (The...

Peter, Apostle for the Whole Church.
October 1, 1996... Peter: Apostle for the Whole Church, by Pheme Perkins. Studies on Personalities of the New Testament. University of South Caroline Press, Columbia, 1994. 209 pp. $34.95. ISBN 0-87249-974-X. THE SUBTITLE TO CULPEPPER'S BOOK (The Life of a...

Mercer Commentary on the Bible.
October 1, 1996... Mercer Commentary on the Bible, Watson B. Mills and Richard F. Wilson, general editors. Mercer University Press, Macon, 1994. 1347 pp. $50.00. ISBN 0-86554-406-9. WITH 1,347 LARGE, TWO-COLUMN PAGES of rather small--though quite legible--print,...

Not Every Spirit: A Dogmatics of Christian Disbelief.
October 1, 1996... Not Every Spirit: A Dogmastics of Christian Disbelief, by Christopher Morse. Trinity Press International, Valley Forge, 1994. 432 pp. $22.00 (paper). ISBN 1-56338-087-0. MORSE OFFERS A DISTINCTIVE APPROACH to contemporary theological...

Westminster Guide to the Books of the Bible.
October 1, 1996... Westminster Guide to the Books of the Bible, by William M. Ramsay, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, 1994. 564 pp. $30.00 ISBN 0-664-22061-4 AN INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER evaluates traditional and other approaches to the interpretation of the...

Theological Lexicon of the New Testament.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, BY Ceslas Spicq, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, 1994. 3 volumes, translated and edited by James D. Ernest. 1735 pp. $99.95. ISBN 1-56563-35-1 A GENERATION AGO, Spicq drew together hundreds of word...

Isaiah's Vision and the Family of God.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... Isaiah's Vision and the Family of God, by Katheryn Pfisterer Darr. Literary Currents in Biblical Interpretation. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, 1994. 280 pp. $21.99 (paper0. ISBN 0-664-25537-X. DRAWING FROM RECENT TRENDS in...

Zephaniah: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary.
October 1, 1996... Zephaniah: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, by Adele Berlin. The Anchor Bible 25A. Doubleday, New York, 1994. 148 pp. $29.00. ISBN 0-385-26631-6. IN THE PAST FEW YEARS Zephaniah, like the mythical phoenix, has risen from the...

The Scepter and the Star: The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... The Scepter and the Star: The Mesiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature, by John J. Collins. The Anchor Bible Reference Library. Doubleday, New York, 1995. 270 pp. $30.00. ISBN 0-385-47457-1. A DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR of...

Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship, by Marcus J. Borg. Trinity Press International, Valley Forge, 1994. 209 pp. $16.00 (paper). ISBN 1-56338-094-3. BORG IN THE MOST ARTICULATE VOICE of those coming out of the Jesus Seminar. He writes clearly...

The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholars Version.
October 1, 1996... The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholars Version, edited by Robert J. Miller. Revised and expanded edition. HarperCollins, New York, 1994. 462 pp. $18.00 (paper). ISBN 0-06-065587-9. AN OFFERING of the Jesus Seminar for nonexperts, this volume...

Mary Magdalene and Many Others: Women Who Followed Jesus.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... Mary Magdalene and Many Others: Women Who Followed Jesus, by Carla Ricci. Translated by Paul Burns. Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 1994. 237 pp. $15.00 (paper). ISBN 0-8006-2718-0. BY ITS AUTHOR'S OWN DESCRIPTION, this book represents ten years...

A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles, by Stanley K. Stowers. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1994. 383 pp. $35.00. ISBN 0-300-05357-6. IN THIS "SEARCH for the historical Romans" the author provides a reading of Romans which...

Paul's Letters to the Romans: A Commentary.
October 1, 1996... Paul's Letter to the Romans: A Commentary, by Peter Stuhlmacher. Translated by Scott J. Hafemann. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, 1994. 269 pp. $24.99 (paper). ISBN 0-664-25287-7. A COMMENTARY ON ROMANS by a world-renowned Pauline...

Models for Scripture.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... Models for Scripture, by John Goldingay. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1994 . 420 pp. $19.99 (paper). ISBN 0-8028-0146-3. WHAT GOLDINGAY IS AFTER is the doctrinal significance of scripture. He looks to scripture to provide appropriate...

The Magnificat: Musicians as Biblical Interpreters.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... The Magnificant: Musicians as Biblical Interpreters, by Samuel Terrien. Paulist Press, New York, 1995. 89 pp. $9.95 (paper). ISBN 0-8091-3485-3. TERRIEN APPROACHES the Magnificat as a superb example of Hebrew poetry; as a poem it "contracts...

Divine Immutability: A Critical Reconsideration.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... Divine Immutability: A Critical Reconsideration, by Isaak August Dorner. Translated by Robert R. Williams and Claude Welch. Fortress Texts in Modern Theology. Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 1994. 201 pp. $16.00 (paper). ISBN 0-8006-3213-3....

An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness and Politics.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics, by Donald W. Shriver. Oxford University Press, New York, 1995. 284 pp. $27.50. ISBN 0-19-509105-1. SHRIVER PRESENTS a compelling argument that justice alone is not sufficient for political...

The God of Peace: Toward a Theology of Nonviolence.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1996... The God of Peace: Toward a Theology of Nonviolence, by John Dear. Orbis Books, Mayknoll, 1994. 212 pp. $16.95 (paper). ISBN 0-88344-980-3. "THE GOD OF PEACE is never glorified by human violence," reads the Thomas Merton quotation at this book's...