Interpretation articles from October 1999

Interpretation archives from October 1999

Editorial.(Review)
October 1, 1999... WITH THIS ISSUE, INTERPRETATION CONCLUDES A SERIES of essays on the various books of the Pentateuch, which began with Deuteronomy (July 1987) and includes Genesis (October 1991), Exodus (July 1996), and Numbers (July 1997). This culminating...

Justice as the Cornerstone.(Critical Essay)
October 1, 1999... An Interpretation of Leviticus 18-20 [1] Leviticus has an edifice complex. Reflecting the architecture of the tabernacle, the book is much more than a stern recitation of the dangers of impurity. With chapter 19 as its apex, Leviticus is...

Holiness in Leviticus and Beyond.(Critical Essay)
October 1, 1999... Differing Perspectives The Priestly Torah and Holiness School--the basic traditions of the priestly writings in Leviticus and the other pentateuchal books--offer differing perspectives on holiness. The Holiness School reinterprets the...

The Quest for Holiness in American Protestantism.(Critical Essay)
October 1, 1999... Three images of holiness have, at different times, enjoyed wide currency among American Protestants: holiness as pilgrimage, holiness as perfection, and holiness as pentecostal outpouring. Since the colonial era, confidence in the attainment of...

Reclaiming the Doctrine of Sanctification.(Critical Essay)
October 1, 1999... Any contemporary doctrine of Sanctification faces certain problems, including the charges of individualism, Pelagianism, and detachment from the concerns of the world. Nevertheless, a strong doctrine of sanctification is the necessary...

Leviticus 19:1-37.(Critical Essay)
October 1, 1999... THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS IS CHALLENGING to contemporary readers. Most of its rituals, commands, and demands, as well as its worldview, are simply unfamiliar to us. Our times demand reasonability. When someone says it is not right to have tatoos,...

Leviticus 25.(Critical Essay)
October 1, 1999... AS WE APPROACH THE END or ONE MILLENNIUM and the beginning of another, many Jews, Christians, and others are using the language of Jubilee, derived from our text, Leviticus 25. In popular usage, Jubilee refers to a special anniversary, in...

Luke 3:1-16.(Critical Essay)
October 1, 1999... WITH RELENTLESS REGULARITY, THE LECTIONARY revisits certain stories every year. This is one of them: John the Baptist appears preaching in the wilderness every second Sunday in Advent. A review of Luke's use of prophecy may clarify his unique...

Luke 17:11--19.(Critical Essay)
October 1, 1999... CONCERN WITH PURITY PLAYS a prominent role in the Gospel accounts of Jesus' public ministry, though often the concern is implicit. In several vignettes Jesus seems to downplay or perhaps even challenge the prevailing purity system: meals with...

Education in Ancient Israel: Across the Deadening Silence & Scribes and Schools: The Canonization of the Hebrew Scriptures.(Review)
October 1, 1999... Education in Ancient Israel: Across the Deadening Silence, by James L. Crenshaw. Anchor Bible Reference Library. Doubleday, New York, 1998. 320 pp. $34.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-385-46891-1. Scribes and Schools: The Canonization of the Hebrew...

The Acts of the Apostles: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary.(Review)
October 1, 1999... The Acts of the Apostles: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, by Joseph A. Fitzmyer. Anchor Bible 31. Doubleday, New York, 1998. 851 pp. $45.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-385-46880-6. THE DAUNTING TASK OF WRITING a comprehensive...

God of Battles: Holy Wars of Christianity and Islam & The Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions.(Review)
October 1, 1999... God of Battles: Holy Wars of Christianity and Islam, by Peter Partner. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1998. 391 pp. $16.95. ISBN 0-691-00235-5. The Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions, by James Turner Johnson....

Leviticus: A Commentary.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Leviticus: A Commentary, by Erhard S. Gerstenberger. Old Testament Library. Translated by Douglas Stott. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1996. 450 pp. $42.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-664-22064-9. GERSTENBERGER BRINGS UNIQUE GIFTS to the challenge...

Divine Presence and Community: A Commentary on the Book of Leviticus.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Divine Presence and Community: A Commentary on the Book of Leviticus, by Frank H. Gorman, Jr. International Theological Commentary. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1998. 174 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-8028-0110-2. GORMAN IS WELL QUALIFIED to interpret the...

The Historical Books.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... The Historical Books, by Richard D. Nelson. Interpreting Biblical Texts. Abingdon, Nashville, 1998. 190 pp. $19.00. ISBN 0-687-00843-3. THIS VOLUME IS PART of a series designed for theology students and nonspecialists. Nelson begins by...

Isaiah 1-39 & Isaiah 40-66.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Isaiah 1-39, by Walter Brueggemann. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1998. 312 pp. $20.00. ISBN 0-664-25524-8. Isaiah 40-66, by Walter Brueggemann. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1998.280 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-664-25791-7. ALTHOUGH...

Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, by Johanna W. H. Van Wijk-Bos. Westminster Bible Companion. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1998. 160 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-664- 25597-3. THE LAUDABLE TASK of this emerging series, that of providing the laity...

Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God In Ancient Israel.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God In Ancient Israel, by Othmar Keel and Christoph Uehlinger. Fortress, Minneapolis, 1998. 466 pp. $45.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8006-2789-X. ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE developed typologies of pots and epigraphers...

The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation, by Brad H. Young. Hendrickson, Peabody, 1998. 332 pp. $24.95. ISBN 1-56563-244-3. YOUNG HAS PROVIDED a clear presentation of the background of Jesus' parables and how they may be...

Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet, by Dale C. Allison. Fortress, Minneapolis, 1998. 269 pp. $20.00. ISBN 0 -8006-3144-7. BUILDING ON RECENT STUDIES that defend an eschatological Jesus, while criticizing studies that favor a...

Knowing Her Place: Gender and the Gospels.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Knowing Her Place: Gender and the Gospels, by Anne Thurston. Paulist Press, New York, 1998. 127 pp. $12.95. ISBN O-8091-3862-X. ANNE THURSTON (no relation to the reviewer) is a well-known lecturer in the United Kingdom. In this volume she...

The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts in the New Testament Church and Today.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts in the New Testament Church and Today, by Max Turner. Revised edition. Hendrickson, Peabody, 1998. 398 pp. $19.95. ISBN 1- 56563-352-0. TURNER ATTEMPTS TO DEVELOP a New Testament pneumatology through an...

Pontius Pilate in History and Interpretation.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Pontius Pilate in History and Interpretation, by Helen K Bond. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998. 249 pp. $59.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-521-63114-9. A FRESH STUDY OF PILATE in English has long been needed. Bond supplies a nuanced...

Text and Psyche: Experiencing Scripture Today.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Text and Psyche: Experiencing Scripture Today, by Schuyler Brown. Continuum, New York, 1998. 141 pp. $18.95. ISBN 0-8264-1111-8. BROWN APPRECIATES THE CONTRIBUTIONS of historical-critical scholarship but fears that they have undercut our...

Thinking Biblically: Exegetical and Hermeneutical Studies.(Review)
October 1, 1999... Thinking Biblically: Exegetical and Hermeneutical Studies, by Andr[acute{e}] LaCocque and Paul Ricoeur. Translated by David Pellauer. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1998. 441 pp. $30.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-26-71337-7. THIS BOOK PRESENTS...

The Word and You: A Lectionary-based Exploration of the Bible.(Review)
October 1, 1999... The Word and You: A Lectionary-based Exploration of the Bible, Volume 2 (From Proper 17, Year C, to Proper 16, Year A), edited by Nan Duerling. United Church Press, Cleveland, 1998. 248 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-8298-1241-5. THIS SERIES, DESIGNED...

Remembered Voices: Reclaiming the Legacy of "Neo-Orthodoxy".(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Remembered Voices: Reclaiming the Legacy of "Neo-Orthodoxy," by John Douglas Hall. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1998. 166 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-664-25772-0. HALL INTERPRETS NEO-ORTHODOXY as a major theological movement on the cutting...

Preaching Jesus: New Directions For Homiletics In Hans Frei's Postliberal Theology.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Preaching Jesus: New Directions For Homiletics In Hans Frei's Postliberal Theology, by Charles L. Campbell. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1997. 289 pp. $28.00. ISBN 0-8028-4156-2. CAMPBELL ABLY RELATES the practice of preaching to theology,...

The God Who Risks.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... The God Who Risks, by John Sanders. Inter Varsity, Downers Grove, 1998. 367 pp. $21.99. ISBN 0-8308-1501-5. THOSE WHO THOUGHT that evangelical Christianity had settled the issue of the providence of God must now think again, thanks to this...

Duet or Duel? Theology and Science in a Postmodern World.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Duet or Duel? Theology and Science in a Postmodern World, by J. Wentzel van Huyssteen. Trinity Press International, Harrisburg, 1998. 182 pp. $16.00. ISBN 1-56338-255-5. THIS WIDELY ACCLAIMED contribution to the burgeoning field of...

Varieties of African American Religious Experience.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Varieties of African American Religious Experience, by Anthony B. Pinn. Fortress, Minneapolis, 1998. 242 pp. $1 7.00. ISBN 0-8006-2994-9. AFRICAN AMERICAN THEOLOGY suffers from too narrow a canon of resources. Along with Christianity,...

Community, Liberalism & Christian Ethics.(Review)
October 1, 1999... Community, Liberalism & Christian Ethics, by David Fergusson. New Studies in Christian Ethics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998. 219 pp. $59.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-521-49678-0. IF POLITICS MAKES FOR STRANGE bedfellows, communitarian...

The Vital Church: Teaching, Worship, Community, Service.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... The Vital Church: Teaching, Worship, Community, Service, by Clark M. Williamson and Ronald J. Allen. Chalice Press, St. Louis, 1998. 141 pp. $16.99. ISBN 0-8272-4004-x. THE CHURCH NEEDS TO ADDRESS its identity issues as a uniquely...

Te Deum: The Church and Music.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Te Deum: The Church and Music, by Paul Westermeyer. Fortress, Minneapolis, 1998. 412 pp. $25.00. ISBN 0-8006-3146-3. IN THE COURSE OF HIS teaching, Westermeyer sensed the need for an interdisciplinary text on church music. Te Deum provides...

The Pastor as Moral Guide.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... The Pastor as Moral Guide, by Rebekah L. Miles. Creative Care and Pastoral Counseling Series. Fortress, Minneapolis, 1999. 135 pp. $14.00. ISBN 0-8006-3136-6. PEOPLE BRING ETHICAL dilemmas to pastors, yet there is little to assist pastors...

Notes on the Greek Text of Numbers.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Notes on the Greek Text of Numbers, by John William Wevers. Scholars Press, Atlanta, 1998. 653 pp. $54.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-7885-0504-1. A detailed examination of the Greek translation of Numbers, this book completes the author's set on the...

John the Baptist in Life and Death: Audience-Oriented Criticism of Matthew's Narrative.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... John the Baptist in Life and Death: Audience-Oriented Criticism of Matthew's Narrative, by Gary Yamasaki. Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series. Sheffield Academic Press, Sheffield, 1998. 176 pp. $57.50 (cloth). ISBN...

Courting Betrayal: Jesus as Victim in the Gospel of John.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Courting Betrayal: Jesus as Victim in the Gospel of John, by Helen C. Orchard. Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series. Sheffield Academic Press, Sheffield, 1998. 293 pp. $85.00 (cloth). ISBN 1-85075-892-1. Contrary to...

Listening to the Text: Oral Patterning in Paul's Letters.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Listening to the Text: Oral Patterning in Paul's Letters, by John D. Harvey. ETS Studies. Baker, Peabody, 1998. 357 pp. $24.99. ISBN 0-8010-2200-2. This is the inaugural volume in a series from the Evangelical Theological Society. A...

Purpose and Cause in Pauline Exegesis: Romans 1:16-4:25 and a New Approach to the Letters.(Review)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Purpose and Cause in Pauline Exegesis: Romans 1:16-4:25 and a New Approach to the Letters, by Wendy Dabourne. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 104. Cambridge University Press, New York, 1999. 257 pp. $59.95 (cloth). ISBN...

The Strong and the Weak: Romans 14:1-15:13 in Context.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... The Strong and the Weak: Romans 14:1-15:13 in Context, by Mark Reasoner. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 103. Cambridge University Press, New York, 1999. 267 pp. $59.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-521-63334-6. This study examines...

Rhetoric and Galatians: Assessing an Approach to Paul's Epistle.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Rhetoric and Galatians: Assessing an Approach to Paul's Epistle, by Philip H. Kern. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 101. Cambridge University Press, New York, 1998. 304 PP. $59.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-521-63117-3. Contrary to...

Against The Third Reich: Paul Tillich's Wartime Radio Broadcasts into Nazi Germany.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Against The Third Reich: Paul Tillich's Wartime Radio Broadcasts into Nazi Germany, ed. Ronald H. Stone and Matthew Lon Weaver. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1998. 273 pp. $21.00. ISBN 0-664-25770-4. This book offers the text of...

Honor, Shame, and the Rhetoric of 1 Peter.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Honor, Shame, and the Rhetoric of 1 Peter, by Barth L. Campbell. SBL Dissertation Series 160. Scholars Press, Atlanta, 1998. 266 pp. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-7885-0510-6. Using the tools of social-scientific and rhetorical criticism, the...

Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period, 2d ed., by Richard N. Longenecker. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1999. 279 pp. $20.00. ISBN 0-8028-4301-8. A forty-one page introduction brings this classic work up to date with newer methods of...

Imagining God: Theology and the Religious Imagination.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Imagining God: Theology and the Religious Imagination, by Garrett Green. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1998. 192 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-8028-4484-7. Considering the magnitude of the ongoing debate about the relative roles of religious and secular...

The Cambridge Companion to Liberation Theology.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... The Cambridge Companion to Liberation Theology, ed. Christopher Rowland. Cambridge University Press, New York, 1999. 260 pp. $19.95. ISBN 0-521-46707-1. Contributors from around the world offer generally sympathetic explications of...

Marks of the Body of Christ.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Marks of the Body of Christ; Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1999. 179 pp. $18.00 ISBN 0-8028-4617-3. Using Luther's seven marks of the true church as a framework, writers from a variety of traditions assess...

Tending the Flock: Congregations and Family Ministry.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Tending the Flock: Congregations and Family Ministry, ed. K Brynolf Lyon and Archie Smith, Jr. The Family, Religion, and Culture. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 1998. 240 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-664-25627-9. This collection of essays...

Understanding and Counseling Persons with Alcohol, Drug, and Behavioral Addictions: Revised and Enlarged.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Understanding and Counseling Persons with Alcohol, Drug, and Behavioral Addictions: Revised and Enlarged, by Howard Clinebell. Abingdon, Nashville, 1998. 506 pp. $33.00. ISBN 0-687-02564-8. Substantially rewritten and updated, this work by...

Reading and Hearing the Word, from Text to Sermon: Essays in Honor of John H. Steck.(Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 1999... Reading and Hearing the Word, from Text to Sermon: Essays in Honor of John H. Steck, ed. Arie C. Leder. CRC Publications, Grand Rapids, 1998. 260 pp. $14.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56212-373-4. This festschrift for an Old Testament professor offers...