Interpretation articles from October 2007

Interpretation archives from October 2007

Guest editorial.(history of religious art)(Editorial)
October 1, 2007... In early twentieth-century Germany and Great Britain, art history emerged as a discrete academic discipline. Until very recently the analysis of visual art, including religious art, has been the exclusive domain of professionally trained art...

Art and the liturgy.(Cover story)
October 1, 2007... In practically all ancient cultures, monumental art is religious in character and specifically cultic. That is, it is produced in the service of the liturgy, as a kind of "visualization of the mystery." The liturgy--the complex of rites...

The Baptism of Christ and Temptations by Michele Tosini: a Lukan Reading.
October 1, 2007... Before discussing the visual depiction of the Baptism of Christ as told in the Gospel of Luke, I would like to begin with another text, that of the testament of Michele di Jacopo Tosini, who was born in Florence on May 8, 1503, and died on...

The Raising of Lazarus: Caravaggio and John 11.
October 1, 2007... The seventeenth-century Baroque painter Caravaggio pushed the standards of art to include the mundane, uncomfortable, and unattractive subjects and events found in ordinary life. Behind his unconventional style and themes lies not simply a...

Meeting in the garden: intertextuality with the Song of Songs in Holbein's Noli me tangere.
October 1, 2007... Particularly with the recent success of the popular novel The Da Vinci Code, the figure of Mary Magdalene has been one of ongoing fascination. At once saint and whore, beloved and reviled, apostle and outcast, the Magdalene has inspired the...

Habakkuk 1:1-11.(Between Text & Sermon)
October 1, 2007... EXEGESIS FOR PREACHING DRAWS US into a text, across the pages of the Bible, and beyond a particular biblical text to "texts" of other sorts including the congregation and its community. Texts, community, and preacher are brought into a...

Luke 15:1-10.(Between Text & Sermon)
October 1, 2007... GRUMBLING IS A NATIONAL PASTIME, even a universal one. We grumble about political leadership, unless the leader is "our person"; then we grumble about the opposition. We grumble about the actions and morals of the current younger generation. In...

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15.(Between Text & Sermon)
October 1, 2007... IT IS A ROLLER COASTER RIDE. To read Paul's letters is to run the gamut of human emotions and traverse the landscape of mental challenges. On occasion Paul rises to the heights of ecstasy: "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Cor...

Missing the Mark: Sin and Its Consequences in Biblical Theology.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Missing the Mark: Sin and Its Consequences in Biblical Theology by Mark E. Biddle Abingdon, Nashville, 2005. 190 pages. $19.00. ISBN 978-0-687-49462-0. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A YOUNG GIRL FROM A TROUBLED home becomes pregnant;...

Theological Hermeneutics and 1 Thessalonians.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Theological Hermeneutics and 1 Thessalonians by Angus Paddison Cambridge University, Cambridge, 2005. 230 pp. $80.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-521-84983-8. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN RECENT YEARS THERE HAS been an increase of...

A Time to Embrace: Same-Gender Relationships in Religion, Law, and Politics.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... A Time to Embrace: Same-Gender Relationships in Religion, Law, and Politics by William Stacy Johnson Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2006. 440 pp. $25.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8028-2966-5. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WILLIAM STACY JOHNSON...

A Woman's Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... A Woman's Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity by Carolyn Osiek and Margaret Y. MacDonald, with Janet H. Tulloch Fortress, Minneapolis, 2006. 345 pp. $35.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8006-3690-4. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

The Artist's Way of Preaching.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The Artist's Way of Preaching by Charles Denison Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2006. 116 pp. $16.95. ISBN 978-0-66422-987-0. IF ART WAS NOT YOUR BEST subject, the title of this book need not scare you away. Charles Denison...

Illumining Leviticus: A Study of Its Laws and Institutions in the Light of Biblical Narratives.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Illumining Leviticus: A Study of Its Laws and Institutions in the Light of Biblical Narratives by Calum Carmichael Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 2006. 224 pp. $55.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8018-8500-6. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN...

The So-Called Deuteronomistic History: A Sociological, Historical and Literary Introduction.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The So-Called Deuteronomistic History: A Sociological, Historical and Literary Introduction by Thomas C. Romer T & T Clark, New York, 2005. 202 pp. $120.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-567-04022-0. THIS VOLUME BEGINS with a comprehensive...

Temples, Tithes, and Taxes: The Temple and the Economic Life of Ancient Israel.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Temples, Tithes, and Taxes: The Temple and the Economic Life of Ancient Israel by Marty E. Stevens Hendrickson, Peabody, Mass., 2006. 209 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-1-56563-934-8. THIS BOOK IS INTENDED for the lay person as a corrective...

Psalms, Vol. 1: Psalms 1-41.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Psalms, Vol. 1: Psalms 1-41 by John Goldingay Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Wisdom and Psalms. Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2006. 639 pp. $44.99 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8010-2703-1. ACCORDING TO SERIES EDITOR Tremper Longman...

Narrative Criticism of the New Testament: An Introduction.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Narrative Criticism of the New Testament: An Introduction by James L. Resseguie Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2005. 288 pp. $22.99. ISBN 978-0-8010-2789-5. JAMES RESSEGUIE'S WORK IS, as the title suggests, an introductory text on...

Seeing the Word: Refocusing New Testament Study.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Seeing the Word: Refocusing New Testament Study by Markus Bockmuehl Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2006. 304 pp. $21.99. ISBN 978-0-8010-2761-1. MARKUS BOCKMUEHL PROVIDES a diagnosis of the field of NT study. He believes it suffers...

John: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... John: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist by Warren Carter Hendrickson, Peabody, Mass., 2006. 264 pp. $19.95. ISBN 1-56563-523-X. WARREN CARTER HAS accomplished the remarkable feat of penning an introductory textbook on John that...

Why John Wrote a Gospel: Jesus--Memory--History.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Why John Wrote a Gospel: Jesus--Memory--History by Tom Thatcher Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2006. 193 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-0-664-22905-4. TOM THATCHER'S THESIS IS that the author of the Fourth Gospel (John, the Beloved...

Paul on the Cross: Reconstructing the Apostle's Story of Redemption.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Paul on the Cross: Reconstructing the Apostle's Story of Redemption by David A. Brondos Fortress, Minneapolis, 2006. 241 pp. $20.00. ISBN 978-0-8006-3788-0. DAVID BRONDOS HAS WRITTEN a challenging book, in which he makes the case...

Christ Is the Question.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Christ Is the Question by Wayne A. Meeks Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2006. 166 pp. $19.95. ISBN 978-0-664-22962-7. WITH THIS BOOK, Wayne A. Meeks has entered the fray of writing about Jesus. As the title indicates, he has...

The Dead Sea Scrolls: What Have We Learned?(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The Dead Sea Scrolls: What Have We Learned? by Eileen M. Schuller Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2006. 126 pp. $17.95. ISBN 978-0-664-23112-5. EILEEN SCHULLER ASKS what we have learned about the development of early Judaism...

Fracture: The Cross as Irreconcilable in the Language and Thought of the Biblical Writers.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Fracture: The Cross as Irreconcilable in the Language and Thought of the Biblical Writers by Roy A. Harrisville Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2006. 310 pp. $20.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-3308-2. THIS BOOK SOUNDS VARIATIONS on a single theme:...

The Way That Leads There: Augustinian Reflections on the Christian Life.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The Way that Leads There: Augustinian Reflections on the Christian Life by Gilbert Meilaender Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2006. 184 pp. $16.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-3213-9. IN THIS GRACEFULLY WRITTEN book, Gilbert Meilaender, Professor of...

Historicism: The Once and Future Challenge for Theology.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Historicism: The Once and Future Challenge for Theology by Sheila Greeve Davaney Fortress, Minneapolis, 2006. 197 pp. $18.00. ISBN 978-0-8006-3219-9. SHEILA GREEVE DAVANEY'S study traces over 200 years of historicism, which,...

Covenant of Peace: The Missing Peace in New Testament Theology and Ethics.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Covenant of Peace: The Missing Peace in New Testament Theology and Ethics By Willard M. Swrartley Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2006. 542 pp. $34.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-2937-5. WILLARD SWARTLEY'S WORK is informed by two objectives. The...

Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women's Lives Matter.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women's Lives Matter by Traci C. West Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2006. 216 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-0-664-22959-7. TRACI C. WEST EMPLOYS a "dialogical method" in this study, which,...

Hell Without Fires: Slavery, Christianity, and the Antebellum Spiritual Narrative.(Hell Without Fires: Slavery, Christianity, and the Antebellum Spiritual Narrative, History of African American Religions)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Hell Without Fires: Slavery, Christianity, and the Antebellum Spiritual Narrative by Yolanda Pierce History of African American Religions. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 2005. 151 pp. $59.95. (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8130-2806-4....

Korean Women and God: Experiencing God in a Multiple-Religious Colonial Context.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Korean Women and God: Experiencing God in a Multiple-Religious Colonial Context by Chio Hee An Orbis, Maryknoll, Md., 2005. 183 pp. $20.00. ISBN 978-1-57075-622-1. WHAT DOES IT MEAN to be a Korean Christian woman? Does being a...

Letters to New Pastors.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Letters to New Pastors by Michael Jinkins Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2006. 186 pp. $15.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-2751-7. IN THIS BOOK, Michael Jinkins draws on his thirty years as an ordained minister and seminary professor to speak to...

Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry by L. Gregory Jones and Kevin R. Armstrong Pulpit and Pew. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2006. 182 pp. $15.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-3234-4. WHEN FIRST SPOTTING the title of this...

Preaching the Women of the Bible.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Preaching the Women of the Bible by Lisa Wilson Davison Chalice, St. Louis, 2006. 138 pp. $16.99. ISBN 978-0-827229-90-7. LISA DAVISON STATES that the purpose of this book "is an attempt to give voice to some of the female...

Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness by Kathryn Greene-McCreight Brazos, Grand Rapids, 2006. 176 pp. $16.99. ISBN 978-1-58743-175-3. IN THIS BOOK, EPISCOPALIAN priest and professor Katherine...

In the Midst of Chaos: Caring for Children as Spiritual Practice.(Book review)
October 1, 2007... In the Midst of Chaos: Caring for Children as Spiritual Practice by Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2006. 258 pp. $21.95. ISBN 978-0-7879-7676-7. BONNIE MILLER-MCLEMORE wants to find God in the midst of...

The Art of the Saint John's Bible: A Readers Guide to Pentateuch, Psalms, Gospels, and Acts.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The Art of the Saint John's Bible: A Readers Guide to Pentateuch, Psalms, Gospels, and Acts by Susan Sink Liturgical, Collegeville, Minn., 2007. 126 pp. $14.95. ISBN 978-0-81469062. Filled with unique insights into the planning,...

Let Her Speak for Herself: Nineteenth-Century Women Writing on the Women in Genesis.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Let Her Speak for Herself: Nineteenth-Century Women Writing on Women in Genesis edited by Marion Ann Taylor and Heather E. Weir Baylor, Waco, 2006. 513 pp. $44.95. ISBN 978-1-932792-53-9. Women throughout history have made...

Great Women of the Bible in Art and Literature.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Great Women of the Bible in Art and Literature by Dorothee Soelle and Joe J. Kirchberger Fortress, Minneapolis, 2006. 160 pp. $29.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8006-3557-2. More than 200 artistic images of women of the Bible are gathered...

Raising Cain, Fleeing Egypt, and Fighting Philistines: The Old Testament in Popular Music.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Raising Cain, Fleeing Egypt, and Fighting Philistines: The Old Testament in Popular Music by Mark McEntire and Joel Emerson Smith & Helwys, Macon, Ga., 2006. 115 pp. $15.00. ISBN 978-15731-2464-5. Motivated by an attempt to...

The Beauty of God: Theology and the Arts.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The Beauty of God: Theology and the Arts edited by Daniel J. Reier, Mark Husbands, and Roger Lundin InterVarsity, Downers Grove, III., 2007. 240 pp. $22.00. ISBN 978-0-8308-2843-2. Artists and theologians collaborated at the 2006...

God's Grandeur: The Arts and Imagination in Theology.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... God's Grandeur: The Arts and Imagination in Theology edited by David C. Robinson College Theology Society. Orbis, Maryknoll, N.Y., 2006. 269 pp. $30.00. ISBN 978-1-57075-694-8. The arts are no longer considered a "primitive" form...

Performing Israel's Faith: Narrative Law in Rabbinic Theology.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Performing Israel's Faith: Narrative Law in Rabbinic Theology by Jacob Neusner Baylor, Waco, 2005. 230 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-1-9327-9225-6. Hailed as an indispensible introduction to rabbinic theology, this book asserts that law...

The Written Gospel.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The Written Gospel edited by Markus Bockmuehl and Donald A. Hagner Cambridge University Press, New York, 2005. 360 pp. $29.99. ISBN 978-0-5215-4040-7. A comprehensive examination of the canonical Gospels in the early church, this...

Jesus and Archaeology.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Jesus and Archaeology edited by James H. Charlesworth Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2006. 740 pp. $50.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-4880-2. Archaeologists and biblical scholars explore the contributions of recent excavations to the understanding...

Cross Examinations: Readings on the Meaning of the Cross Today.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Cross Examinations: Readings on the Meaning of the Cross Today edited by Marit Trelstad Fortress, Minneapolis, 2006. 320 pp. $20.00. ISBN 978-0-8006-2046-2. Theologians and historians consider the meaning of the cross in the...

Acts and Ethics.(Book Notes)(Acts and Ethics: New Testament Monographs)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Acts and Ethics edited by Thomas E. Phillips New Testament Monographs. Sheffield Phoenix, Sheffield, 2005. 161 pp. $ 85.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-1-9050-4822-9. Addressing ethical precepts in the book of Acts, this collection of essays...

A Feminist Companion to Mariology.(Book Notes)(A Feminist Companion to Mariology: Feminist Companion to the New Testament and Early Christian Writings)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... A Feminist Companion to Mariology edited by Amy-Jill Levine Feminist Companion to the New Testament and Early Christian Writings. T & T Clark, Harrisburg, 2005. 225 pp. $130.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8264-6662-4. Incorporating...

The Cambridge History of Christianity, Vol. 1: Origins to Constantine.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The Cambridge History of Christianity, Vol. 1: Origins to Constantine edited by Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young Cambridge University Press, New York, 2006. 790 pp. $180.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-5218-1239-9. This series...

The Work of the Spirit: Pneumatology and Pentecostalism.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The Work of the Spirit: Pneumatology and Pentecostalism edited by Michael Welker Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2006. 236 pp. $35.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-0387-0. Scholars of theology, bibilical studies, religious history, anthropology, and...

Hispanic Christian Thought at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Apuntes in Honor of Justo L. Gonzalez.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Hispanic Christian Thought at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Apuntes in Honor of Justo L. Gonzalez edited by Alvin Padilla, Robero Goizueta, and Eldin Villafane Abingdon, Nashville, 2005. 342 pp. $25.00. ISBN 978-0-6870-9813-2. This...

Preaching the Letters without Dismissing the Law: A Lectionary Commentary.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Preaching the Letters without Dismissing the Law: A Lectionary Commentary by Ronald J. Allen and Clark M. Williamson Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2006. 268 pp. $29.95 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-664-23001-2. This commentary offers...

The Bible in Pastoral Practice: Readings in the Place and Function of Scripture in the Church.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The Bible in Pastoral Practice: Readings in the Place and Function of Scripture in the Church edited by Paul Ballard and Stephen R. Holmes Baylor, Waco, 2005. 230 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-1-9327-9225-6. A group of scholars gathered at...

Preaching Classic Texts.(Book Notes)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Preaching Classic Texts Combining thorough exegesis with insights from the sermons of a wide variety of respected homiliticians, this series presents new ways of preaching well-known biblical texts. Drawing on recent trends in biblical...