Inscribing the Text: Sermons and Prayers of Walter Brueggemann [Hardcover]

Anna Carter Florence (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004

This volume contains the most recent collection of Walter Brueggemann's sermons and prayers. That would be notable in itself: another dazzling set of words from a man whose sheer energy and creativity make us wonder if he is climbing Sinai every morning, for dictation. Yet this book is more than a collection.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Students and readers of Brueggemann will hear cadences of familiar themes: in the scribe, we hear poet and prophet, testimony and resistance, truth and power, exile and captivity.

About the Author

Walter Brueggemann, through his teaching, lecturing, and writing, has effectively demonstrated the significance of the Old Testament for our fractured world today. Recognized as the preeminent interpreter of the ancient texts in relation to questions posed by a variety of academic disciplines, he has shown the way toward a compelling understanding of the major components of the faith and life of ancient Israel, especially its Psalms, the prophets, and the narratives.

Professor Brueggemann, who holds the Th.D. from Union Seminary, New York, and the Ph.D. from St. Louis University, is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia. He was previously Professor of Old Testament at Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis. His many Fortress Press books, including The Threat of Life: Sermons on Pain, Power, and Weakness (1996), exhibit a fecund combination of imaginative power, sound scholarship, and a passion of justice and redemption.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 222 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800636465
• ISBN-13: 978-0800636463
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #919,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Walter Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary. He is the world's leading interpreter of the Old Testament and is the author of numerous books, including Westminster John Knox Press best sellers such as Genesis and First and Second Samuel in the Interpretation series, An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination, and Reverberations of Faith: A Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Consistent Brueggemann, March 24, 2005

By 

Israel Galindo (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inscribing the Text: Sermons and Prayers of Walter Brueggemann (Hardcover)

As anticipated, the book was a delight to read, more like a conversation with a companion over a couple of days than a brow-knitting exercise in academic critique. And, writing a review is worth the price of the experience.

This collection of prayers and sermons by Walter Brueggemann, now Professor Emeritus of Old Testament in the William Marcellus McPheeters Chair at Columbia Theological Seminary, is a companion volume to an earlier collection by the same publisher, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth (2003). Those readers who are familiar with Brueggemann's works (there is a plethora to choose from, the man is an industry unto himself) know with anticipation that this work too can only be good.

The sermons are wide-ranging in themes, scripture text, and occasion. The original context of these sermons range from chapel addresses to colloquia presentations; from congregational sermons to lecture series events; from homiletic conferences to the 100th anniversary of the author's home church (Peace UCC in Tilden, Nebraska). These sermons have a characteristic Brueggemann style in their construction, movement, and structure, and those who have heard the author speak will hear the echo of the spoken voice throughout. There are twenty-three sermons and twenty five prayers, and the book concludes with a helpful index of biblical references.

The first chapter of the book (though not designated as such) is a paper presented at the Festival of Homiletics in Chicago in 2002 (originally appearing in the Scottish Journal of Theology and revised for this volume). This essay, itself titled "The Preacher as Scribe" provides the title of the book. In this piece Brueggemann challenges preachers to "speak truth to power," but not by influence of office or personality or skill, but rather, through respecting the power of the text to do so. He concludes, "The text is a voice of truth, albeit an elusive one. Yet when text-time is well managed, truth does speak to power-but not through the advocacy of the preacher." (p. 17).

The sermons are model exposition, without being expository, with a decidedly didactic element to them. In these sermons Brueggemann models how it is possible to stay close to the text while providing both an authentic and contemporary interpretation and the prophetic function that is sorely needed in today's pulpits.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Daily reading for the thoughtful, February 27, 2006

By 

Kelley A. Johnson "avid reader" (Surprise, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inscribing the Text: Sermons and Prayers of Walter Brueggemann (Hardcover)

I have found reading Brueggemann's sermons and prayers to be deeply nourishing and challenging. In a world of thin theology and even thinner devotions, this text is deep and rich soil for the soul. I have found this be a wonderful devotional for the thoughful - each day reading a sermon or prayer that stirs, quickens and inspires the heart and mind. This is a gem and catalyst...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful as Devotions and for Deeper Reflective Study, November 25, 2005

By 

JAD (The Sunshine State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inscribing the Text: Sermons and Prayers of Walter Brueggemann (Hardcover)

This is a good book to spur your Biblical curiosity and to satisfy your longing for something new, yet trustworthy, in the way of a devotional resource. The subtitle only hints at the richness of this collection of prayers, poems, meditations on Biblical passages, sermons and what might better be called essays on Biblical themes. It provides the careful reader with concepts that will be helpful as devotions and for deeper reflective study.

Professor Brueggemann talks about the preacher's role as scribe-which may seem a startling notion for those who recall Jesus' warnings about the Scribes and Pharisees-however, the role of "truth speaking to power" is what he has in mind. In other words, offering those who can make a difference a view of God's truth so that it can become a motivating factor in the church's work and witness. It seems like a good approach for all Christians, by the way.

I particularly appreciated the sermon "Missing by Nine Miles" about the visit of the Magi. Dr. Brueggemann contrasts the halls of power in Jerusalem with the simple profundity of the stable in Bethlehem. Reminding me of the old saying "a miss is as good as a mile", the prophet in Dr. Brueggemann provides a Biblical argument for the efficacy of such overlooked character traits as vulnerability, neighborliness and generosity, in contrast to what "wise guys from the East" might have, at first, thought.

The way that the words are set onto the page, the reader can almost hear Dr. Bruegemann speaking-and those who have been fortunate enough to hear him in person will indeed sense the tone of his voice in the ink on the paper.

Walter Brueggemann is a towering presence of our time, for the Church at large, having served as a professor in several leading seminaries and as a preacher and writer whose words are consistently inspirational. He is professor emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary PC(USA) in Decatur, Georgia. If you ever have a chance to hear him speak, take it. And if not, this book is a good alternative.