Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church [Paperback]

Walter Brueggemann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2007

In Mandate to Difference, renowned theologian Walter Brueggemann sets forth a new vision of the Christian church in today's world. Based on speaking engagements surrounding his critical passion and conviction that the church in this moment must set itself in tension with the rest of the world, these essays call the church to courageously defy political polarization, consumerism, and militarism.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Renowned Old Testament scholar Brueggemann offers some profound insights in this collection of essays, roughly tied together by themes of social justice in the Bible and in the contemporary church. The best moments are his specific exegetical observations about the politics, economics, religious practices and community customs of various societies in the Hebrew Bible. Brueggemann produces a persuasive report card on the deficiencies of King Solomon as opposed to King Josiah, measuring their effectiveness by the yardstick of social justice. He examines three magnificent biblical poems of worship and also explores the fourth commandment as a radical "alternative to the quota system of the empire." Despite these flashes of brilliance, the book does not cohere well as a collection. The eleven essays, which Brueggemann delivered orally in various venues throughout 2005, are only loosely connected to one another, though most of the individual pieces are well researched and thought provoking. (Jan.)
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Review

From Publishers Weekly: "Renowned Old Testament scholar Brueggemann offers some profound insights in this collection of essays, roughly tied together by themes of social justice in the Bible and in the contemporary church. The best moments are his specific exegetical observations about the politics, economics, religious practices and community customs of various societies in the Hebrew Bible. Brueggemann produces a persuasive report card on the deficiencies of King Solomon as opposed to King Josiah, measuring their effectiveness by the yardstick of social justice. He examines three magnificent biblical poems of worship and also explores the fourth commandment as a radical "alternative to the quota system of the empire." Despite these flashes of brilliance, the book does not cohere well as a collection. The eleven essays, which Brueggemann delivered orally in various venues throughout 2005, are only loosely connected to one another, though most of the individual pieces are well researched and thought provoking." (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; 1 edition (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664231217
• ISBN-13: 978-0664231217
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,941 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

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church, August 8, 2007

By 

G. Howell (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church (Paperback)

This book addresses the IMPORTANT issues that are facing the church today. Brueggemann gives a fresh perpective on what we really need to change. He is truly a modern prophet.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars poignant, subversive and biblical., March 28, 2010

By 

Donner C. S. Tan (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church (Paperback)

Walter Brueggemann is not capable of writing a boring sentence. His words are well crafted, sharp and provocative, even if different readers will take issues with him on different points. Here is a scholar whose mind has been baptised with decades of deep study and reflection of the biblical materials; it is hard to pull apart the exegetical basis of his proposals, which are often subversive to contemporary habits of thoughts.

This collection of talks he gave on different occasions to the contemporary audience, brings the ancient texts of Scriptures to bear on the modern church, primarily in the American socio-political context but in many ways relevant to other modern societies as well. He basically circles around the theme of God's alternative society vs Pharaoh's/Philistine's/Caesar's empire. Hence it is God's life-giving command of the Sabbath against the quota-system of the urban world, God's invitation to rest in his abundant grace vs the harried and hurried quest for acquisition, consumptions and accomplishments that bolster the idolatrous self. Here, he unmasks the illusions of human greed and proposes instead a life centered around God and neighbour and that liberates the self for shalom - for art, beauty and play.

Being very much a part of the Pharaohic world myself, I have to take the leisurely pace to digest this book and hear the message it is intended to convey. Thankfully, Brueggemann is as much a poet as he is a careful scholar;his words have a way of stretching your imagination, evoking an alternative world and holding out hope for a world starving for a fresh script with which to order its existence. Most of us know that business as usual simply will not do. I thank God for Brueggemann who helps us to listen to the ancient texts again that are capable of speaking afresh to every generation in such a powerful and liberating way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cahllenging Reading, February 2, 2009

By 

Lloyd E. Siverns (Vancouver BC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church (Paperback)

Seems that everything that Walter Brueggemann writes is well worth reading. He is always stimuaitng and challenging. Bought this book for myself and a second copy for a friend.