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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
useful, insightful, scholarly, and engaging, February 27, 2004
This review is from: Reverberations of Faith: A Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes (Paperback)
Walter Brueggemann is a prolific writer and teacher of Biblical Theology. He has a remarkable knack for understanding the ancient Israelite context and meaning in Scriptural narratives, while applying them appropriately and powerfully in situations that relate to Christian faith and practice. Brueggemann is a brilliant scholar, so you are getting top notch material. But many of his books are user-friendly and oriented to the people in the trenches. This book, which is subtitled "A theological handbook of Old Testament themes" is no exception. It contains about 100 entries, arranged alphabetically. Each entry is a powerful theme from the Hebrew Scriptures, which is explained with clarity and insight. Some examples of entries are: Covenant, Day of the Lord, Faith, Forgiveness, Jerusalem, Land, Messiah, Neighbor, Redemption, Retribution, Sacrifice, Suffering Servant, Torah, Wilderness, Wisdom. As you can see, each one of these represents just the kind of theme that really matters when reading Scripture! Most entries are about 1 to 3 pages, and a few are 4-5. They will give you the basic ideas you need to know (with key passages noted), the historical context, a sense of the theology involved and why it matters, and sometimes ends with a paragraph or two giving a sense where there is a connection to the New Testament and Christian doctrine. Each entry ends with a bibliographic list of references for further study. I think this text is perfect for anyone involved in studying Hebrew Scripture (you can just keep it with you all the time!), as well as for teachers and preachers. Basically, it will do for anyone interested in the really important messages of the Bible and understanding their relevance in theology and faith. I assume, by the way, that most readers will be Christians, but I think it would be acceptable to Jewish readers as well, as there is no anti-Judaism or anti-semitism to be found in it.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
OT theology, clear and effective, September 22, 2007
This review is from: Reverberations of Faith: A Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes (Paperback)
Because the author, biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann, has chosen to list and expound Old Testament theological themes in alphabetic order, the entry for YHWH comes last. Yet in most of the 105 entries, YHWH (or LORD, where Brueggemann quotes the NRSV) appears at least once, in many instances several times. This speaks of the all-encompassing significance that that inscrutable name, reckoned to be too holy to utter, assumed in the life of the OT community and found a permanent place in the Hebrew Scriptures as the focus of faith. Like the leitmotif of a musical drama, YHWH sounds and resounds across the pages of this readable book of OT theology. Laid out dictionary-style in two columns per page, the discussions are anything but isolated dictionary definitions. Brueggemann writes, "I have attempted to reflect the complexities, depths, and interrelatedness of these entries, wherein one must entertain them all in order to sense fully any one of them." Thus, entries reverberate with other entries. He might have added that the recurring theme of YHWH intensifies the echoes. You may start anywhere, read two or three entries, and other themes will suggest themselves; these, in turn, will lead to still others. Don't be surprised if you find yourself back at one of the starting entries; read it again, by all means - chances are that it will now speak to you with added meaning. Brueggemann develops the OT implications of each theme, reflects on its NT or later Christian understanding where appropriate, and sometimes remarks on relevant present-day issues. In this last category, he can be trenchant in his (implicit) criticism of, e.g., those who would use theological promise to justify a political agenda, or of "our human pretensions, all the claims of self-assured superpowers ..." I will give two examples, since I think it important to understand how these ancient writings can and do impact the contemporary scene.
On the theme of VIOLENCE, with a cross-reference to CANAANITES (see below), he remarks that violence is pervasive in some writings of the Old Testament, notably the book of Joshua, and that its attribution to God "constitutes an immense problem for theological interpretation." Also, "A long history of 'militant righteousness' is not squeamish about violence on behalf of the violent God. Here one may refer to a long history of 'religious wars,' including the U.S. practice in Vietnam of destroying villages in order to save them, to more recent bombings of abortion clinics ... all on behalf of the will of God." Back to CANAANITES. Brueggemann explains how ancient Israel abhorred the Canaanites, i.e., "the population that already occupied the territory that Israel came to regard as the land that YHWH promised to them." Not only were the Canaanites competitors for the land, but the term in the OT is ideological, generally referring to religious and social matters "wherein the general population is unlike Israel. ... Scholars agree that the biblical rendering of 'Canaanites' is an ideological rendering far removed from the historical. ... This presentation of the Canaanites, moreover, is available in contemporary polemics whereby Israel's ideological abhorrence of the Canaanites is readily redeployed upon the Palestinians [the present-day challengers of Israelite claims]."
These and similar statements are eye openers, sometimes attacked by those who will not acknowledge reality if it did not accord with their perceptions. Theologian Brueggemann has no qualms writing what he thinks and knows. Moreover, he writes clearly and effectively. Highly recommended to those who want to enhance their understanding of the Old Testament and its issues.
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2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to work with, May 15, 2007
This review is from: Reverberations of Faith: A Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes (Paperback)
I have not red the whole book yet but I have red enough to say it is a brilliant book. easy to understand and learn a lot that I didn't know from the Old testament. using it mostly for preparations looking up different topics and words and I'm so glad for it, a very good and interesting book.
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