Peace (Understanding Biblical Themes) [Paperback]

Walter Brueggemann (Author)

Book Description

Series: Understanding Biblical Themes | Publication Date: June 1, 2001

Each book in this series provides an in-depth look at a major recurring biblical theme and its lasting theological influence. The series is designed to enhance the reader's understanding of our biblical heritage and its relevance to faithful life today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First appearing during the peace-loving 1970s, this book now receives a welcome reintroduction as part of Chalice Press's Understanding Biblical Themes series. Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, looks at the protean concept of "shalom" and its relation to concerns today for peace and justice. The task is daunting, but Brueggemann tackles it with his characteristic penchant for conceptual clarity. He outlines a broad biblical vision for shalom ("one community embracing all creation... including all those resources and factors which make communal harmony joyous and effective") and identifies some of its comprising factors (freedom, unity, order, justice, etc.). The second half of the book begins to work out what it means for the church and its people to be a community of shalom. One of the best sections is the new introduction, which is Brueggemann's own insightful critique of the book (and the era in which it was written). Brueggemann seems just as at home with the New Testament as the Old, and like many seminary educators, his style slides between the pedagogical and the sermonic. Once in a while there's a clunky cluster of theological terms, but just as often a memorable and poetic turn of phrase. This is another fine example of what Brueggemann does best: squeezing the Bible to produce hard-working theology for the church.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Chalice Press (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0827238282
• ISBN-13: 978-0827238282
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #651,488 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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peace Comes to the Brickyard, February 20, 2006

By 

Ed Chinn (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peace (Understanding Biblical Themes) (Paperback)

With "Peace," Brueggemann has forever changed the way I think about the biblical idea of Shalom.

I'll be contemplating the message and implications of "Peace" for a long time. This book will not let me go; I finished it, but cannot place it on my bookshelf. I continue to read it and even take it on trips.

In the beginning of Peace, Brueggemann sets up a towering metaphor: "The Brickyard." As anyone who has read Exodus (or seen "The Ten Commandments") knows, the children of Israel were slaves to Pharaoh. They made bricks for Egypt.

In Brueggemann's eyes, the brickyard becomes the oppressive, demanding, soulless spirit of our (or any) dehumanizing age.

Most of us understand the heartbreaking futility of the brickyard; we see it every day - in our children, our neighbors, our fellow workers, ourselves. The confluence of technology, economics, marketing, government, health, employment, and religion (and other factors) has created a new and sometimes crushing slavery. More than once, I was deeply moved at the devastating extent of The Brickyard.

From that, he presents Shalom as the antithesis of everything the coercion of the age represents. In short, Shalom is the Kingdom of God.

"Peace" is an eloquently written powerhouse; the best book on the Kingdom of God I've read. I have finished reading Peace. But I suspect that Peace has not finished reading me.

BTW, Brueggemann is often criticized by conservatives for his thoughts on human sexuality. But, I think what he is really saying is that morality must flow from the revelation of the Kingdom of God, and not from "it is written." Heart-deep morality can only be forged in experience with a healing and delivering Yahweh. And, we cannot - as Christ followers - condemn people who are still trapped in the moral brickyard.