The Word That Redescribes the World: The Bible and Discipleship [Hardcover]

Walter Brueggemann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2006

In the last several years, Walter Brueggemann's writings have directly addressed the situation of Christian communities in today's globalized context, with its consumerist lifestyles, vast inequalities, and near-imperial exercises of power. His insights, forged in rugged encounters with the texts of the Old Testament, are sharp, painful, and indispensable. In the people Israel Brueggemann finds a model of an alternative community - anchored in YHWH, ever exploring new possibilities, and prophetically bent against empire. Part I: The Word Redescribing the World Part II: The Word Redefining the Possible Part III: The Word Shaping a Community of Discipleship

Editorial Reviews

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. His award-winning Theology of the Old Testament (Fortress Press, 1997) quickly became a foundational work in the field.

Patrick D. Miller is Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of two Fortress Press volumes: They Cried to the Lord: The Form and Theology of Biblical Prayer (1994) and Interpreting the Psalms (1986).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers; 1 edition (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080063814X
• ISBN-13: 978-0800638146
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,455,429 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.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Prophetic Voice that is Sure to Challenge all Readers, October 22, 2011

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This review is from: The Word That Redescribes the World: The Bible and Discipleship (Paperback)

William Brueggemann's collection of eloquently written essays challenges readers to awaken to God's call for holiness and radical engagement with our neighbors in the world. Newly available in paperback, these were written between 1998 and 2004 and originally published as a collection in 2006. Brueggemann divides the essays into three sections that emphasize the unique nature of the Biblical text as inspired by God, the substantive claims of the text highlighting the impossible possibilities of life with God, and the imperatives of the text understood for the Christian as faithful obedience lived in true discipleship.

In demonstrating what he proposes for preachers, Brueggemann speaks "truth to power." The truth resonating in all of the essays is the indictment that Christianity in the West has succumbed and acquiesced to a culture defined by an ideology of "technological--therapeutic--militaristic--consumerism." He proposes that Christians must give themselves fully to the countercultural, Scriptural mandates of "generosity, compassion and forgiveness grounded in a daily commitment to study, prayer and fellowship."

The goal of the Christian life of discipleship is forming a community that at once demonstrates God-given peculiarity and relational engagement with the culture. This communal life proclaims to the world that all human power is penultimate before the creator God who speaks and acts in his creation. For Brueggemann, the Scriptural text provides the missional energy, imagination and identity of the "baptismal community." These virtues counteract the timidity and cultural collusion from which the church suffers.

In identifying himself as "post-liberal," Brueggemann puts forth a high view of Scripture and imagination. The author seems to keep the relationship between the two flexible enough for him to stray from orthodox views on something like sexuality and claim that he is "reimagining" God's expression. So, at times, Brueggemann appears to interpret Scripture subjectively giving more weight to liberal cultural leanings than prior orthodox exegesis and praxis. He also will insert some political statements sort of out of the blue throughout the book that are distractions.

As a collection of essays, the book lacks a progressional theme that a traditional book would follow.

Readers cannot come away from these essays unchallenged or unchanged. The ethic of resistance and engagement that Brueggemann puts forth demands a response equally vigorous and passionate. In that sense, he finds himself in the company of the prophets that the Old Testament scholar so highly esteems.