The Book that Breathes New Life: Scriptural Authority and Biblical Theology

by Walter Brueggemann

Augsburg Fortress, Grove City, 2004. 228 pp. $35.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8006-3667-8.

Brueggemann’s essays offer new and deeper critical engagement with current scholarship about the character, theology, and authority of the Old Testament and the God it portrays.

The People’s New Testament Commentary

by M. Eugene Boring and Fred B. Craddock

Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2004. 827 pp. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-664-22754-6.

This one-volume commentary makes accessible essential information on history, culture, geography, literature, and translation. It puts the New Testament within the community it is intended to serve.

Matthew: A Commentary. Volume 1: The Christbook, Matthew 1–12, revised and expanded edition.

by Frederick Dale Bruner

Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 652 pp. $45.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8028-1118-3.
Volume 2: The Church, Matthew 13–28

Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 886 pp. $50.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8028-2670-9.

Bruner’s original commentary has been greatly expanded to further expound on the relevance of the Gospel of Matthew to contemporary congregations, pastors, and theologians. This edition reflects seven years of refinement, enrichment, and updating. The first twelve chapters focus on the nature and work of Christ. This second volume focuses on the church and personal discipleship.

Matthew: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist

by Warren Carter

Hendrickson, Peabody, Mass., 2004. 287 pp. $19.95. ISBN 1-56563-985-5.

A revision of Carter’s earlier volume on Matthew, this edition contains updated material from his work on the relationship to the Roman Imperial world. Extensive changes have been made to the chapters on the social and religious experiences of the audience, settings of the Gospel, and the authorities as opponents of God’s will.

Reading the Gospels Today

edited by Stanley E. Porter

Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 228 pp. $24.00. ISBN 0-8028-0517-5.

Eight different authors take various approaches to the reading of the Gospels. In addition to examining audience, authority, synoptic and canonical approach, other chapters involve reading from Korean culture, oral performance, and postmodern investigation.

Literary Encounters with the Reign of God

edited by Sharon H. Ringe and H. C. Paul Kim

T & T Clark, Harrisburg, 2004. 384 pp. $70.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-567-02590-X.

This collection of nineteen articles is written in honor of Robert Tannehill’s work on narrative criticism. Subjects include the rhetoric of Jesus, ethics in the Sermon on the Mount, famine in the Prodigal Son parable, sensory-aesthetics, eco-justice, and narrative-critical studies.

Paul and the Roman Imperial Order

edited by Richard A. Horsley

Trinity Press International, Harrisburg, 2004. 224 pp. $25.00. ISBN 1-56338-421-3.

This collection of essays relocates Paul in resistance to Roman Imperialism rather than portraying him in opposition to Judaism. Topics range from Paul’s apocalyptic rhetoric, the treatment of patronage, the cult of the emperor, virtue and vice from a political perspective, and a postcolonial analysis.

Christianity at Corinth: The Quest for the Pauline Church

edited by Edward Adams and David G. Horrell

Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2004. 332 pp. $39.95. ISBN 0-664-22478-4.

The examination of First Corinthians affords a rich portrait of emerging Christianity. Essays from F. C. Baur to the present compose a history of the scholarship on the Corinthian church. Leading scholars also reflect on the future direction of methodology, ideology, and reconstruction in the study of the Christians at Corinth.

The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin

edited by Donald McKim

Cambridge University Press, New York, 2004. 352 pp. $24.99. ISBN 0-521-01672-X.

Major international historians and theologians come together in this volume to present Calvin’s life and context, themes in his writings, and his continuing influence and importance.

Till the Heart Sings: A Biblical Theology of Manhood and Womanhood

by Samuel Terrien

Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 274 pp. $24.00. ISBN 0-8028-2237-1.

An extensive foreword by Phyllis Trible reintroduces the reader to the work of Samuel Terrien, who died in 2002. This reprint of his 1985 work stands the test of time on the issues of gender and personhood. Terrien offers an expansive biblical

theology of women that moves beyond misogyny and sexism.

The Future of Hope: Christian Tradition amid Modernity and Postmodernity

edited by Miroslav Volf and William H. Katerberg

Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 249 pp. $20.00. ISBN 0-8028-2752-7.

Scholars from the fields of theology, the social sciences, and the humanities critique the ambiguity in today’s culture and explore the centrality of hope to a flourishing society. The relationship of the premodern Christian vision of hope to current thought is a major emphasis, as is the articulation of faith in a postmodern world.

Spirit in the Cities: Searching for Soul in the Urban Landscapes

edited by Kathryn Tanner

Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 144 pp. $15.00. ISBN 0-8006-3682-1.

The Workgroup on Constructive Theology visited and evaluated five urban locations to uncover the existence of religious spirit in these places. The contributors employ personal and historical narrative, political analysis, and theological reflection as they reappraise the spiritual potential of cities.

Jesus and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ: The Film, the Gospels, and the Claims of History

edited by Kathleen E. Corley and Robert L. Webb

Continuum, New York, 2004. 192 pp. $17.95. ISBN 0-8264-7781-X.

An international team of leading Biblical historians tackles the complex differences between the contents of the film and that of the Gospels. This work examines the background and context of the film against what has been historically reconstructed about the person of Jesus.