April 2008 - Who Is My Neighbor?

We have only included a few of our book notes in this issue of Interpretation. If you would like to read more, please sign up for our trial subscription or become full-time subscriber today.

Untamed Hospitality: Welcoming God and Other Strangers

by Elizabeth Newman

The Christian Practice of Everyday Life. Brazos, Grand Rapids, 2007. 240 pp. $22.99. ISBN 978- 1-58743-176-0.

This book offers a fresh look at Christian hospitality as a “practice” that shapes and defines our participa­tion in the life of God. It entails more than just being friendly or inviting someone into your home. It is an orientation in the world which includes the religious, political, social, and economic realms. In the act of worship we participate in divine hospitality, which we are to share with others in our daily lives.

The Ten Commandments for Jews, Christians, and Others

edited by Roger E. Van Harn

Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2007. 236 pp. $22.00. ISBN 9780-8028-2965-8.

Interfaith dialogues typically avoid the exploration of dogmatics. This volume is an exception, in which both Jewish and Christian scholars examine “the Ten Words” unapologetically from their own perspec­tives. Each comment on a particular commandment is followed by a response from a scholar from the other tradition. Lively and engaging dialogues unearth the differences and similarities of both faiths and broaden the reader’s perspective on the texts.

Scrolls of Love: Ruth and the Song of Songs

edited by Peter S. Hawkins and Lesleigh Cushing Stahlberg

Fordham University Press, New York, 2006. 382 pp. $26.00. ISBN 978- 0-8232-2571-9.

This volume gives new life to the tradition of inter­pretation and the possibilities for interfaith dialogue as it brings together two biblical texts centered on the common theme of love. A diverse group of scholars representing different faiths engage these texts from a variety of perspectives, including rabbinic, patristic, medieval, feminist, psychoan­alytic, and autobiographical.

Engaging Biblical Authority: Perspectives on the Bible as Scripture

edited by William P. Brown

Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2007. 158 pp. $19.95. ISBN 978-0-664-23057-9.

Sixteen scholars who use the Bible as the word of God in their own religious tradition and scholarship address the question of biblical authority. Included are traditional Reformed, Lutheran, Wesleyan, Catholic, Jewish, and Orthodox views; conservative or evangelical positions; plus African American, Asian American, Hispanic, feminist, and womanist perspectives.

Reformed Theology: Identity and Ecumenicity II; Biblical Interpretation in The Reformed Tradition

edited by Wallace M. Alston Jr. and Michael Welker

Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2007. 463 pp. $49.00. ISBN 9780-8028-0386-5.

This collection of essays was presented at a con­ference of Reformed scholars in Stellenbosch, South Africa that examined contextuality and its role in biblical interpretation and exegesis. Thirty chapters include expositions of specific texts (Genesis, Psalms, Ezekiel, Ecclesiastes, and John), as well as reflections on various theological and ethical issues (including hope, rhetoric, liminal spaces, and peacemaking).

Contesting Texts: Jews and Christians in Conversation about the Bible

edited by Melody D. Knowles, Esther Menn, John Pawlikowski, Timothy J. Sandoval

Fortress, Minneapolis, 2007. 229 pp. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8006-3842-9.

This volume presents essays from the 2005 Contesting Texts conference sponsored by Catholic

Theological Union at Chicago, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, McCormick Theological Seminary, and Chicago Theological Seminary. It aims to encourage deeper Jewish-Christian dialogue around shared scriptural texts, and it includes a number of essays from Jewish scholars, including two Jewish NT specialists.

The Way of the Lord: Essays in Old Testament Theology

by Patrick D. Miller

Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2007. 351 pp. $30.00. ISBN 9780-8028-3272-6.

This volume contains twenty-one of Patrick Miller’s best essays on OT theology. They focus on the Ten Commandments and Psalms, but also consider more wide-ranging topics in theology and anthro­pology. Several essays appear here for the first time.

Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church

by Walter Brueggemann

Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2007. 215 pp. $29.99. ISBN 978-0-664-23121-7.

Reminding readers that the faithful Christian walk is not about defining and enforcing moral certitude, Walter Brueggemann calls for the church to reclaim its identity and stand in tension with political, eco­nomic, and ideological developments in the United States. The call is rooted in what he refers to as “the rule of Jesus”: 1) abundant life, as opposed to greed and consumerism; 2) love, both of God and one another; and 3) our connection to each other, which mandates reaching out to the world rather than recoiling in fear.

Preaching the Sermon on the Mount: The World It Imagines

edited by David Fleer and Dave Bland

Chalice, St. Louis, 2007. 177 pp. $19.99. ISBN 978-0827230-04-0.

Scholars from a variety of disciplines reflect upon the countercultural nature of the Sermon on the Mount and what its mandate means for the Christian pulpit and life. The volume begins with heuristic essays from a biblical scholar, theologian, homiletician, historian, and storyteller. It also includes fourteen sermons on Matt 5–7 preached within Disciples of Christ, Churches of Christ, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian traditions.

Feminist Theologies: Legacy and Prospect

edited by Rosemary Radford Ruether

Fortress, Minneapolis, 2007. 175 pp. $20.00. ISBN 978-08006-3894-8.

Essays presented at the 2005 conference at The Center for Women and Religion at the Graduate Theological Union celebrate the development of the increasingly diverse nature of feminist theologies over the last thirty-five years. Contributors embody Asian, Hispanic, North American feminist, womanist, Buddhist, Jewish, and Islamic perspec­tives. They review the history of feminist theology and explore possibilities for the future.

For Today

This series seeks to provide easily accessible study tools for key biblical texts, theological manuscripts, and Christian practices. It is intended for use in Christian education classes as a part of spiritual formation and for the study of familiar compo­nents of worship life. Discussion questions included at the end of each chapter serve as a springboard for reflection and debate.

The Parables for Today

by Alyce M. McKenzie

For Today. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2007. 107 pp. $14.95. ISBN 978-0-664-22958-0.

The Apostles Creed for Today

by Justo L. González

For Today. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2007. 100 pp. $14.95. ISBN 978-0-664-22933-7.

The Life of Jesus for Today

by Ronald J. Allen

For Today. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2008. 115 pp. $14.95. ISBN 978-0-664-2388-0.

The Psalms for Today

by Beth LaNeel Tanner

For Today. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2008. 93 pp. $14.95. ISBN 978-0-664-22935-1.