Reading the Bible Today: A 21st Century Appreciation of Scripture

by Edgar V. McKnight

Smith & Helwys, Macon, 2003. 151 pp. $17.00. ISBN 1- 57312-407-9.

Biblical scholar McKnight treats the human nature of the Bible in its cultural circumstances and literary form. He examines geographical and historical setting, the contribution of archaeology, major themes, translations, and selection of the canon. The final chapter suggests critical and creative readings of scripture as Word of God.

Family in the Bible: Exploring Customs, Culture, and Context

edited by Richard S. Hess and M. Daniel Carroll R.

Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2003. 175 pp. $16.99. ISBN 0-8010-2628-8.

Seven contributors explore family as it is found in the biblical portrait of customs and culture. Old Testament contexts include the Pentateuch, the historical texts, wisdom literature, and the prophets. The New Testament is covered in two essays, the Gospels and Acts, and the Epistles.

The Fiery Throne: The Prophets and Old Testament Theology

by Walther Zimmerli

Fortress Classics in Biblical Studies. Fortress, Minneapolis, 2003. 179 pp. $16.00. ISBN 0-8006-3620-1.

This work by a renowned scholar on Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and the experience of the prophets offers important insights into Old Testament Theology. Subjects include proclamation, reinterpretation, the land, and biblical theology.

Reading the Gospels in the Dark: Portrayals of Jesus in Film

by Richard Walsh

Trinity Press International, Harrisburg, 2003. 209 pp. $18.00. ISBN 1-56338-387-X.

This discussion brings together “Jesus films,” the canonical Gospels, and American culture as partners in conversation. Walsh reveals insights that all three offer concerning literary and mythical features found in each as they intersect in the cinematic auditorium.

Preaching the Gospels without Blaming the Jews: A Lectionary Commentary

by Ronald J. Allen and Clark M. Williamson

Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2004. 261 pp. $24.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-664-22763-5.

The authors focus on the continuity of the lectionary Gospel readings with Jewish theology, values, and practices in order to suggest connections of kinship and mission with Judaism. Their critique of the polemical characterizations in the passages involves historical and theological perspectives.

And You Welcomed Me: A Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity

edited by Amy G. Oden

Abingdon, Nashville, 2001. 316 pp. $27.00. ISBN 0-687- 09671-5.

Excerpts from early Christian letters, diaries, sermons, community records, and travel journals demonstrate the central role of hospitality as a moral duty. Sources cover a span from biblical examples through the first several centuries of Christianity. While not a book of instruction on the practice of hospitality, it encourages reflection on the meaning of caring for the sick, the traveler, and the stranger.

Early Christian Reader

by Steve Mason and Tom Robinson Hendrickson,

Peabody, 2004. 780 pp. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56563-043-2.

This volume contains the canonical New Testament texts along with first and second century Christian writings such as the Didache, 1 Clement, and the letters of Ignatius. Also included are maps of the Roman Empire and Jerusalem in the Second Temple period. Several appendices offer information regarding coins, political and literary context, sources and dating, and use of the Hebrew Bible by early Christians.

Elusions of Control: Biblical Law on the Words of Women

by Jione Havea

Society of Biblical Literature Semeia Studies, 41. Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, 2003. 223 pp. $29.95. ISBN 1-58983-033-4.

This scholarly treatment offers a circumreading around and across regulatory and narrative biblical texts of women’s vows, beginning with Numbers 30. This approach uncovers the elusory relationship between words and control, and demonstrates an alternative method of transtextual reading of bibilical law.

Does Christianity Teach Male Headship? The Equal-Regard Marriage and its Critics

edited by David Blankenhorn, Don Browning, and Mary Stewart Van Leeuwenn

Religion, Marriage, and Family Series. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 157 pp. $15.00. ISBN 0-8028- 2171-5.

This collection of authors, representing both liberal and conservative perspectives, debates whether Christianity bears responsibility for cultural subordination of women. Issues addressed include the extent of influence of Greco-Roman and patriarchal honor-shame cultures upon early Christianity and the history of the church.

Broken We Kneel: Reflections on Faith and Citizenship

by Diana Butler

Bass Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2004. 144 pp. $23.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-7879-7284-3.

Bass examines Christian identity and citizenship in the United States, covering such issues as patriotism, homeland security, imperialism, and use of the phrase “God Bless America.” In raising the question of allegiance, she touches on longstanding tensions regarding the relationship between church and state, faith and politics.

Having: Property and Possession in Religious and Social Life

edited by William Schweiker and Charles Mathewes

Eerdmans, Grand Rapids,2004. 242 pp. $36.00. ISBN 0- 8028-2484-6.

Scholars from the fields of theology, ethics, economics, and biblical studies explore the relationship between possessions and social value. Resources from the biblical tradition are brought to bear on the current global challenges of ownership and consumerism.

An Introduction to Third World Theologies

by John Parrat

Cambridge University Press, New York, 2004. 189 pp. $65.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-521-79335-1.

This book presents the first overview of trends and contributions of Third World Christian theologies of Latin America, India, East Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. The context of colonialism and western mission efforts shapes each in ways distinctly influenced by cultural and socio-political environment.

From Prophecy to Testament: The Function of the Old Testament in the New

by Craig A. Evans

Hendrickson, Peabody, 2004. 280 pp. $29.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56563-765-8.

Thirteen scholars examine the insights and interpretation of Old Testament literature as used in the composition of the New Testament. Topics include the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic languages; the story of Hagar; Pentecost; the Virgin Birth; and signs and the apocalypse.

Opting for the Margins: Postmodernity and Liberation in Christian Theology

edited by Joerg Rieger

Oxford University Press, New York, 2003. 208 pp. $49.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-19-516119-X.

This collection of essays seeks to recover the “preferential option for the poor” that was central to liberation theology. Writers from various national, ethnic, and theological perspectives examine ways in which postmodern thought can recapture options for the marginalized in life-giving ways. Social, economic and political thought are engaged as well as religious, theological, and ethical arguments.

I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Future of Multicultural America

edited by James Echols.

Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 102 pp. $15.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8006-3685-6.

Leading religious and theological thinkers from African-American and Hispanic communities explore King's impact today. Topics include ethics, poverty, community and solidarity. Among the contributors are Peter Paris, Emilie Townes, Justo Gonzalez, and James Forbes, Jr.

Exploring & Proclaiming the Apostles' Creed edited

by Roger E. Van Harn.

Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 178 pp. $24.00. ISBN 0- 8028-2120-0.

Fifteen essays by biblical scholars highlight the articles of faith of the Apostle's Creed. Each of these is accompanied by a sermon that exemplifies doctrinal, confessional preaching and makes use of the specific aspect of the creed.