Encountering Jesus and Buddha: Their Lives and Teachings

by Ulrich Luz and Axel Michaels

Fortress, Minneapolis, 2006. 256 pp. $22.00. ISBN 0-8006-3564-7.

This study in the phenomenology of religion analyzes Buddhism and Christianity, considering each tradition on its own terms. Topics include the founders, the reign of God and nirvana, love and tranquility, passion and suffering, christology, meditation, and community and church. Essays explore thought-provoking questions such as: “Would the Buddha have been a disciple of Jesus?” and “Would Jesus have gone into the desert instead of Jerusalem if he had known the Buddha?” The authors seek to convey a sense of “the Buddha and Jesus” without diminishing the uniqueness of either.

Abraham's Children: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conversation

edited by Norman Solomon, Richard Harries, and Tim Winter

T & T Clark, Harrisburg, 2006. 338 pp. $39.95. ISBN 0-6567-08161-3.

This collection of essays from the Oxford Abrahamic Group draws from over a decade of fellowship and dialogue between Muslim, Jewish, and Christian scholars. The book is divided into two sections. The first reflects on the historical significance of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad from each tradition’s perspective. The second half addresses many core concerns of the contemporary world: the image of God in humanity, pluralism, gender, the environment, and life after death. The contributors hope that their work will prove that it is possible for different faith communities to enter into serious and constructive dialogue through the conscious effort of building relationship.

The Tent of Abraham: Stories of Hope and Peace for Jews, Christians, and Muslims

by Joan Chittister, Murshid Saadi Shakur Chishti, and Arthur Waskow

Beacon, Boston, 2006. 218 pp. $24.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8070-7728-3.

A Benedictine nun, a rabbi, and a Sufi mystic offer new insights into Christian-Jewish-Muslim relations by reaching back to the common origins of the Abrahamic traditions. After recounting the two versions of Abraham’s story (in the Hebrew Bible and Qur’an), the authors provide contemporary interpretations of these texts from their own religious perspectives. Drawing from the stories of Abraham’s hospitality to unexpected guests and the destruction of Sodom (Gen 18–19; Sura 11 and 51), the authors discern ways in which this common religious heritage can be a source of healing in the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Humanity Before God: Contemporary Faces of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Ethics

edited by William Schweiker, Michael A. Johnson, and Kevin Jung

Fortress, Minneapolis, 2006. 326 pp. $22.00. ISBN 0-8006-3822-0.

Jewish, Islamic, and Christian scholars from various disciplines (philosophy, theology, ethics, history, and law) explore what it means to be a human being before God. In 2003, this group met at the University of Chicago Divinity School to share unique perspectives that have been shaped by their own faith traditions. This book moves away from the idea that the Abrahamic religions are in competition with each other to a more pluralistic view, in which the three traditions are in dialogical encounter with one another as well as with many other traditions and perspectives. Prominent themes include the sanctity of human life, moral responsibility, and the weighty influence of interpretation as a tool for navigating moral spaces.

A History of Ancient Israel and Judah, Second Edition

by J. Maxwell Miller and John H. Hayes

Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2006. 562 pp. $39.95. ISBN 0-664-22358-3.

This revised and updated seminary classroom classic incorporates recent archaeological evidence, continuing scholarly debates, and cutting-edge interpretations in the field. While offering the systematic and comprehensive presentation provided in the previous volume, this second edition provides a deeper and more detailed analysis of pertinent questions. Substantial additions have been made in the bibliographical material as well as the illustrations and other visual aids.

Calvin and the Bible

by Donald K. McKim

Cambridge University Press, New York, 2006. 296 pp. $29.99. ISBN 0-521-54712-1.

Eleven scholars explore the major themes in Calvin’s works beyond Institutes of the Christian Religion. The essays provide an examination of his work on OT texts including Genesis, Job, Psalms, and the Prophets, as well as NT texts from the Synoptic Gospels through the Catholic Epistles. References to Calvin’s systematic and homiletical writings are woven into the essays, providing a well-rounded view of Calvin as an interpreter of Scripture.

Transforming the Powers: Peace, Justice, and the Domination System

edited by Ray Gingerich and Ted Grimsrud

Fortress, Minneapolis, 2006. 226 pp. $20.00. ISBN 0-8006-3817-4.

Engaging Walter Wink’s groundbreaking work Naming the Powers: The Language of Power in the New Testament, as well as his subsequent work, this collection of essays deepens the conversation about the contemporary meaning of the biblical concept of “principalities and powers.” The contributors seek to address the problem of change in the context of present-day institutions and social systems. Beginning with Wink’s assertion that “[a]ny attempt to transform a social system without addressing both its spirituality and its outer forms is doomed to failure,” the writers explore worldviews, ethics, economics, politics, peacemaking, and justice. The essays were presented at a 2001 conference at Eastern Mennonite University honoring Wink’s achievements.

Interfaces

edited by Barbara Green

This expanding series is designed to provide a creative and engaging way to approach biblical studies in the undergraduate classroom through in-depth analysis of an individual character or group of characters. The most recent additions include these six titles:

Tell It on the Mountain: The Daughter of Jephthah in Judges 11

by Barbara Miller

Liturgical/Michael Glazier, Collegeville, 2005. 144 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-8146-5843-1.

Jonah's Journeys

by Barbara Green

Liturgical/Michael Glazier, Collegeville, 2005. 172 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-8146-5038-4.

Jesus Ben Sira of Jerusalem: A Biblical Guide to Living Wisely

by Daniel J. Harrington

Liturgical/Michael Glazier, Collegeville, 2005. 142 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-8146-5212-3.

The Exile and the Prophet's Wife: Historic Events and Marginal Perspectives

by Johanna Siebert

Liturgical/Michael Glazier, Collegeville, 2005. 130 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-8146-5177-1.

Ahab: The Construction of a King

by Jerome T. Walsh

Liturgical/Michael Glazier, Collegeville, 2006. 125 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-8146-576-3.

"My Name Is Legion": The Story and Soul of the Gerasene Demoniac

by Michael Willet Newheart

Liturgical/Michael Glazier, Collegeville, 2005. 125 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-8146-5885-7.