October 2009 - The Gospel of John as the Church's Book

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A Concise Dictionary of the Bible and Its Reception

by John F. A. Sawyer

Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2009. 295 pp. $29.95. ISBN 978-0-664-22338-0.

This fascinating dictionary provides attention to the afterlife of the Bible and its cultural effects. It not only identifies terms and biblical figures, but also examines them from the perspective of
“reception history”—the history of the Bible’s effect on its readers. Much of the dictionary is devoted to literature and the arts, attending to the influence of biblical books, passages, and
characters on great thinkers, preachers, writers, poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, and filmmakers. A useful index enables readers to trace the afterlives of a particular verse or passage throughout.

The Bible in the Public Square: Reading the Signs of the Times

edited by Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, Ellen Bradshaw Aitken, and Jonathan A. Draper

Fortress, Minneapolis, 2008. 267 pp. $26.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8006-3859-7.

Renowned biblical interpreters reflect on how biblically informed engagement with political issues—ancient as well as modern—is reshaping the face of contemporary biblical scholarship and challenging American civil religion and imperial theologies alike. These explorations bridge customary gaps between university, seminary, church, and civic life.Warren Carter, Barbara Rossing, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Norman Gottwald, and Neil Elliott are among
the fifteen contributors.

Words and the Word: Explorations in Biblical Interpretation & Literary Theory

edited by David G. Firth and Jamie A. Grant

Intervarsity, Downers Grove, Ill., 2008. 317 pp. $32.00. ISBN 978-0-8308-2898-2.

Literary theory is a conversation partner of continued and increasing importance for biblical interpretation. These eight informative essays
survey general issues in the field, consider specific approaches, and outline the relevance and contribution to the task of biblical interpretation. Multiple forms of literary theory are considered,
including speech-act theory, genre criticism, poetics, ambiguity, rhetoric, and discourse analysis.

Scripture’s Doctrine and Theology’s Bible: How the New Testament Shapes Christian Dogmatics

edited by Markus Bockmuehl and Alan J. Torrance

Baker, Grand Rapids, 2008. 240 pp. $16.99. ISBN 978-
0-8010-3601-9.

In this volume of essays, biblical and systematic theologians address a fundamental question: To what extent, and on what grounds, does the NT shape and prescribe Christian theology? Part 1 explores the question of how the Bible informs particular aspects of Christian doctrine and praxis. Essays in Part 2 examine how the NT has shaped influential theologians of the past century. Part 3 moves from analysis to synthesis, drawing a vision for the NT’s normative role in forming
theology and ethics.

The Social World of the New Testament: Insights and Models

edited by Jerome H. Neyrey and Eric C. Stewart

Hendrickson, Peabody, Mass., 2008. 295 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-1-59856-128-9.

This collection of previously published essays provides an overview of the models that the social-scientific approach to NT studies has
found most fruitful.Working with texts from across the NT (Matthew,Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Galatians, and James), leading scholars in the field explicate ancient cultural concepts (kinship,
patron-client relations, economics, honor and shame, purity, social location, gender, space, healing, evil eye, limited good, and modal personality), providing new insights into the NT and overcoming ethnocentric and anachronistic readings.

Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church, Revised and Expanded Edition

by Jack Rogers

Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2009. 228 pp. $19.95. ISBN 978-0-664-23397-6.

This updated edition of a best-selling resource features revised and updated material on important steps toward equality for all its members in the Presbyterian Church (USA). A completely new
chapter on three biblical stories (Parable of the Good Samaritan; Jesus’ Teaching on Marriage and Divorce; and Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch) shows how Jesus’ teachings illuminate God’s radically inclusive grace. An appendix documents progress toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender equality over the last forty years in denominations throughout the United States, and a
substantial study guide (seven units) prepared by David Maxwell is also included.

As It Is Written: Studying Paul’s Use of Scripture

edited by Stanley E. Porter and Christopher D. Stanley

Symposium. Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, 2008. 376 pp. $44.95. ISBN 978-158983359-3.

While all scholars recognize that Scripture plays a vital role in the theory and rhetoric of the apostle Paul, they disagree about how best to make sense of the references to it that permeate his
letters. This collection of essays examines the reasons behind these scholarly differences, attending to how they have been influenced by the application of divergent methods and conflicting pre-suppositions regarding Paul, his audiences, and the role of biblical references in his letters. The volume also extends the boundaries
of the discussion by applying the insights of deconstruction, post-colonial theory, and feminist criticism to the study of Paul’s use of Scripture.