Walter Brueggemann
Spirited remnant
Douglas Hall is likely the most influential North American theological interpreter from a Reformation perspective, especially with reference to Luther. He continues to filter his thought through his teachers Tillich and Niebuhr—but he is his own man and carries his inquiry toward the demise of Christendom.
Inheriting Abraham, by Jon D. Levenson
As long ago as 1996, Jon Levenson wrote an important article, “The Universal Horizon of Biblical Particularism.” In that piece he reflected on the way in which the Hebrew Bible adjudicated the part...
The New Religious Intolerance, by Martha C. Nussbaum
In The Clash Within, Martha Nussbaum explored the capacity to entertain the other as key to a democratic society. Now she considers angry resistance to the other, bringing her usual erudite analysis and intense moral passion.
Font of Life, by Garry Wills
Garry Wills presents Ambrose as a forerunner of Desmond Tutu, who also opposed a government that intruded upon the church's claims.
Never Say Die, by Susan Jacoby
Susan Jacoby is an important truth teller. Her book's core idea is that old age is real, inescapable and often dreadful—despite society's illusions.
Perpetual shalom: Elisha's gift to Naaman
The general was insulted by the piddling, muddy Jordan. But he entered the water—and was healed! Then it was time to pay the bill.
Jeremiah, by Kathleen M. O’Connor
Kathleen O'Connor's daringly imaginative rereading of Jeremiah reveals a community experiencing the classic accents of trauma.
The Psalms
They Cried to the Lord: The Form and Theology of Biblical Prayer, by Patrick D. Miller (Fortress)....
God of wholeness
Fred Gaiser offers a sober, accessible review of the biblical materials pertinent to our thinking about healing.
The Aesthetics of Violence in the Prophets, edited by Chris Franke and Julia M. O'Brien
Lately there has been a surge of studies variously construed as focused on "religion and violence," "the Bible and violence" or "God and violence." Most of these studies are not very helpful, for t...
Neither Calendar nor Clock, by Piet J. Naudé
In the long struggle for freedom in South Africa, parts of the church played a major role, even as other parts colluded with the apartheid regime. Few actions in that struggle were more important than the Belhar Confession.
Israel's God's bodied love continues world-making
I
used only six words; I rested on the seventh.
Generous forgiveness
In Justice in Love, Nicholas Wolterstorff rejects egoism, eudaemonism and utilitarianism as inadequate ways to think about the practice of well-being.
Another Reformation, by Peter Ochs
The interface of Jewish and Christian theology has always been vexing. Partly this is because of the intrinsically incommensurate realities of the two faiths....
The myth about religion
William Cavanaugh has written a pair of stunningly important books, in which he makes a clear and persuasive argument for overturning a founding myth of the modern Western state.
The Chosen Peoples, by Todd Gitlin and Liel Leibovitz
Todd Gitlin and Liel Leibovitz have written a thoughtful critical volume on the roots and
costs of chosenness as it pertains to historical and contemporary Israel
and the United States.
Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land, by Joseph E. Lowery
Joseph Lowery is a survivor of the civil rights movement, a compelling Methodist preacher and a fearless advocate for the underdog....
A review of The Abundant Community
The mantra of the real estate business is "location, location, location." In this attention-meriting book, the mantra is "local, local, local." John McKnight (professor emeritus at Northweste...
A review of Drawn to Freedom
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Leonard Bernstein was there to celebrate with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The great chorus did not voice the familiar "Freude, Freude" ("joy, joy") but instead sang "Freiheit, Freiheit" ("freedom, freedom"). That simple, direct, unambiguous moment, however, is not the norm for thinking about freedom.
A review of The Judaizing Calvin
The accepted baseline for study of the Psalms is genre analysis. Beyond that baseline, however, several interpretive options are available.