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Editor’s Foreword
- Augsburg Fortress Publishers
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Editor’sForeword NopersonontheNorthAmericanscenehascontributedasmuchto theenterpriseofOldTestamenttheologyashasWalterBrueggemann .Thatisindicatedforemost,ofcourse,inhismonumentalworkTheology oftheOldTestament:Testimony,Dispute,Advocacy,surelythemost creativeandoriginaltheologyoftheOldTestamentsincetheworkof GerhardvonRadoverfortyyearsago.Thisdeepcommitmenttoatheological understandingoftheOldTestamentisnotconfined,however,toa singlevolume.Itpervadeshispublicationsandinfactisneveroutofsight inhisscholarlywork.Mostofhiseffortsaredirectedtowardaconstructive theologicalreadingoftheOldTestament,epitomizedinthevolumecited abovebutevidentthroughouthiswork.Atthesametime,hehassought tomakehisproposalsabouttheOldTestamentandhowwearetoreadit andunderstanditindialoguewithanddrawingupontheeffortsofmany otherpersons,especiallythosewhohavebeenmostinfluentialandconstructive themselves.Onceagain,thatisthestartingpointofhisownOld Testamenttheology,whosefirsthundredpagesreviewandengagewith thehistoryofOldTestamenttheologyandthecurrentscene. ThepurposeofthiscollectionofBrueggemann’sessaysistobringto theforeamuchmoreextensivecriticalengagementonhispartwiththe currentdiscussionabouttheOldTestament,itscharacter,itsauthority, itstheology,andespeciallyitsGod.Theseessayshavethefurthervalue ofbringingusup-to-dateonBrueggemann’sthinkingabouttheissues involved,mostoftheessayshavingbeenpublishedafterhisTheologyofthe OldTestamentandallbuttwoofthemwithinthelastdecade. Therearetwolargefociinthecollection.Oneofthemistheauthority ofScripture,thesubjectofthefirstthreeessays.ThereBrueggemann comesatthisimportanttaskwithparticularattentiontotheOldTestament butinfullawarenessthatthequestionofauthorityisnotfinallya testamentalissue.Norisitonethatis“settled.”Hecomesattheissue ix BookThatBreathes.finalinterior.indd 9 10/5/04 5:22:23 PM fromthreeangles.ThefirstisasweepinglookattheBible’sauthorityin thepostcriticalmodernworld.WhileBrueggemanncouldwellhaveprovided ahelpfuloverviewofthatquestionfromamorehistoricalperspective ,incorporatingearly,medieval,andReformationperspectives,itisnot surprisingthathisfocusisonthemodernperiod.Whilehedrawsupon thetraditionindoinghistheologicalwork,hisperduringconcernisfor thecontemporaryworldandhowwearetounderstanditandourselvesin thelightofScriptureandhowitisthatwecanclaimthattheBiblemakes sense—touseoneofhisbooktitles—inourworldandourtime.Thethird essaytakesupthequestionoftheauthorityofScriptureinthecontextof hisowndenominationallocation,sensingthatthecontinuinglivelinessof ScriptureintheUnitedChurchofChristisatstake.Heseesachurchthat livesbetweenthetendenciestobereductionisticortobedismissive.Many ofusinotherdenominationsmayseeourselvesinthismirrorthathehas setbeforehisownchurch. Finally,Brueggemann’sthirdangleofapproachtotheissueofscriptural authorityishighlypersonal.Iexpectthatthisessaymaycapturereaders morethananyothersinglepieceinthisbook.Hereonelearnsmoreabout thisscholar’sownpersonaltheologicaljournalthanonecanfindinany othersource.Oneshouldnotanticipate,however,thattheessayissimply apersonalreminiscence.Onthecontrary,thepersonalreflectionleadsinto severalkeyissuesofbiblicalinterpretationandbiblicalauthority.Whatis especiallyinterestingabouttheessaymaybemissedbythecasualreader:It waswrittenforaconferenceonsexualconcernsandhowonereadsScripture tothinkaboutsexualmatters.Partofthegeniusoftheessayistheway inwhichthatspecificcontextisdirectlyaddressedinamannerthatmakes theessayofuseintotallydifferentcontextsaswell. Thesecondandthirdpartsofthiscollectioncompriseessaysthatdeal with OldTestament theology, more particularly Brueggemann’s own theologyandhowitfitsintothelargersceneaswellashowithasbeen receivedbyotherswhohavemadelargecontributionsto...