Description
Praise for the Series
“Written with pastors in mind, this series is an excellent resource for discerning the intention of the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures and for preaching the love of God.” —Andrew Sung Park, Professor of Theology and Ethics, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio
“With this series, the theological is deliberately brought to the fore, both at the level of the texts and at the level of critics.” —Fernando F. Segovia, Oberlin Graduate Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity,
The Divinity School, Vanderbilt University
The volumes in Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible from Westminster John Knox Press offer a fresh and invigorating approach to all the books of the Bible. Building on a wide range of sources from biblical studies, the history of theology, the church’s liturgical and musical traditions, contemporary culture, and the Christian tradition, noted scholars focus less on traditional historical and literary angles in favor of a theologically focused commentary that considers the contemporary relevance of the texts. This series is an invaluable resource for those who want to probe beyond the backgrounds and words of biblical texts to their deep theological and ethical meanings for the church today.
This volume in the Belief series offers a new and interesting theological interpretation of Genesis through the themes of liberation and the concerns of the poor and marginalized. The stories within Genesis are viewed as testimonies of peoples’ encounters with God and raise the issues of injustice, oppression, sexual abuse, disenfranchisement, and powerlessness—all key issues for Christian faith and life today. Miguel A. De La Torre wrestles with texts, remembering Jacob’s wrestling with God at Peniel (Gen. 32:24-32), and finds “there are consequences when we truly wrestle with the biblical text, struggling to see the face of God.” He provides theological and ethical insights that enable Genesis to speak powerfully today concerning God and the divine call for love, mercy, and justice.
Reviews
"As one who preaches regularly and teaches both clergy and laity, I find the Belief series to be just the kind of resource I depend upon for my own preparation and to recommend to adults who wish to move carefully through a book of the Bible. The approach is scholarly rich, theologically nuanced, and accessible to the thoughtful reader."
—Patricia J. Lull, Bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
"For the preacher who seeks to do justice not only to biblical texts in all their complexity, but also to the richness of historical and contemporary theology, the Belief series offers a vital new tool."
—Maxwell Grant, Senior Minister, Second Congregational Church of Greenwich, United Church of Christ
"Again and again, the careful scholarship and liveliness of the witness of each author have not only brought theological insight, but also new frameworks for preaching and looking at my own life of faith. This is an excellent series, the best one I have found for parish ministry."
—Kelly Nelson, Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Crawfordsville, Indiana
"I highly recommend the Belief series! The authors are widely respected theologians who aid pastors and teaching by bringing the biblical text into creative theological conversation with contemporary concerns."
—Roy Howard, Pastor, St. Mark's Presbyterian Church, North Bethesda, Maryland
"As a retired Campus Pastor, I have read only Mark, by the late, much lamented William C. Placher of Wabash College, but if others in the series are even nearly as good, buy them!"
—Steve Shoemaker, Ph.D., Religion, Duke (Theology & Literature) Presbyterian Campus Minister, NCSU, 1973-81, Univ. of Illinois, 1981-2008