The T & T Clark Blog

‘The Church: A Guide for the Perplexed’, by Matt Jenson and David Wilhite

I am very pleased to announce that another volume from the Guide for the Perplexed series has been just published and Jenson and Wilhite have written a wonderful introduction to the doctrine of the Church.

As always, I have received some great endorsements for this book – from Kevin J. Vanhoozer and William T. Cavanaugh, who have been very enthusiastic about it:

‘The Church is indeed a guide – for both the perplexed and the apoplexed. Jenson and Wilhite offer an important theological tonic to those for whom “church” connotes scandal or abuse rather than good news and reconciliation. Writing from their own free church traditions but for the whole church, they provide a non-partisan overview of the doctrine of the church that is clear but never simplistic. They include several well-judged excurses on particularly important matters (e.g., the question of Jesus’ founding the church, the development of the episcopacy, women’s ordination, and the emerging church). Their main burden, however, is to weave a positive account of the nature, function, and origin of the church as the means by which the triune God asserts and advances the kingdom that arrived in Jesus. This wonderful collaboration provides further evidence that “wherever two or three are gathered in Christ’s name,” Christ is indeed in their midst.’ - Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Blanchard Professor of Theology, Wheaton College Graduate School, USA.

‘This is an excellent and much-needed introduction to ecclesiology. The book is wide-ranging, engaging the most important classical sources and some of the most interesting contemporary theological voices. The authors consider ancient controversies and new movements like the Emerging Church, always steering a steady course between ecclesiological sloth and ecclesiological pride. This book is a model for how generous and critical theological conversation should be conducted.’ – William T. Cavanaugh, Senior Research Fellow, Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, and Professor of Catholic Studies, DePaul University, USA.

Readers in the UK can purchase this volume now and all interested in the US will have to wait until the beginning of October 2010.

Center for the Eucharist Launched

This is a guest post from the Rev. Ralph McMichael. He is the founding Director of the Center for the Eucharist and author of Eucharist: A Guide for the Perplexed (T&T Clark, 2010).

"The Center for the Eucharist was founded recently to encourage and to enable the Eucharistic renewal of the church and of Christian life and faith. Taking the dictum “The Eucharist makes the Church” as its starting-point, the Center provides various opportunities for the exploration of church, life, and faith from within the dynamic structure of the Celebration of the Eucharist. Its principal and accountable question is how do we as disciples of Jesus abide and develop as faithful followers of his command: “Do this in remembrance of me.”

The Center for the Eucharist partners with, and is open to, anyone and any congregation who wishes to nurture the centrality of the Eucharist for their common faith and life. Instead of pursuing an ecumenical understanding of the Eucharist, the Center wishes to foster a Eucharistic approach to ecumenism. How might the sacrament of communion be the place and the way that all Christians and Churches meet each other within the reception Christ’s Eucharistic gift of his life of communion, the gift for the life of the world?

In addition to conferences, seminars, and retreats, the Center for the Eucharist has three basic ways for dioceses, congregations, and leaders to embark on the intential path of “Re-Centering from the Center,” of the renewal and transformation of truly being the Eucharistic Church, living the Eucharistic Life, and confessing the Eucharistic Faith. First, there is a workshop of variable length, “The Eucharistic Church,” that presents the themes: the Eucharist makes the church; being the Body of Christ, and having a common life. Second, the Center provides a curriculum, “The Eucharistic Life,” which delves into the basic actions of the Eucharist from gathering to sending as fundamental to Christian living. Third, a guided study is available, “The Eucharistic Faith,” that addresses the basics of the Christian faith from within the Eucharistic economy. Finally, the Center’s website (EucharistCenter.org) has a blog containing a series of short essays on how the centrality of the Eucharist directs and shapes the way we think and act as church and as living and confessing Christians."

Visit the center's website here.

A preview of Eucharist: A Guide for the Perplexed is available here.

Church Dogmatics: All Individual Volumes Now Out!

Good news on the Church Dogmatics front! All thirty volumes of the new Study Edition are now avialable individually. Each volume now carries an index of Scripture References, Names and Subjects, newly created for this edition.You can find the individual volumes here.

If you have bought the 31 vol set, you will get free access to the pdf versions of the individual indexes, which will upload shortly on our Church Dogmatics resources website. To get you password please register here or send back the card which was inserted in your 31 vol set.

The Doctrine of the Word of God
Vol 1§1-7 The Word of God as the Criterion of Dogmatics
Vol 2§8-12 The Revelation of God: The Triune God
Vol 3 §13-15 The Revelation of God: The Incarnation of the Word
Vol 4 §16-18 The Revelation of God: The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Vol 5§ 19-21 Holy Scripture
Vol 6 §22-24 The Proclamation of the Church

The Doctrine of God
Vol 7 §25-27 The Knowledge of God
Vol 8 §28-30 The Reality of God I
Vol 9 §31 The Reality of God II
Vol 10 §32-33 The Election of God I
Vol 11 §34-35 The Election of God II
Vol 12 §36-39 The Command of God

The Doctrine of Creation
Vol 13 §40-42 The Work of Creation
Vol 14 §43-44 The Creature I
Vol 15 §45-46 The Creature II
Vol 16 §47 The Creature III
Vol 17 §48-49 The Creator and His Creature I
Vol 18 §50-51 The Creator and His Creature II
Vol 19 §52-54 The Command of God the Creator I
Vol 20 §55-56 The Command of God the Creator II

The Doctrine of Reconciliation
Vol 21 §57-59 The Subject-Matter and Problems of the Doctrine of Reconciliation. Jesus Christ, the Lord as Servant I
Vol 22 §60 Jesus Christ, the Lord as Servant II 
Vol 23 §61-63 Jesus Christ, the Lord as Servant III
Vol 24 §64 Jesus Christ, the Servant as Lord I
Vol 25 §65-66 Jesus Christ, the Servant as Lord II
Vol 26 §67-68 Jesus Christ, the Servant as Lord III
Vol 27 §69 Jesus Christ, the True Witness I
Vol 28 §70-71 Jesus Christ, the True Witness II
Vol 29 §72-73 Jesus Christ, the True Witness III

Vol 30 The Christian Life (Fragment), The Doctrine of Baptism 

The new, combined General Index (vol. 31) is in preparation for fall 2010.

‘Creation, Un-creation, Re-creation’

 I am not sure if we’ve mentioned this before but we are publishing a new discursive commentary on Genesis 1-11 written by Professor Joseph Blenkinsopp. His discussion stems from the conviction that, from a biblical point of view, creation cannot be restricted to a single event, nor to two versions of an event (as depicted in Genesis 1-3) but, rather, must take in the whole period of creation arranged in the sequence: creation - uncreation - recreation (as can be derived from Genesis 1-11).

This volume is not going to be available until the beginning of next year, but it is only few months away. I have been asking people to write reviews of this book and received amazing responses! Please, see below:

‘This is an unusual commentary, written by one of the leading biblical scholars of our time, but with the light touch and freshness of a novelist. In something of a tour de force he works meticulously through the text, dealing in exemplary fashion with all the traditional linguistic and historical critical questions raised by modern scholarship, but always keeping an eye on the story-line. Everywhere the meaning is illuminated, gaps in the narrative filled in and the reader’s curiosity addressed, by the use of literary parallels, culled, with enviable ease, not only from other parts of the Bible and the ancient near east, but also from rabbinic, patristic and mediaeval literature, and the works of Homer, Hesiod, Plato, Shakespeare, Donne, Cowper, Nietzsche, Karl Barth and many others. An enthralling Epilogue: Towards a biblical theology of creation traces the main themes of Genesis 1-11 through Deutero-Isaiah, Paul and the Gospels, and concludes, not as the Christian Bible does with a new heaven and a new earth, but with the mysterious “dark side of creation” and in particular a reference by Jesus to Noah’s flood “in terms which are prosaic, chilling and psychologically credible in the light of the many lesser catastrophes which have been the human lot since then” (Luke 17:26-7).’ - John F. A. Sawyer, University of Perugia, Italy. 

Lawrence Boadt RIP

I was sad to read only today that Lawrence Boadt had died. He was of course extremely well known for his introduction to the OT/HB, which is widely used in schools, colleges, and universities across the globe. I remember using it as a first springboard with reading for essays as a student and finding it an extremely useful book. I must admit that I usually ended up in a 'different place' to the Boadt introduction after having read more widely - but his book always provided the perfect first overview, I know it has been, and continues to be, an invaluable guide to students and readers of the bible.

He was also remarkable in his career as scholar, priest and publisher (Paulist) - a strong presence at the SBL meetings and part of a generation of Roman Catholic Biblical Scholars who proved that the Church could take the bible seriously in modern scholarship, and study it with great vigour and academic integrity.

His obituary in the NY Times is here.

Up With Authority

This is a guest post by Victor Lee Austin, author of our new title Up With Authority. Fr Victor is Theologian-in-Residence at St Thomas Church, Fifth Ave, New York City. The book is available in the US and will publish in the UK in October. 

On the back cover of Up with Authority I am described as a “smiling contrarian.” That, my friends have since told me, is apt. Up with Authority is in no way a harsh book, as one might fear of an essay whose purpose is to show the inevitability and necessity of authority to human life. But it is definitely contrarian, in that it calls for the reexamination of many matters the reader might have thought of as settled.

An overview of the book

The point of Up with Authority is to show that we cannot succeed at being human beings—we cannot have a flourishing human life—without the functioning of authority in the multiple dimensions within which we live. I attempt to demonstrate this reality in four fundamental dimensions of human life that pertain to freedom, truth, power, and God. And I argue that this necessity of authority does not come upon us because of some tragic flaw in human beings. Rather, the necessity of authority is a manifestation of the glory of being human. Even “perfect” human beings need authority. In fact, my argument includes the claim that unsinful human beings need authority even more than sinners. Authority is built into what it means to be human, and we never will escape from needing it for our flourishing.

Just Released in the U.S.

Fresh from the printers come 2 Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies books

- Rashi-Linguist despite Himself: A Study of the Linguistic Dimension of Rabbi Solomon Yishaqi’s Commentary on Deuteronomy, by Jonathan Kearney, vol 532, 9780567438560

- Breaking Boundaries: Female Biblical Interpreters Who Challenged the Status Quo, Edited by Nancy Calvert-Koyzis and Heather Weir, vol 524, 9780567595034

For those of you outside the U.S., you can order your copies now, but it won't be available til August - mark your calendars!!

‘Ecclesial Repentance. The Churches Confront Their Sinful Pasts’

I have received very interesting endorsements for Jeremy M. Bergen’s book and thought I could share these with you. ‘Ecclesial Repentance. The Churches Confront Their Sinful Pasts’ is being worked on as I am posting this and this book won’t be published for quite some time, however, following my usual routine with the manuscript I have asked people to read and to endorse it. I’ve been pleasantly surprised when all of them have agreed to write reviews for this work. Right now I am pleased even more as three endorsements have come to my inbox and it is great to see that Jeremy’s book has been received so warmly! This book offers a very topical debate on recent events regarding the Church that we are all, to some extent, familiar with.

So, without further ado, here they are:

‘This is a wonderful example of systematic ecclesiological inquiry that is disciplined both by faithful dialogue with the doctrinal tradition and by critical engagement with what churches and church people are actually doing. In the first part of the book, Bergen present an immensely helpful analytic description and assessment of a wide range of concrete examples of acts of apology and repentance performed in recent years by churches, governments and other groups, together with their varied receptions. Reflecting upon this material in the second part, he constructs a bold yet deeply thoughtful ecclesiological proposal that deserves careful consideration, not least for its ecumenical benefits. Particularly significant is his proposal that the Church’s continuity over time derives not from claims about some ideal or institutional element. Rather, he reworks the creedal ‘communion of saints’ – and sinners! – to argue that it is these practices of repentance and forgiveness, enabled by the Holy Spirit, that enable us both to appropriate our churches’ pasts and be drawn up in Christ into the life of God. It is thus ‘through repentance the Church may be granted a share of its own continuity in God’s triune life’, and thus truly be the Church.’ – Nicholas Healy, St. John's University, NY, USA.

Guest Blog from Jeffrey Boss: Author of 'Human Consciousness of God in the Book of Job'

Here follows a guest post from Jeffrey Boss about his book on Job. The book is available now and can be previewed and bought via the widget on the left. DM

The purpose of this book is to enable the reader (and the writer!) to elucidate the Book of Job so that the suffering Job himself can be accompanied, and the reading of the book be the basis of what (for want of a better term) is a spiritual exercise. Since the other central character in the Book of Job is God, this study is necessarily both theological and psychological in its implications. To obtain a firm base for the enterprise it has been necessary to consider two thousand years of commentators, from Talmudic rabbis and Church Fathers, through Mediaeval and Renaissance writers (Christian and Jewish), down to scholars of our own day. This is not for agreement or disagreement with this or that writer, but rather to note topics that the present writer might otherwise have missed. As a result, this study is a commentary on the Book of Job.

It is shown that Job's awareness of divinity goes through seven stages: God as nurturer, as destroyer, as the self-concealing, as the desired, as the Holy One, as Job's destination, and as God beyond God. When God is to Job the far object of desire Job's three friends exchange speeches with him. They preach a form of distributive justice not elsewhere found in the Bible, and which is refuted by Job. He uses their speeches as rungs of a ladder to bring himself out of the darkness following God's self-concealment. Thus he perceives his value to God who may seek him, and sees that he is God's handiwork, that God could use his service, that the friends lack wisdom, that he will have unmediated knowledge of God his Vindicator, that reason and experience are more valuable than opinion and authority, and that oppression is a major source of suffering, which is therefore social as well as personal.

From this study some conclusions are drawn. Although the Book of Job has evidence of more than one author, it is nevertheless coherent and consistent in the form in which we have it. A central narrative theme is Job's consciousness of the Divine. In the Book of Job wisdom has two aspects, one towards God and one towards humanity. The Book of Job offers a view of non-human nature in relation to God. In some respects it belongs to the genre of hero stories. Job is of relevance to the state of humankind today.

The superb craftsmanship of the poet/dramatist is evident, but is not central in the present study. Although related to other biblical books (by quotation, for example), the Book of Job is one of the self-standing works of the human spirit, alongside classics such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Daodijing.

JEFFREY BOSS

'A distinctive position that needs to be taken account of by all readers of Job... A new and distinctive voice in biblical studies' - Professor John Barton, Oriel College, Oxford

'Thoroughly scholarly and very readable...' - Katharine Dell, University of Cambridge, UK

Finding Barth in Berlin

As you know from previous posts I spent a good part of last week in Berlin at the SNTS Conference. It was held at the Humboldt Universität in central Berlin, one of the most beautiful and stunning urban enviromnets you can possibly think of. While there I popped over to the faculty of theology which was only a stone's throw away. I wanted to check something in a book I could not get hold of in London, so I tried the library there (quite an experience as the librarian is kind of a character...). However, when I crossed the atrium I noticed a student sitting outside reading the Kirchliche Dogmatik by Barth. I was even more surprised when I then noticed from inside that he was also smoking a pipe and wearing a hat. O blessed imitatio! Keep it up! And yes: READ MORE BARTH!