Interpretation: Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church – serie

How does the church understand the relation between its Scripture and its creedal formulations? No one is more qualified to address that question than Robert W. Jenson, who shows how canon and creed work together and interact and that neither is an adequate or sufficient to guide Christian faith without the help of the other. His book will enable contemporary interpreters and teachers, pastors, and laity to deal with the questions and tensions that are always present as the church seeks to hold canon and creed together.

In this volume, Patrick D. Miller studies the Ten Commandments as ancient document and as contemporary guide. With careful attention to each commandment in its original context, this book shows the reader the modern relevance of these basic principles, as well as how the ideas of each commandment influenced the New Testament. More than an intellectual exercise, The Ten Commandments applies the call of the commandments to modern-day issues.Westminster John Knox Press is proud to introduce an exciting new phase in the renowned Interpretation commentary series. Instead of focusing on individual books of the Bible, these new volumes will focus on the Bible's most enduring passages and most vital themes, bringing to these topics the insight and faithful wisdom that are longtime hallmarks of the Interpretation series. This expanded Interpretation series will be an excellent resource for all those who teach, preach, and study the Bible.

What happens at the end of our lives and of the course of history? Will God bring about a just and peaceful world? What liesbeyond this realm, and what can we know of the beings who dwell there? In Death, the End of History, and Beyond, Greg Carey offers resources for understanding multiple, even conflicting, ways that the Bible imagines these ultimate realities. Carey opens the Scriptures with a breadth of insight that acknowledges its diversity of viewpoints about what lies beyond the veil, centering hope in God’s action to bring good out of evil in our lived realities, in our personal journeys through death, and in visions of resurrection and justice restored. An appendix on preaching also invites clergy to help their communities imagine when and how eschatology can inform our livestoday.

The Bible frequently depicts God as angry and violent, and also sometimes depicts human violence as positive or even as commanded by God. This forms one of the most vexing problems in approaching Scripture and in interpreting the Bible for preaching and teaching today. In this volume, Creach first examines the theological problems of violence and categorizes the types of violence that appear in scripture. Then, he wrestles with the most important biblical texts on violence to work through specific interpretational issues. This new volume in the Interpretation: Resources for Use of Scripture in the Church series will help preachers and pastors interpret those difficult texts, encouraging them to face violence in the Bible with honesty.

In God the Creator: Biblical Images of the Divine, Steven Tuell explores the rich tapestry of biblical creation accounts to uncover how Scripture speaks of God, the world, and humanity’s place within it. The Bible doesn’t offer just one image or account of God as creator—it offers many that are held together in a rich and faithful tension. So, then what does it mean to call God “Creator”? Drawing from both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, Tuell guides readers through the diverse and sometimes surprising ways the Bible portrays creation and the Creator. While giving careful attention to Genesis 1–3, Tuell also broadens the conversation to include texts from Exodus, Judges, Psalms, Habakkuk, Revelation, and more. He identifies four major biblical images of God as creator:God as warrior bringing order from chaosGod as king shaping creation through divine decreeGod as potter crafting the world by handGod as gardener in Eden/Zion—a sacred place calling us to care for creation Tuell also places these biblical portraits in conversation with the ancient cultures that surrounded Israel, revealing both resonances and striking distinctions. The result is a theologically rich, pastorally grounded resource that embraces the Bible’s plurality of creation narratives not as contradiction but as a faithful witness to the mystery of divine creativity. An appendix on preaching equips clergy and teachers to bring these insights on the varied images and themes of creation into their communities. This is an essential resource for anyone seeking new answers to our deepest questions about who we are, who God is, and what the meaning of life is.