RBL Highlights: 10/15/08

Highlights from the most recent Review of Biblical Literature:

Edward Adams
The Stars Will Fall from Heaven: Cosmic Catastrophe in the New Testament and Its World
Reviewed by Lorenzo DiTommaso

William Sanger Campbell
The "We" Passages in the Acts of the Apostles: The Narrator as Narrative Character
Reviewed by Jean-François Racine

Andrew D. Clarke
A Pauline Theology of Church Leadership
Reviewed by Stephan Joubert

Daniel Hillel
The Natural History of the Bible: An Environmental Exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures
Reviewed by Norman Habel

Werner G. Jeanrond and Andrew D. H. Mayes, eds.
Recognising the Margins: Developments in Biblical and Theological Studies
Reviewed by Peter R. Rodgers

Fernando F. Segovia and R. S. Sugirtharajah, eds.
A Postcolonial Commentary on the New Testament Writings
Reviewed by Jonathan A. Draper
Reviewed by Hans Leander

Stephen Westerholm
Understanding Matthew: The Early Christian Worldview of the First Gospel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6121
Reviewed by David C. Sim

October SBL Forum

This month's edition of The SBL Forum:

Heresy Hunting in the New Millennium
Tony Burke

Biblical Interpretation and Christian Domestic Terrorism: The Exegeses of Rev. Michael Bray and Rev. Paul Hill
Dan Clanton

Student Creative Projects: Aural and Video Productions as Biblical Exegesis
James D. Findlay

Rahab through the Ages: A Study of Christian Interpretation of Rahab
William L. Lyons

Latest from UMC Board of Church and Society

Courtesy of my dad. Methodist readers: note that UMC Student Day, during which offerings are earmarked for denominational scholarship funds, is November 30. Please give generously, as many needy yet deserving students (including the author of this blog) have benefited from these scholarships in the past, and hopefully will continue to do so far into the future.

Word from Winkler
'It's the church's fault'
By Jim Winkler, General Secretary, General Board of Church & Society

Guilt-free chocolate for Halloween
3 partners hope to raise fair trade awareness
Fairly traded products provide small-scale farmers a fair living wage and an opportunity to break out of the cycle of poverty

We are better than this!
Casino gambling, payday lending on Ohio ballot
By Bishop Bruce Ough, West Ohio Conference
Faith community joins forces to speak out against ‘reprehensible harm’ to state and its people

Stop the madness, cruelty of immigration raids
Cruel raids affect workers and families
by The Rev. Dr. Eliezér Valentín Castañon, Associate General Secretary, General Commission on Religion & Race, United Methodist Church
Attacks on defenseless are on persons contributing in ways many U.S. citizens don’t appreciate

Study of ‘Letter of James’
'I have faith. I have works.'
Perhaps there are complementary understandings of how God works in the world

Phonecalls address Christian response to genocide
Authors, policy experts, churches participate
Weekly discussion series runs through Oct. 30

Wellness ministries
Interpersonal relationships crucial to health
By Jane Ives, Portland, Maine
Local church relationship education and family supports can lead to better health for all concerned

Faith communities pledge to ‘Welcome the Stranger’
Kentucky immigration coalition forms
More than 1,700 signatures pledge to support laws that affirm [immigrants’] dignity, preserve their families

United Methodist Student Day
Special Sunday is Nov. 30
Each year scholarships and loans are made possible that enables preparing students to unite faith with knowledge

On Wesley’s one condition for admission
‘Too many United Methodists have lost the passion for the faith.’
—Jim Nelson (Georgia)