Book Review: Mandate to Difference

Walter Brueggeman is the preeminent Old Testament scholar of our time. When I saw this book last fall in the store, I was excited that he had come out with another work. Mandate to Difference is a collection of sermons, presentations, and works Brueggeman presented in 2005. The attempt to put them together in a uniform work was a stretch as they seem to fit together only loosely. Some of the essays I found especially helpful and insightful, even prophetic ("Some Theses on the Bible in the Church" for example is a great work to both conservative and liberal sects of Christianity highlighting the overemphases in both camps), while others were more technical and felt disjointed from the call of mandate to difference the title offered ("Bread: The Good Stuff on the Table may have been a great essay, but last night as I read it, I just couldn't quite bring it all together).
In the end, it is a difficult work to summarize without going through each chapter because the topics addressed are so vast. The work does hope to address, in more technical terms, the cultural captivity much of liberal Christianity has fallen victim of (and he does well to indict Conservative Christianity on the same line as well). Rooted in his vast knowledge of the Old Testament, Brueggeman finds texts that most of us have read over innocently for years and draws convicting and challenging conclusions.
Early on, Brueggeman makes the statement that "faith . . . is not about pinning down moral certitudes. It is rather about openness to wonder and awe in glad praise." (p. 1). If there is something that I found refreshing throughout the work is his constant reassertion of this fact. It is a great corrective to the conservative demand for certitude. That is the big challenge for right-leaning Christians as they approach the Bible. It's never been about having it all nailed down. The Bible is full of imagination and creativity and should be celebrated as God continues his ongoing revelation to us.
Chapter 2 offers an interesting look at the different approaches in the Old Testament God takes through the nation of Israel: critical dissent in Joshua, uncritical embrace of anticovenantal urbanism in Solomon, alternative torah in Josiah, and harsh truth and wondrous possibility in Jeremiah. His interaction with the text and contemporary American setting lead to an interesting reading of these selections.
Chapter 3 briefly deals with the concept of Sabbath, however, his extended discussion in chapter 8 with a different focus I found to be especially helpful. In it, Brueggeman challenges the consumeristic and productive obsession in our culture that has effectively killed the Sabbath. He emphasizes the central role that it must play in the life of a disciple. He encourages the reader to, "take a sabbath rest and become a hope-teller, a poet of 'assurace of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (p. 44)
Chapter 4 is entitled "A Welcome for the Others" where Brueggeman highlights the central role the alien and foreigner always played in the world of Israel. "In context, then, ministry cannot be about maintenance; it is about gathering, about embrace, about welcoming home 'all sorts of conditions' of people." (p. 51) He mentions especially homosexuals (which he mentions very interesting argument regarding the evolution of revelation in regards to the inclusion of eunuchs in Isiah 56 - very interesting!) Here, he gets at the counter-cultural reality that it is to open ourselves to "the other." This is a very significant teaching that needs to be more at the front of our discussions of ministry (I am especially interested in reading Volf's Exclusion and Embrace on the topic). An especially poignantly prophetic rebuke is made when he writes, "That intolerance of the others among us is even more toxic now that our society in the United States is divided into 'red' and 'blue,' and I fear that we are at the edge of red and blue clergy, and red and blue parishes." (p. 65) And, I love the ending, "You are my witnesses. When the truth is told, a new world remains possible. Everything depends on that testimony!" (p. 71)
In Chapter 5 ("The Fearful Thirst of Dialogue") Brueggeman addresses the challenge of serving a God who is always dialogic. Dialogue is at the heart of our understanding of who God is, a vastly different option than what has been the dominant modernistic approach which is monological as opposed to dialogical and will remain difficult in such a divided society. Relying heavily on the many voices found in the Psalms Brueggeman points out the importance that each voice plays in our understanding of God. (He focuses most of his attention to Psalm 35 highlighting the changing voice throughout.
Chapter 6 was originally written for a Jewish publication and highlights the commonality of the call for Jews and Christians to be called out from their culture at large. He points out five "components of contemporary despair" that I think all should consider critically:
1 - The maintenance of a 'national security state.'
2 - The uncriticized technological advancements of the state
3 - Closed ideology
4 - A shameless kind of certitude
5 - Smitten by commodities
Citing evidence of the above dangers, Brueggeman highlights an article by Karl Barth entitled, "Ending Time" at length. Further evidencing his case, Brueggeman also quotes at length from Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hebrews. He ends his discussion emphasizing the significance of the "already-not yet" concept plays in our interactions with such a culture.
Chapter 7 is another chapter I found especially enlightening and encouraging as it furthers the discussion of imagination. "Worship is an act of poetic imagination that aims to reconstrue the world." (p. 117) What a great quote! Basing his research in Miriam's song in Exodus 15, Brueggeman extrapolates the concept of imagining a world contrary to the abounding evidence. "The song is an act of imagination that hopes the alternative, because the data is all against the song." (p. 120) Their imagination is rooted in memory . . . remembering the great works of God. Chapter 8 is entitled, "You Cannot Fool Your Nephesh." In it, he offers a lengthy conversation relating to the Hebrew concept of Sabbath placing it in the context of the Egyptian empire and lack of Sabbath. His initial argument is that sabbath is about economics and faith, not worship. "There is very little evidence in the Old Testament connecting sabbath to worship." (p. 143) And again, "The Sinai offer was an alternative to the quota system of the empire." (p. 145) His argument stems from the Hebrew concept of nephesh, which he defines as the complete self. Our nephesh gets tired and weary and needs to be replenished. Sabbath is an inherent need in all of us. "Thus sabbath is about recovered nephesh, and nephesh is not a 'religious idea,' no 'soul,' but self in all of its complex social existence." (p. 150)
Chapter 9 is a poignant essay on the mission of the church called out of her native society. His argument flows through addressing the Israelites interaction and call as it inhabited the land of the Canaanites. It was a no-holds-bar look at the counter culture God calls his people to.
Chapter 10 is about bread and the relationship of the academic discipline to ministry and I had a little trouble grasping the heart of his bread analogy . . . I'll have to go back and read it when I'm more alert.
Chapter 11 ends with a fitting discussion of the Bible's place in liberal churches, though he also addresses conservative churches. He offers 20 theses on the Bible that are broad-in-scope and thought provoking. A very helpful book to read.

Brueggeman is always worth reading, and I enjoyed most sections of the book. I think they probably served much better on their own in their initial setting, but there is plenty to take away here.

Book Review: Beyond Prisons

So, this post begins my new attempt at offering a separate blog for references, mainly focusing on books I will be reviewing. Hopefully people will find this easy-to-use and helpful to their ministry and thinking. This book offers a unique topic of discussion in comparison with what I usually read.

Sometimes, God takes you places you never would have imagined going. That is how I wound up in a Delaware County Jail over a year ago, in a visitation cell, on the phone behind a protective glass window looking at a long-haired guy in orange . . . I mean there were times when I had to remind myself I wasn't in a television show. This was the real deal. Through a number of separate, yet connected, circumstances, I have wound up ministering to criminals in the Delaware county area. I have had conversation with people I never would have imagined: the convicts themselves, probation officers, half-way house directors, sex offenders, and numerous others. I'll try to post more of this experience at a later time, but all of that led me to pick up this book last year at a bag sale at Cokesbury.

God continues to stretch and grow me through the entire process, and reading this book has been part of that process - a very stretching process. Authors Laura Magnani and Harmon Wray are both active in the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group actively involved in the process of restorative justice as an alternative to the current criminal justice system in the United States.

As I began reading this book, I have to say it was a little uncomfortable - something I am not accustomed to as I consider myself a pretty open person (especially to liberal propositions). However, I was unprepared for the radical proposition proposed here by Wray and Magnani, and the more I read of their book, the more I empathized with their initiatives and the more I found myself rallying to their cry.

As I have posted in previous posts, I have an affinity for J.H. Yoder's theology of the state and the empire and consider myself a pacifist. I am more and more convinced that the role of Christians is not in the state and find that consistent with revelation both Old Testament and New, through the withdrawal of Israel from the empire to Jesus' choice to be suffering Servant over riotous zealot. I have applied this discussion to war, national political discussions, and many other matters, but have never had the opportunity to consider what the implications are for the criminal justice system.

Magnani and Wray offer a penetrating look at the great failure of the criminal justice system in our country. With my limited experience with working with offenders I have had at least a brief glimpse firsthand at what this justice system is all about on the local levels (I have never dealt with any kind of federal offenders). It is a system rooted in racism, classism, sexism and, with increasingly common movement towards privatization of prisons, driven by profit rooted in conflict of interest.

They present a well-researched argument piling up number after number illustrating the flaws in the current system. Fundamentally, their problem with the current system is that it is rooted in vengeance. They attack the fundamental principle that vengeance is rehabilitative. They propose moving from a system that is punitive and punishment driven to one that focuses on restoration and rehabilitation. While their goals and ambitions are lofty, they are consistent with the biblical picture of grace, forgiveness, and restoration.

It is perhaps in our discussions of prisoners and punishment where we fall furthest from the ideal of grace. The authors acknowledge that neither of them have been the victim of a heinous crime, but also acknowledge that the majority of those reading will not have been affected. The argument, for the most part, is one of theory. However, it is a theory that finds its way into action every day at courts, police stations, and prisons around the country. Our current system is not biblical and I am fully on the side of the authors when they state that we cannot support it.

Their summary of the system holds back no punches:
"It is a crisis that allows fellow human beings to be demonized. It is a crisis that legitimizes torture, total isolation of individuals (sometimes for a lifetime), sensory deprivation and abuse of power. It is a crisis that extends beyond prisons themselves into judicial, parole and probation, law enforcement, mental health, and public education systems. It further damages not only crime survivors and offenders, but also the families of both survivors and offenders. As the system becomes more and more dependent on profit-making companies, the 'public mission' of the system is lost behind the self-interest of every group wanting to make a buck - from the unions representing the guards on the tier to the corporate food-services companies, from the construction firms to the for-profit detention corporations." (p. 161)

The authors poignantly paint a picture of how the current system creates cyclical systems of incarceration, punishment, and obstacles that are insurmountable. We work from false presuppositions such as locking people up for their crimes is justifiable because it (1)keeps potential crimes from happening (though they do acknowledge there are a few people who need to be separated from society, but that number is but a fraction of the current 2 million of the prison population). (2) they "deserve" it because of their crimes, (3) it is prohibitive to others (they note, "who ever stops to think of the consequences before committing a crime?") All of these reasons for incarceration have been proven false, yet they are most frequently given publicly.

What if there were no jails? What an interesting concept. I know my first reaction was, whoa! But the more I allowed their arguments to settle, the more I believe them to be absolutely right. God is a God of forgiveness. No one deserves to be locked up for life in prison. What is the purpose of that end? I agree with Magnani and Wray that that serves neither the offender or the survivors (their choice in place of "victim.") All crimes should be seen as broken relationships, not broken laws. Crime is personal, not abstract offenses against inanimate law. Upon the breech of relationship, all effort must be sought to restore relationship and work towards reinstallation into the community.

Some will scoff at the authors' seemingly impossible proposal, but that is no reason to cast it aside. They are insistent that they propose an alternative system, not a tweaking of the current system. Again, I think a very important point

In their final chapter, they offer the AFSC's 12-Point Plan of action. It is too lengthy to offer here, but I think it gives both small and tangible steps as well as loftier and broader hopes of restoration in the future. They offer no easy fix, "Solutions must be complex and revolutionary in a society as dependent as ours on solving problems through police powers and repression. " (p. 163).

My guy feeling is that this is a topic that the average Christian has given little thought to, but one to which most average Christians would have a quick and sharp criticism and outcry in response to the proposal offered here. I believe this is yet another area where, as Shane Claiborn in his new book says, "The church has fallen in love with the state and she has lost her political imagination." We seem to believe that the state has come up with the best answers to social ills . . . where has the church's voice gone?

Super Metz Resources

I've noticed that over the past few months I have been posting more book reviews than my own personal thoughts on the supermetz blog. I enjoy sharing the things I read and intend them to be helpful for others in providing small intros to longer books as well as other things I run into across the web.

I don't want to get away from these reviews; I've actually committed to reading more frequently in the coming months as I try to get a handle on the long list of "to read" books on my shelf down and can move on to some important works that are forthcoming. However, I'd like to get back to working towards some of my own thoughts on God, Superman, and Buckeyes more thoroughly through my main blog.

So, from this point on, I will be posting book reviews, movie reviews, websites, multimedia, and anything else I think people might be interested in checking out. I'll pass on what I can, and hope that others will feel free to post and share things they have found and know about.