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.