R. W. L. Moberly

Walter Moberly is a top Old Testament theologian known for his creative, accessible, and provocative writing. His Old Testament Theology has been well received. This book, written in a similar vein, combines biblical criticism with constructive theology and engages both Jewish and Christian interpretations. Moberly offers robust readings of eight pivotal Old Testament passages that unpack the nature of God in Christian Scripture, demonstrating a Christian approach to reading the Old Testament that holds together the priorities of both scholarship and faith.

What kind of a leader is God? Is he a benevolent Santa Claus? Or is he really a narcissist? Is his leadership centered on law enforcement? Or is his priority focused on relationships? Is his interest in nations and systems? Or is he personally alongside the mistreated and oppressed? Is he a leader of armies? Or is he a leader of peace? These and many other questions about God's character and leadership are in the back (if not the front) of many people's minds--questions especially about the God of the Old Testament, who is often painted very differently from the God of the New Testament. Our image of God as leader is highly likely to influence how we act when we are leaders--whether as parents, bosses, teachers, politicians, or leaders of any group, small or large. This book assists us in observing God's leadership through the varied contours of the Old Testament journey and offers human illustrations of leadership, both positive and negative, to help us in our reflections.

What kind of a leader is God? Is he a benevolent Santa Claus? Or is he really a narcissist? Is his leadership centered on law enforcement? Or is his priority focused on relationships? Is his interest in nations and systems? Or is he personally alongside the mistreated and oppressed? Is he a leader of armies? Or is he a leader of peace? These and many other questions about God's character and leadership are in the back (if not the front) of many people's minds--questions especially about the God of the Old Testament, who is often painted very differently from the God of the New Testament. Our image of God as leader is highly likely to influence how we act when we are leaders--whether as parents, bosses, teachers, politicians, or leaders of any group, small or large. This book assists us in observing God's leadership through the varied contours of the Old Testament journey and offers human illustrations of leadership, both positive and negative, to help us in our reflections.

In our increasingly disenchanted age, can we still regard the Bible as God's Word? Why should we consider it trustworthy and dare to believe what it says? Top Old Testament theologian R. W. L. Moberly explains why the Bible is unlike any other book by exploring the differences between it and other ancient writings. He explains why it makes sense to turn to the Bible with the expectation of finding ultimate truth in it, offering a robust apology for faith in the God of the Bible that's fully engaged with critical scholarship and reasonable in the twenty-first century.

A top Old Testament theologian known for his accessible and provocative writing probes what is necessary to understand and appropriate the Hebrew Bible as a fundamental resource for Christian theology and life today. This volume offers a creative example of theological interpretation, modeling a way of doing Old Testament theology that takes seriously both the nature of the biblical text as ancient text and also the questions and difficulties that arise as believers read this text in a contemporary context. Walter Moberly offers an in-depth study of key Old Testament passages, highlighting enduring existential issues in the Hebrew Bible and discussing Jewish readings alongside Christian readings. The volume is representative of the content of Israel's Scripture rather than comprehensive, yet it discusses most of the major topics of Old Testament theology. Moberly demonstrates a Christian approach to reading and appropriating the Old Testament that holds together the priorities of both scholarship and faith.

The book of Genesis contains foundational material for Jewish and Christian theology, both historic and contemporary, and is almost certainly the most appealed-to book in the Old Testament in contemporary culture. R. W. L. Moberly's The Theology of the Book of Genesis examines the actual use made of Genesis in current debates, not only in academic but also in popular contexts. Traditional issues such as creation and fall stand alongside more recent issues such as religious violence and Christian Zionism. Moberly's concern - elucidated through a combination of close readings and discussions of hermeneutical principle - is to uncover what constitutes good understanding and use of Genesis, through a consideration of its intrinsic meaning as an ancient text (in both Hebrew and Greek versions) in dialogue with its reception and appropriation both past and present. Moberly seeks to enable responsible theological awareness and use of the ancient text today, highlighting Genesis' enduring significance.

If people claim to speak for God, what enables us to know when to credit or discredit the claim? This book analyses the criteria for discernment of prophetic authenticity in the Old Testament, and for discernment of apostolic authenticity in the New Testament; and also considers their validity and viability in a contemporary context. After explaining the biblical concept of prophetic and apostolic speech on God's behalf, Moberly offers close readings of the biblical text so as to bring to life the distinctive voices, especially those of Jeremiah and St Paul, which speak of critical discernment. He addresses contemporary difficulties with the whole idea that humans might speak for God and analyses the nature of authentic spirituality. Throughout the discussion the premise is that the biblical treatment of discernment illuminates the fundamental human issue of the need to know who may be trusted and why.

If people claim to speak for God, what enables us to know when to credit or discredit the claim? This book analyses the criteria for discernment of prophetic authenticity in the Old Testament, and for discernment of apostolic authenticity in the New Testament; and also considers their validity and viability in a contemporary context. After explaining the biblical concept of prophetic and apostolic speech on God's behalf, Moberly offers close readings of the biblical text so as to bring to life the distinctive voices, especially those of Jeremiah and St Paul, which speak of critical discernment. He addresses contemporary difficulties with the whole idea that humans might speak for God and analyses the nature of authentic spirituality. Throughout the discussion the premise is that the biblical treatment of discernment illuminates the fundamental human issue of the need to know who may be trusted and why.

The highly popular Sheffield Old Testament Guides are being reissued in a new format, grouped together and prefaced by one of the best known of contemporary biblical scholars. This new format is designed to ensure that these authoritative introductions remain up to date and accessible to seminary and university students of the Old Testament while offering a broader theological and literary context for their study. John Goldingay introduces Genesis and Exodus as a whole, illuminating their distinctive literary and theological features and their importance for modern theological reflection.

How can academic biblical interpretation fruitfully contribute to Christian belief and living in today's world? This book offers a synthesis of some of the best in pre-modern, modern and post-modern approaches to biblical interpretation, and locates the discipline within a self-critical Trinitarian rule of faith, where historical criticism, systematic theology, ethics, and spirituality are constructively combined. Moberly reclaims biblical and patristic principles of what is necessary for meaningful and truthful speech about God to be possible; he engages with contemporary ideological suspicions directed both to scripture and to its interpreters; and he offers an account of God and humanity in relation to both Old and New Testaments. Hermeneutical theory is given practical shape in in-depth studies of Genesis 22 ('The Akedah'), the Journey to Emmaus (Luke 24), and the Christology of Matthew's Gospel, studies which should be of interest to both Jews and Christians.

Walter Moberly's study Guide to Genesis 12-50 provides an invaluable introduction to the second part of Genesis and is essential reading for anyone interested in the patriarchal narratives and the earliest history of the people of Israel.

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