Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible Upgrade (11 vols.)
Overview
The volumes in Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible, from Westminster John Knox Press, offer a fresh and invigorating approach to Bible commentaries. Building on a wide range of sources from biblical studies, the history of theology, the church’s liturgical and musical traditions, contemporary culture, and the Christian tradition, noted scholars focus less on traditional historical and literary angles and more on a theologically focused commentary that considers the contemporary relevance of the texts. This series is an invaluable resource for those who want to probe beyond the backgrounds and words of biblical texts to their deep theological and ethical meanings for the church today.
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Key Features
- Various theological perspectives from prominent scholars
- Fresh commentaries for the modern church
Praise for the Series
As one who preaches regularly and teaches both clergy and laity, I find the Belief series to be just the kind of resource I depend upon for my own preparation and to recommend to adults who wish to move carefully through a book of the Bible. The approach is scholarly rich, theologically nuanced, and accessible to the thoughtful reader.
—Patricia J. Lull, bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
For the preacher who seeks to do justice not only to biblical texts in all their complexity, but also to the richness of historical and contemporary theology, the Belief series offers a vital new tool.
—Maxwell Grant, senior minister, Second Congregational Church of Greenwich, United Church of Christ
Again and again, the careful scholarship and liveliness of the witness of each author have not only brought theological insight, but also new frameworks for preaching and looking at my own life of faith. This is an excellent series, the best one I have found for parish ministry.
—Kelly Nelson, pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Crawfordsville, IN
Intentionally theological in interpretation, Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible is extraordinary, inspiring, innovative, and passionate for Christ in its vision. Its priority is not interpreting the Scriptures from historical-critical perspectives of biblical scholarship but providing theological interpretations for building up the church of Jesus Christ. Written with pastors in mind, this series is an excellent resource for discerning the intention of the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures and for preaching the love of God.
—Andrew Sung Park, professor of theology, United Theological Seminary
Surely, Belief will assist pastors, laypersons, and scholars both in reading the Bible better and in doing better theology for decades to come.
—Cynthia Rigby, W.C. Brown Professor of Theology, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Product Details
- Title: Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible Upgrade
- General Editors: Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher
- Series: Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible
- Publisher: Westminster John Knox
- Volumes: 11
- Pages: 3,462
- Resource Type: Commentaries
- Topic: Biblical Studies
Individual Titles
- Deuteronomy by Deanna A. Thompson
- 1 & 2 Samuel by David H. Jensen
- Job by Steven Chase
- Proverbs and Ecclesiastes by Amy Plantinga Pauw
- Matthew by Anna Case-Winters
- Acts by Willie Jennings
- Romans by Sarah Heaner Lancaster
- 1 Corinthians by Charles L. Campbell
- Galatians by Nancy Elizabeth Bedford
- Philippians and Philemon by Daniel L. Migliore
- 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus by Thomas G. Long
Partially includedIn the Logos edition, these volumes are enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
In this fresh commentary, Deanna A. Thompson makes this important Old Testament book come to life. Recounting God’s foundational relationship with Israel, Deuteronomy is set in the form of Moses’ speeches to Israel just before entry into the promised land. Its instructions in the form of God’s law provide the structure of the life that God wants for the people of Israel.
Although this key Old Testament book is occasionally overlooked by Christians, Deuteronomy serves as an essential passing down to the next generations the fundamentals of faith as well as the parameters of life lived in accord with God’s promises. Thompson provides theological perspectives on these vital themes and shows how they have lasting significance for Christians living in today’s world. Thompson’s sensitivity to the Jewish context and heritage and her insights into Deuteronomy’s importance for Christian communities make this commentary an especially valuable resource for today’s preacher and teacher.
First and Second Samuel describe the beginnings of monarchy in ancient Israel and introduce us to intriguing characters: Samuel—prophet, priest, and judge; Saul—the tragic figure who becomes Israel’s first king; and David—Saul’s celebrated successor and Israel’s key leader whose influence endured for generations. But as Jensen makes clear in his splendid commentary, there is another figure who is a central character: God. Throughout his theologically rich treatment of these biblical books, Jensen explores what makes these texts important for us. He suggests that we read 1 and 2 Samuel because they reveal the complexities of the human person; the ambiguities of our social arrangements as nations; and God’s agency in a conflicted world. Jensen notes that as we are shaped by and grapple with the biblical stories, we are invited to find our own stories within them. “What keeps us coming back to faith,” he says, “is its stories: stories that tell the truth about the human condition, our shared corporate life, and the life God gives to the world.”
David H. Jensen is the academic dean and professor in the Clarence N. and Betty B. Frierson Distinguished Chair of Reformed Theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including God, Desire, and a Theology of Human Sexuality and Living Hope: The Future and Christian Faith, both published by Westminster John Knox Press.
The book of Job, an enigmatic but powerful book in the Old Testament canon, raises universal questions about suffering and God’s relationship to both the cause of the anguish and those who endure it. The ideas and questions of theodicy, divine justice, and divine power that arise and challenge Job’s life still resonate with our lives today. Chase’s commentary in the Belief series not only wrestles with the issues raised by the text, but it also probes the depths of spiritual theology in the book of Job.
In this new volume in the Belief series, Amy Plantinga Pauw reveals how the biblical books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, while often overlooked, are surprisingly relevant for Christian faith today. Both biblical books probe everyday human experiences. They speak to those who seek meaning and purpose in an uncertain world and encourage us to look for God’s presence in human life, not in divine visions or messages. They show openness to wisdom insights from many sources, urging us to find the commonalities and connections of our wisdom with those of our religious neighbors. Ultimately, these books affirm that true wisdom, whatever its human source, comes from God. Pauw includes reflections for preaching and teaching throughout her study.
Amy Plantinga Pauw is Henry P. Mobley Jr. Professor of Doctrinal Theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She is the editor of the Belief series, which she developed with the late William C. Placher. Her books include The Supreme Harmony of All: Jonathan Edwards’ Trinitarian Theology, Making Time for God: Daily Devotions for Children and Families to Share with Susan Garrett, and Essays in Reformed Feminist and Womanist Dogmatics with Serene Jones.
One of the most beloved books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew speaks with eloquence and power. Among the Gospels, Matthew paints a fuller picture of the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus. Anna Case-Winters’s incisive commentary reveals that Matthew is clearly a theological book. It is about God’s saving work in Jesus Christ. Moreover, it is presented in a way that easily lends itself to the task of teaching and preaching. Case-Winters highlights five themes that shape the distinctive portrait of Jesus this Gospel offers. Here we see Jesus facing up to conflict and controversy, ministering at the margins, overturning presuppositions about insiders and outsiders, privileging the powerless, demonstrating the authority of ethical leadership, challenging allegiance to empire, and pointing the way to a wider divine embrace than many dared imagine. Case-Winters captures the core of Matthew’s unique Gospel, which speaks powerfully to the life of Christian faith today in the midst of our own issues and struggles.
Anna Case-Winters is professor of theology at McCormick Theological Seminary. An ordained Presbyterian minister, she is the author of God’s Power: Traditional Understandings and Contemporary Challenges and Reconstructing a Christian Theology of Nature.
In this new commentary for the Belief series, award-winning author and theologian Willie James Jennings explores the relevance of the book of Acts for the struggles of today. While some see Acts as the story of the founding of the Christian church, Jennings argues that it is so much more, depicting revolution—life in the disrupting presence of the Spirit of God. According to Jennings, Acts is like Genesis, revealing a God who is moving over the land, “putting into place a holy repetition that speaks of the willingness of God to invade our every day and our every moment.” He reminds us that Acts took place in a time of Empire, when the people were caught between diaspora Israel and the Empire of Rome. The spirit of God intervened, offering new life to both. Jennings shows that Acts teaches how people of faith can yield to the Spirit to overcome the divisions of our present world.
A treat for the mind, the heart, and the flesh. This moving meditation on God’s ‘divine desire placed in us by the Spirit’ is a powerful theological commentary on how it is possible for us to break down our categories and barriers that separate us and journey, together, to the new, to our next. This is a book of hope and possibilities about a book of hope and possibilities . . . and this is good news.
—Emilie M. Townes, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Womanist Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt University Divinity School
Jennings writes as poet, preacher, and prophet. He takes the reader on a theological tour of Acts, and like a good tour guide, he describes the familiar places thoughtfully. Like the best of tour guides, he also takes the reader to places of importance that are often unnoticed. We are familiar with Paul’s beatings and imprisonment, but Jennings invites us to think theologically about prisons and beatings. We are familiar with the Jewish-Christian struggles in Acts, but Jennings guides us to think more deeply about the Jewish diaspora and the trauma that empire imposes. These visits to neglected places engender new understanding and perspective on the events recounted in Acts. This commentary preaches as faithfully as it teaches.
—Daniel Aleshire, Executive Director, The Association of Theological Schools
Willie James Jennings is associate professor of systematic theology and Africana studies at Yale Divinity School. He is the author of The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race, which received the American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in the Constructive-Reflective category as well as the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, the largest prize for a theological work in North America. A prolific writer and highly sought-after speaker, he is also an ordained Baptist minister.
For centuries, the apostle Paul’s reflections in the book of Romans have shaped Christian thinking about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how we can be faithful to the gospel. Key theologians including Augustine, Luther, Wesley, and Barth have wrestled with Romans and listened to it, understanding it in relation to questions of their own times. In her theological commentary, Sarah Heaner Lancaster helps us hear Romans anew for today. She considers major elements such as the old and new perspectives on Paul, justification, the relation of Jews and Christians, Empire, and disagreements in the church. Lancaster helps us recognize the importance of the letter during the time it was written, as well as its ongoing meanings now. Paul’s insights go beyond the pragmatic to the theological, which gives Romans its enduring significance and ongoing value. Lancaster’s excellent commentary helps us for preaching, teaching, and worship to hear Paul’s message afresh and to be strengthened and challenged in our Christian faith.
Sarah Heaner Lancaster is professor in the Werner Chair of Theology at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. Her most recent book is Pursuit of Happiness: Blessing and Fulfillment in Christian Faith.
This commentary in the Belief series looks at Paul’s theological wrestling with the divisions facing the early church in Corinth. These divisions arose for many reasons, among them the practices baptism and the Lord’s Supper, preaching, and the exercise of spiritual gifts. The contemporary church in North America is likewise dealing with divisions of various sorts. Who can preach? Who can celebrate Communion? Who can marry whom? With this commentary Charles L. Campbell helps preachers understand how to better respond to those questions in their own settings.
Charles L. Campbell is professor of homiletics at Duke Divinity School. He is author of The Word before the Powers: An Ethic of Preaching and Preaching Jesus: The New Directions for Homiletics in Hans Frei’s Postliberal Theology, and coauthor of Preaching Fools: The Gospel as a Rhetoric of Folly and The Word on the Street: Performing the Scriptures in the Urban Context.
In this incisive commentary, Nancy Bedford explores Paul’s Letter to the Galatians as it addresses pressing issues in the earliest Christian churches. Paul argues that it is not necessary for Gentiles to become full- fledged Jews in order to follow Jesus. In Jesus Christ, differences among people will continue. Bedford sees that equality in Christ (Galatians 3:28) does not erase differences but instead breaks down hierarchical relationships among many different people and groups. She considers the implications of these convictions for Christian faith today, particularly for those outside of Western Christian traditions. Bedford’s unique theological-interpretive approach to Galatians is suitable for preaching and teaching preparation and is a welcome addition to the Belief series.
Nancy Bedford is Georgia Harkness Professor of Applied Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She is a member of and part of the preaching team at Reba Place Church in Evanston, Illinois, and was formerly Profesora Extraordinaria No-Residente at the Instituto Unversitario ISEDET in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In this latest volume in the Belief series, Daniel L. Migliore plumbs the depth of Paul’s letters to the Philippians and to Philemon. With splendid theological reflection, Migliore explores central themes of these remarkable letters; themes that include the practice of prayer, righteousness from God, and the work of reconciliation and transformation through Jesus Christ.
Migliore shows how Philippians continues to speak to churches that, like the church at Philippi, struggle to be faithful to Christ, worry about the future, and need guidance. And in Philemon, Migliore finds a letter with importance far beyond its size; a letter that can enrich our understanding of the fullness of the gospel that Paul proclaims. In both books, Migliore deftly shows Paul as a remarkable theologian and pastor with a message instructive to the church of every age.
Daniel L. Migliore is Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. He is the author of Faith Seeking Understanding.
Thomas G. Long’s insightful commentary on the Pastoral Epistles argues that these often-neglected letters are urgently important for readers today. Some of the issues faced by New Testament churches are ours as well: the lure and peril of “spirituality” for Christians, the character of authentic worship, the qualities needed for sound leadership, and the relationship between family life and the church. Long’s interpretations of these books consider contemporary exegetical and theological outlooks and are presented through his seasoned homiletical and pastoral perspectives. Pastors will be strengthened by Long’s view that the Pastoral Epistles can refresh our memory about what really counts in the Christian community and how important trustworthy leaders are.
Thomas G. Long is the Bandy Professor of Preaching Emeritus at Candler Theological School, Emory University. He is a world-renowned preacher and was named by Time magazine as one of the most effective preachers in the English language. He has authored more than 20 books, including The Good Funeral, Accompany Them with Singing, Matthew in the Interpretations series, and Preaching from Memory to Hope, all published by Westminster John Knox Press.
About the Editors
Amy Plantinga Pauw is Henry P. Mobley Jr. Professor of Doctrinal Theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She is the editor of the Belief series, which she developed with the late William C. Placher. Her books include The Supreme Harmony of All: Jonathan Edwards’ Trinitarian Theology, Making Time for God: Daily Devotions for Children and Families to Share with Susan Garrett, and Essays in Reformed Feminist and Womanist Dogmatics with Serene Jones.
William C. Placher was Charles D. and Elizabeth S. LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He is the author or editor of a number of books, including A History of Christian Theology, Second Edition, Essentials of Christian Theology, and Jesus the Savior, all published by Westminster John Knox Press.
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