Select Works of Michael J. Gorman (2 vols.)

In this groundbreaking book, Michael J. Gorman asks why there is no theory or model of the atonement called the “new-covenant” model. Gorman argues this understanding of the atonement was likely the earliest in the Christian tradition, dating back to Jesus himself. Gorman proposes that most models of the atonement over-emphasize the penultimate purposes of Jesus’ death and the “mechanics” of the atonement, rather than its ultimate purpose: to create a transformed, Spirit-filled people of God. The New Testament’s various atonement metaphors are part of a remarkably coherent picture of Jesus’ death as that which brings about the new covenant (and thus the new community) promised by the prophets, which is also the covenant of peace.

Written for both academics and church leaders, this book will challenge all who read it to rethink and rearticulate the meaning of Christ’s death.

Reading Revelation Responsibly is for those who are confused by, afraid of, and/or preoccupied with the book of Revelation. In rescuing the Apocalypse from those who either completely misinterpret it or completely ignore it, Michael J. Gorman has given us both a guide to reading Revelation and a theological engagement with the text itself. He takes interpreting the book as a serious and sacred responsibility, believing how one reads, teaches, and preaches Revelation can have a powerful impact on one’s own well-being.

Gorman pays careful attention to the book’s historical and literary contexts, its connections to the rest of Scripture, its relationship to Christian doctrine and practice, and its potential to help or harm people in their life of faith. Rather than a script for the end times, Gorman demonstrates how Revelation is a script for Christian worship, witness, and mission that runs counter to culturally-embedded civil religion.