William C. PlacherBesprekingen

Presenting two dialoging essays on each of nine foremost theological questions, William Placher -- the recipient of the American Academy of Religion's 2002 Award for Excellence in Teaching -- has provided an unparalleled introductory reader in theology. Himself giving an excellent discussion of the history and current state of each doctrinal issue, he allows the essays. to explore and raise questions about their key elements -- and the contemporary issues confronting them.

Because Mark is the lectionary gospel for 2018, Pastor Charlie encouraged us to read Mark in January, and we were given opportunities to study and reflect on the Gospel of Mark through a Bible class Jeff and Clara taught, daily devotional meditations written by Covenant members, and Sunday discussion classes.

For those who are interested in delving deeper into the Gospel of Mark in 2018, the Covenant library has an excellent resource: Mark: A Theological Commentary on the Bible, by William C. Placher. Placher leads one through Mark, beginning to end, focusing on major themes that emerge as Mark’s narrative proceeds: “Good News!”, “Healing the Rejected Ones,” “Parables and Deeds of Power,” “The Inclusive Banquet,” “On the Way to Jerusalem,” “Challenge to Authority,” “Arrest, Torture, Death,” and “Afterword” (Jesus’ Resurrection).

I have read through Placher’s book, Bible in hand, during January, and found insightful, provocative comments on virtually every page, such that I am tempted to go back to write notes or photocopy pages. Placher draws connections between different passages in Mark to show the gospel’s unity and overall message. He presents Old Testament references and allusions in Mark that enrich one’s understanding of this gospel in its Jewish context. He helps one appreciate the drama in Mark’s narrative. He draws on and cites prominent Christian theologians – Augustine, Origen, Calvin, Luther, Barth, Bonhoeffer, and many others -- as well as New Testament scholars, Shakespeare, Dante, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Elliot, and various literary critics. He makes connections between Mark’s world and our world; for example, by comparing the treatment of prisoners at the Iraqi prison camp, Abu Ghraib, and the treatment of political prisoners by the Roman Empire.

Placher’s style is clear, not turgidly academic. He even has a sense of humor: “Most scholars now agree that the original text of Mark ends at 16:8. Verses 9-20, considered part of the Gospel for most of Christian history, do not appear in the earliest surviving manuscripts . . . Dropping these verses loses the only biblical reference to snake handling, but that is a price most scholars seem willing to pay!”

And Placher admires Mark’s literary style: “Anyone who studies Mark in Greek soon learns that he did not write very well. One writer cites over two hundred ‘harsh constructions.’ . . . It is with some hesitation, therefore, that I propose that Mark was a literary genius, admittedly of an odd sort, emerging as he did from the ranks of the little educated. Even his ‘mistakes’ –the long rows of sentences, each beginning, ‘And immediately . . . ‘ the shifts to the historical present uncharacteristic of good Greek style – make the story dramatic.”

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a better appreciation of the portrait of Jesus presented in the Gospel of Mark.

Eric Wendorff, Feb, 2019

Are you looking for an accessible and concise overview of the major theological debates raging between professionally spiritual Christians today? Look elsewhere! To a layman this book is an obscure and often unreadable mishmash of the worst collegiate-style pretension. If you are a seminarian who enjoys the self-important and jargonistic writing of lazy theologians, you might find the topics of the book tired and repetitive. If a couple of very ambitious editors with big scissors were let loose on this volume, they might extract something worthwhile out of it. The editor's commitment to preserving the words of the opinionated blowhards who contributed to the book was a terrible weakness. As it is, the introductory sections preceding the selected essays are by far the best part of the book.

This is one book that I enjoyed but, at the same time, not sure I know what to make of it. It basically a short set of essays by three scholars on interpreting the Biblical text. It's main thesis, as far as I understood it, was that if we are serious with the Bible, we will struggle in finding the meaning of what is written without forcing any of our own preconceived or 21st century models into the text. That is, we need to be fluid enough to change our theological stance whenever we discover and encounter text that challenge our own views and ways of thinking. Brueggemann notes that the "process of interpretation that precludes final settlement on almost all questions is self-evident in the Bible." Further, he contends that thr Bible, even in its final form, is "profoundly polyvalent, yielding no single exegetical outcome, but allowing layers and layers of fresh reading in which God's own life and character are deeply engaged and put at risk" (p.14-15).

Blount, in the last essay, contends basically that if the Bible is a "Living Word", it is not stagnant, meaning (as I understood it) that the understanding and values of words in the Biblical text, which existed among the first century believers in relation to their way of life, "must no longer be equally valued today." Then he hoes on to give two example of what he means: (1) slavery in America, and (2) homosexual behavior.

It is the second example that I cannot agree is not a good example of texts changing value between the first century Christians and those of today or of it having polyvalent meanings. Here his concludes because God has "created them, just as they are", they should "be treated equally and accepted faithfully together in one body of faith."

Although, I agree that a single text may have polyvalent meanings, that application of the Biblical principles may differ from one person to another on the basis of how God speaks to them through the Spirit, and that to be serious with the text is to struggle with it, yet, I cannot go so far as to say that such behavior, like homosexuality, might be what we may accept today within the community of believers although it may not have been accepted in the first century (from my perspective), goes to far in freeing the text from restrictive and biased interpretation.

As I shared before, Brueggemenn states that final settlement on "almost all questions" in the Bible is "self-evident". I would ask, what text are to be construed as being finally settled and who makes such a determination? Is Blount suggesting that the issue of homosexuality, as consitituting sin in the firts century, is no longer forbidden bahavior? Is Blount implying that one can be a practicing homosexual and a believer simultaneously?

I will say one thing for auch a short book, it is emotionally stimulating and though provoking as it lays open the the challenge to self-inquiry as to how culturally restrictive, theologically biased, and historically ignorant in matters Biblical is the reader when interpreting the Bible.

Very brainy

I had to read it for a Theology class and found the first 4 chapters extremely boring- I often fell asleep while reading them... But after I got over that hurdle I began to read it and understand it better and I was able to keep interested.

Callings -Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation is an anthology concerning work and vocation with selections from the greatest writers in Christian history such as Thomas Aquinas, Benedict of Nursia, Clement of Alexandria, Augustine, Bernard of Clairvauz, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Soren Kierkegaard, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothy Sayres, and Thomas Merton. The book addresses the question "what should I do with my life?"

Callings is divided into 4 historical periods: the early church, the middle ages, the Reformation and modern/post modern Christianity. Each section has short readings from writers who lived in each of the eras. The Reformation is the largest section even though it was the shortest historical period, covering 300 years. As a time of increased literacy and greater social choices, it was during this time that the idea that every person has a calling became prominent. The book's introduction defines a calling as when the bits and pieces of your struggle, disappointments and successes add up to a significant whole. Frederick Buechner further defines a calling as "the kind of work (a) that you need most to do, and (b) that the world most needs to have done...the place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."

During the early church era a calling was not to a vocation/job but a calling to live the Christian life. This was a time period of few choices and your job was whatever your father's job was. A decision to accept a calling to live the Christian life meant leaving your family. A small number of Christians were executed for refusing to give a sacrifice to the Roman Emperor. Writers who are excerpted here include Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, clement of Alexandria, Augustine, Tertullian, Athanasius, and Gregory of Nyssa.

During the middle ages a calling was a decision whether or not to be a professional Christian, ie, someone who spent all of their time practicing their faith such as a monk or a nun. I have learned alot about this era from reading medieval mysteries such as Margaret Frazer's Dame Frevisse mysteries. The rules for these professional Christians set down by Benedict of Nursia are featured prominently in this series. Writers from this era include Benedict of Nursia, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas, Christine de Pisan, John Cassian and Thomas a Kempis.

In the Reformation period the primary thinking was that your calling was your job and that everyone was called by God to do something, not just the priests and nuns. In the latter part of this time period it was believed that a person's calling could change throughout their life. Writers excerpted from this era include Martin Luther, John Wesley, John Calvin, Ignatius of Loyola, John Bunyan, Teresa of Avila and Jonathan Edwards.

The modern era or post-Christian era is the current era that we are living in today. It is a time when your neighbor is someone of a different faith than you and you realize that we do not live in a Christian society. The values of our culture are sex and violence and there is a definite lack of leadership. A calling can be a job, or simply to live the Christian lifestyle. In this respect, this era is similar to the early church era. Writers from this era include Karl Barth, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Dorothy Sayres, Soren Kirkegaard, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Pope Leo XIII and Feodor Dostoevsky.

Clement of Alexandria surprised me with his idea that the wealthy should not give all their riches to the poor before beginning the Christian lifestyle but rather should hold onto their wealth so that it can be disbursed as needed later. It seems contrary to Jesus' teaching to a wealthy follower that he needed to give away all of his possessions before following Him. Aquinas and Tertullian bored me. Aquinas's writing method did not help. He would list objections to what he was about to say, make his statement and then defend it. Benedict of Nursia's rules are lengthy and I wonder how he came up with them. I found Christine de Pisan's suggestions for wealthy women in the Treasure of the City of Ladies still relevant today. Her suggestions boil down to treating others, even your servants, as you want to be treated. William Perkins treatise on vocation discusses parents picking a calling for their minor children to perform. The children can change that calling when they become adults. This is a concept that I had never heard of before. He also states that every person should be
fitted for the calling and the calling should be fitted for the person. William Law discusses a person who lost his ability to work at the calling he was trained to do. Law encouraged him to work hard at whatever he was able to do so that God was glorified. This idea speaks to me because I suffer from a chronic illness and had to change careers to one I dislike and am severely underemployed. When you are underemployed you become depressed because you are not doing what you were created to do. Having a physical disability that prevents you from using your brain to its utmost causes depression and feelings of worthlessness. After my physician declined to give me anti-depressants, he said I should be depressed. My life sucks and my depressed feelings are normal. He would only prescribe meds to someone whose depression was unrealistic. However, I am now thinking this job I hate may be my calling. At least that's what folks whom I have assisted tell me. I love Pope Leo XIII's admonition to employers not to tax their employees beyond their strength and to provide them with work suited to their sex and age. Too bad employers don't do this.

Callings is a thought provoking book. The readings are managable enough that you can put the book down for awhile and start back up without losing the continuity. I highly recommend this book to people of all faiths. There is something for everyone in Callings.

Presbyterian theologian William Placher gives consideration to the nature of the Trinity. As always, Placher's writing is clear, even as he wades through complicated and complex issues. Here, he sifts through nearly two millennia of often convoluted -- if not downright incomprehensible -- writing about the Trinity.

As a theologian, Placher is foremost a student of the Bible, owing to studying under Hans Frei, the great narrative theologian from Yale. In The Triune God, Placher seems to find most comfort when speaking of the Trinity as disclosed by the scriptural texts. In systematizing these Biblical passages, he seems to find most affinity with the writings of Thomas Aquinas and 20th century theologian Hans urs Von Balthasar.

Placher argues consistently for the need to respect the divine as inherently unknowable, even unfathomable, to human beings. While this seems an odd guiding principle in a book about the Trinity, it is balanced by the belief that one can think about God in terms of God's self-revelation (through Scripture and through the life of Christ).

The wisdom of this is that Placher is never tempted to wander into speculation. However, the limitation of this is obvious in Placher's consideration of the Holy Spirit -- the least understood person of the Trinity -- and his writing of the relationship of the Trinity as a whole. Given his reluctance to speculate, he is left to merely repeat some of the great speculations of classical theology about the nature of the Trinity, which leaves the final pieces of this argument feeling a bit less direct and clear.

In this essay, Placher's most original argument about the Trinity seems to be that the mysterious unity of the Trinity affirms both God's complete otherness from humanity, and the fact that otherness can be affirmed and appreciated as otherness.

On the whole, the book is recommended. Writing about the Trinity tends to be very convoluted, but Placher is clear. If this is not Placher's best book (which is probably still "Narratives of a Vulnerable God") it is still well worth attention.

An interesting overview, but some sections seem a little superficial.

Doctrinal Theology