Willard M. Swartley

This is a collection of papers from a 1994 conference on biblical studies and peacemaking; thus it is both more specifically theological, and more practically oriented, than other Girardian work I've read recently. I've read only pieces of it thus far while researching a paper.

Robin Collins critiques the most common Girardian interpretations of the atonement as being variants of the moral exemplar theory, and therefore inadequate to the traditional Christian claims for Christ's saving work. show more He
proposes an incarnational theory of the atonement that
expands Girard's understanding of mimetic desire to a more comprehensive mimetic subjectivity, which provides an anthropological understanding of the traditional theological language of participation in Christ's death and resurrection. He describes what this participation looks like concretely in terms of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.

Rebecca Adams offers a feminist critique of Girard's work from the perspective of contemporary victims, and addresses the question of how mimetic desire functions either acquisitively (or, as she would have it more accurately, appropriatively) or creatively. show less

Mennonite author who presents his denominations viewpoint forcefully. Adequate health care is a moral and ethical concern that the church should make a priority again, as it did historically but has fallen away from in recent decades. Health and salvation are linked throughout the Bible. Fine argument but this book was tedious and had I known it was going to have such a Mennonite and Anabaptist slant I would have bypassed it.

With reverence for Scripture, Swartley pursues the complex subject of biblical interpretation by examining four case issues: slavery, Sabbath, war and women. In each instance he shows how commentators have used the Bible both negatively and positively to support their own predispositions. Yet he maintains the Scripture itself exerts power over its readers so that the text is never a total victim. The power of the Spirit is at work in the hermeneutical task. – Trible (while not speaking show more directly to homosexuality, I feel this is an excellent book on biblical interpretation – BRK). show less

NO OF PAGES: 367 SUB CAT I: Bible Stories SUB CAT II: SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: The objective of this book is to show the Synoptic Gospels are "synoptic" precisely because they share common structures and themes rooted in Israel's stories about itself-Exodus and Sinai, Way/Conquest, Temple, and Kingship.NOTES: SUBTITLE: Story Shaping Story