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Preaching from Memory to Hope
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| Part No: | 0664234224 |
| Manufacturer: | Westminster John Knox |
| MFG Part: | |
| Customer Rating: | 4.5 / 5.0 |
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- ISBN13: 9780664234225
- Condition: New
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In this compelling and hard-hitting book, respected preacher and teacher Tom Long identifies and responds to the most substantive theological forces and challenges facing preaching today. The issues, he says, are fourfold: the decline in the quality of narrative preaching and the need for its reinvigoration; the tendency of preachers to ignore Gods action and presence in our midst; the return of the churchs old nemesis, Gnosticism, evidenced in todays new spirituality; and the absence of eschatology in the pulpit.
Long once again has his finger on the pulse of American preaching, demonstrated by his creative responses to these challenges. Whether he is calling for theologically smarter and more ethically discerning preaching, providing a method of interpretation that will allow pastors to recover the emphasis on God in our midst, or encouraging a kind of
interfaith dialogue with gnosticism, he demonstrates why he has long been considered one of the most thoughtful and intelligent preachers in America today.
| Critique or Caricature? | 2010-01-19 | 4 / 5 |
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Long has written a helpful book concerning the present problems confronting narrative preaching and potential solutions to those dilemmas. He has also raised some important questions in his critique of progressive responses to orthodox Christianity in his third and fourth chapters where he explores the idea that post modern theology reflects a kind of neo-gnositcism. The book suffers most, however, from its failure to offer viable alternatives to what Long acknowledges to be legitimate critiques of orthodoxy. He goes to great lengths to criticize the critics, most especially Marcus Borg, but offers few, if any, satisfying responses to the questions that Borg and his colleagues are trying to address, other than to hint that there could be some sort of enlightened version of orthodoxy that should be satisfying to contemporary Christians.
Long wants us to believe, for example, that "A Christ whose resurrection occurs only in our minds has no right to call us to put our bodies on the line for justice." (Who says so? Why isn't the fact that Jesus was willing to lay his body on the line for justice sufficient motivation?) "But a risen Christ whose body still bears the marks of the wounds will send Christians passionately, even joyfully, marching across the bridge at Selma, hammering shingles on Habitat for Humanity houses, and changing bedpans in an AIDS hospice." The suggestion that only orthodox Christians can be passionate about justice is not only offensive, it is patently untrue. While there may be some useful correctives in reflecting on similarities between gnosticism and progressive theology, Long gets into trouble when he tries to apply the implications of his theory to the real world. His characterization of contemporary responses to traditional Christianity lapses into caricature in too many instances.
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| Great book about preaching and more | 2009-10-21 | 5 / 5 |
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| I love this book. Long provides a gentle and thoughtful critique of narrative preaching--definitely helpful. But even more helpful for my preaching context is Long's strong response to various conspiracy theories, the "gnostic impulse" exemplified by Marcus Borg and others, and the loss of a clear and joyful eschatology in much contemporary preaching and theology. In this book you'll not only hear about what's gone wrong; you'll also hear how to fix it. I recommend Preaching from Memory to Hope for preachers and for adult Sunday School classes that enjoy a challenge. |
| Surprisingly and strongly theological | 2009-07-14 | 5 / 5 |
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This book is certainly written with the preacher in mind, yet much of it could be valuable for any Christian who wants to hear an alternative voice to the "neo-gnosticism" seen in newsstand articles, popular literature, and the writings of well known scholars; Doctor Long politely yet thoroughly uses Marcus Borg as an example of the latter category.
The first chapter is concerned about how the narrative method to preaching has begun to wear thin. This may not be news to readers of other current homileticians, but this chapter may be a necessary wake up call for some preachers. The second chapter concerns how God is at work through the proclamation of the gospel. The third and fourth chapters are focused on neo-gnosticism, and Dr. Long does a wonderful job at pointing out how this is manifesting itself in our congregations and how it is not the apostolic faith. The final chapter of the book expounds Dr. Long's view that a renewed and biblical eschatology is the necessary component for preaching today.
Overall, I feel it is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in homiletics and preaching God's transforming Word to congregations that are awash with outside sources (and perhaps inside, too) of bad theology. |
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