Brueggeman's Testimonyy
Brueggeman, Walter. Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy.
Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2005
In his book Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy, Walter Brueggeman entices his readers in the way he uses the analogy of a trial to order his presentation. Old Testament theology can be a little daunting for someone just starting off in this field but Brueggeman uses this interesting technique to capture our attention.
He lays the foundation for his discourse with an overview of the development of Old Testament study and interpretation. This overview spurns several hundreds of years from the reformation to the generative period. He highlights the works of scholars like Walter Eichrodt and Gerhard von Rad whose work has influenced Old Testament theology …show more content…
This is displayed through the use of verbal sentences, adjectives and nouns. He argues that the most important thing in giving this testimony is in the speech and not the historical aspects (118). He adds that “Our purpose in examining this strange transposition from testimony to revelation, from utterance to reality, is to indicate that for Old Testament faith, the utterance is everything. (122). This speech asserts Yahweh’s power and faithfulness.
This is not always the case as the counter testimony reveals. We see the tone of speech changing here as Yahweh at this point is seen to be absent and not available to Israel. There are a lot of questions and complaints against Yahweh. A lot of this is mainly played out in the Psalms and wisdom literature. Brueggeman highlights the fact that these situations may cause Yahweh who Israel has testified so positively about to be cross examined concerning why Israel is going through all these challenges and where He is in the midst of all this. That said, Israel must continue to testify for Yahweh of God’s
Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2005
In his book Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy, Walter Brueggeman entices his readers in the way he uses the analogy of a trial to order his presentation. Old Testament theology can be a little daunting for someone just starting off in this field but Brueggeman uses this interesting technique to capture our attention.
He lays the foundation for his discourse with an overview of the development of Old Testament study and interpretation. This overview spurns several hundreds of years from the reformation to the generative period. He highlights the works of scholars like Walter Eichrodt and Gerhard von Rad whose work has influenced Old Testament theology …show more content…
This is displayed through the use of verbal sentences, adjectives and nouns. He argues that the most important thing in giving this testimony is in the speech and not the historical aspects (118). He adds that “Our purpose in examining this strange transposition from testimony to revelation, from utterance to reality, is to indicate that for Old Testament faith, the utterance is everything. (122). This speech asserts Yahweh’s power and faithfulness.
This is not always the case as the counter testimony reveals. We see the tone of speech changing here as Yahweh at this point is seen to be absent and not available to Israel. There are a lot of questions and complaints against Yahweh. A lot of this is mainly played out in the Psalms and wisdom literature. Brueggeman highlights the fact that these situations may cause Yahweh who Israel has testified so positively about to be cross examined concerning why Israel is going through all these challenges and where He is in the midst of all this. That said, Israel must continue to testify for Yahweh of God’s