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September Books (and brief update)

Well, not a lot of book reading this month. Since I’m back to school I’ve been reading a lot of articles and selected chapters but not much cover-to-cover. I’m continuing to work full-time and I’ve also started creating a new non-profit that helps sexually exploited people exit the sex trade — so I’ve been busy. Anyway…
1. Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making Volume 1 by James D. G. Dunn. Jimmy Dunn operates from a more traditional source and form critical methodology (think Wellhausen and Bultmann) than the likes of Tom Wright but this book reflects how long he has spent studying the New Testament. It also reveals an author who seems to have a great amount of affection for the person at the core of this study. Dunn blends passion with serious critical scholarship and, although this book is a bit of a monster (it’s 1000+ pages!) it’s worth picking up even as reference material.
2. A Holy Meal: The Lord’s Supper and the Life of the Church by Gordon T. Smith. I’m studying with Gordon this term (a spiritual theology course on the meaning of the sacraments) so I figured it would be good to start the term by reading one of his books. I love the way that Gordon develops the significance of symbol — it fits well with what others like Ricoeur, Lindbeck, and Brueggemann have said — and then looks at the various motifs around the Lord’s Supper (remembrance, communion, forgiveness, covenant, nourishment, anticipation, and eucharist). Gordon is very ecumenical and treats all Christian traditions with a great amount of respect, emphasising the the Lord’s Supper should unite, not divide, the Church.

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