A (Sort of) Book Review: The Prophetic Imagination

Walter Brueggemann. The Prophetic Imagination (Second Edition). Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001.

Few Old Testament scholars have been able to capture the liveliness of the Hebrew Scriptures the way Walter Brueggemann does. When it comes to literary artistry and spirituality of the Old Testament, Brueggemann is arguably the best in the business. He has a keen eye for the storytelling methods, spiritual and emotional context and impact of texts, and the power contained in them which is unleashed if we can really get inside them.

What it’s about:

The Prophetic Imagination is probably Brueggemann at his best. Reworked in 2001 to bring his work to bear on a changed historical context (the original is from 1978, so a lot has changed in the world since then) this book is designed to be a guide for those seeking to capture the method of Old Testament prophet as a model for prophetic ministry in contemporary life. Brueggemann identifies the two key tasks in the ministry of Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and other prophets: “prophetic criticism” and “prophetic energizing”.

Prophetic ciriticism, argues Brueggemann (ch. 3), is to speak or through symbol live out a declaration that the prevailing culture is a false ideological construct which cannot stand. The prophet is called to delegitimize and reveal the dismantling of imperial ideology or “royal consciousness” (the way of Pharaoh, Solomon, Herod, Ceasar) with its superficial appearance of affluence, forced labour, and formation of a civil or royally sponsored (and thus controlled or at least controllable) “static religion”. This criticism happens through the prophet vocalizing and/or living out the laments and groans of the people (“The Embrace of Pathos”)- by speaking into and from a place of communal grieving from under oppression, turning to the God who is free to act on their behalf. Thus the prophet identifies and denounces injustice, and speaks to the inevitable toppling of unsustainable oppression.

Prophetic energizing (ch. 4) is the presentation of an alternative way- a new vision for a newly formed people called together to live out the vision. This vision is anchored in the freedom of God to act as he wills, and his refusal to be domesticated by kings and/or priests to serve the royal purpose. God challenges this imperial way with a prophetic word which declares God’s freedom and sovereignty to act, to tear down the unjust royal consciousness, and lift up the oppressed. Thus, the prophets of Israel, and prophetic leaders of the Church in present are called speak boldly of a way other than the prevailing culture, but a way which infuses hope, purpose, and vocation into the community of faith.

This vision of criticism through embracing pathos and energizing through providing a basis from and for amazement and imagination of the possibility for a new way, finds its greatest model in Jesus of Nazareth (ch. 5). Brueggemann walks through the incarnation, ministry of compassion, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus to show how Jesus enters the suffering and lamenting of humanity, destabilizes power structures, and announces their imminent demise, but also provides a new word of hope and amazement as he overcomes death through being raised, and calls his followers to a life which is lived out in acts of mercy (the ultimate anti-imperial way) which speaks into existence a new people with a renewed purpose (ch. 6); living according the vocation of mankind as defined by God’s character rather than the royal consciousness.

Finally, Brueggemann connects this prophetic imagination to the practice of ministry in the contemporary church (ch. 7). Brueggemann insists that arena for this prophetic mission is in the parish, that the life of the local congregation, is where the criticism and energizing is focused. In other words, those in pastoral leadership, elders, and leaders of ministry programs, are called to embrace the pathos of their people, facilitate lament, and “penetrate the numbness” (117) which comes from complacency under the weight of the royal ideology and immense pressure of the prevailing culture to acquiesce to the agenda of the powerful. Prophetic ministry in the local congregation must also propose a vision of alternative way to be made manifest in the local congregation itself- to become a community which embodies the way joy, compassion, and justice of the Kingdom of God, and lives it out in the public arena.

The Good:

Brueggemann captures beautifully the essence of the prophetic leader. He traces this task of criticism and energizing through Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, to the climax of the redemptive story in Jesus. He astutely picks up on something often overlooked. The “doom and gloom” image of the prophet quite misleading, and this is a helpful corrective. The prophet is a counter to the royal/imperial agenda. A prophet, in the Old Testament tradition, is called to identify, name, expose, and indict exploitation and oppression, and to rally the people to cry out to God for help, and to call the people to live in a renewed commitment to the ways of mercy, justice, and righteousness. The task is a difficult one; a call to suffer with the oppressed, and work against the current, to come up against the denial, numbness, and despair of those who either bought into the royal consciousness, or have given up against the juggernaut of injustice and imperial oppression.

Brueggemann captures the beauty of the Kingdom-at-hand message of Jesus. He comes to not only suffer with and for his people, but to bring the word of hope and joy of the Kingdom breaking into the world to undo the powers-that-be, to critique the prevailing culture, and declare the inevitable demise of existing oppressive power structures and the ideologies behind them. Brueggemann’s prose is unparalleled in theological scholarship. He is able to write solid, profound, intelligent theology with true artistic craftsmanship.

But Brueggemann doesn’t just leave with an abstract, but connects the big picture of Scripture with the rubber meets the road of of the local parish/congregation. His word becomes useful, tangible, liveable. His words are convicting for us pastors, who have a weekly opportunity to speak to these things, and are called be leaders of lament, prayer, grieving, and bringers of hope. The ministry task Brueggemann places in front of us is hard, but it is good. His precision and clarity brings the word from ancient Israel to bear on a very different context. Pharaoh goes by a new name now. But the nature of the royal ideology is very much the same.

The Not-so-good:

Where I think this work comes up short or could use some reworking is really somewhat nitpicky.The first issue I have with this book is that there isn’t more of it (a mere 125 pages without endnotes; which I find so annoying- footnotes for the win!). It’s compact to the point where it’s conciseness becomes a weakness. I would have preferred to have Brueggemann sit longer with different texts. One can feel like there is more in the words of Scripture to be explored in this book. Instead, Brueggemann moves on a bit too quickly from one text to another.

The second issue is that Brueggemann seems to make “prophetic ministry” less prophetic in the traditional sense of the prophet. Scripture seems to present the prophet as a very specific ministry of proclamation. Brueggemann seems to move boundary markers a bit to pull all public ministry under the umbrella of prophetic ministry. Pastor ministry certainly includes what Brueggemann is calling for; sharing in the pathos of the people, facilitating mourning, and helping to move people from a place of lament towards hope. But is this “prophetic”? Not in the traditional meaning of the word. This is pastoral. The New Testament does seem to make the distinction between the two (most obviously in 1 Cor. 12) though the text certainly doesn’t preclude the possibility (or perhaps inevitable?) overlapping. I think Brueggemann’s terminology pushes things a bit.

Overall:

Brueggemann is a must for all students of theology. He is able to bring together exegesis, spiritual theology, praxis, and art in a package to make the text of Scripture something which can, and must be lived out- not just as moral demands, but as a story we join into- the message of the Kingdom of God coming into the present age to tear down oppression and injustice, and bring peace and joy through Jesus Christ. Only when the message of the prophets are examined from multiple angles, as Brueggemann has done, do we understand but also benefit from the text in our striving for kingdom living. This book calls on God’s people in the present to join a story, to reflect what has come before, and speak into the present to shape the future for God’s people. Brueggemann gives us not just an explanation of what was written, but a vision of how that text becomes a model for us to live into God’s ways.

A (Sort of) Book Review: A New Heaven and a New Earth

J. Richard Middleton. A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014.

Many moons ago (not really, but some days it feels like forever), as an undergrad, I read Al Wolters’ Creation Regained and I remember the hype the instructor and other students had for this book (I was attending Redeemer University College, where Wolters was and still is a professor). I recall being less than completely impressed by it, though I don’t recall why. It was shelved, and, for the most part, forgotten/ignored for many years after that. It was not because I disagreed with Wolters; for the most part I did agree, except on a few nitpicky bits. My best guess is that my interests, studies, and development wasn’t in worldview questions, but elsewhere. Recently I won a copy (three cheers for free books! thanks Baker Academic) of J. Richard Middleton’s A New Heaven and a New Earth, which explores in a fresh and comprehensive way much of what Wolters had written about in Creation Regained. This time around, the topic grabbed me, and this volume is one I got excited about, and which delivered.

What it’s about:

A New Heaven and a New Earth is written as a corrective to theological assumptions (worldviews) which Middleton shows has been influenced by the inclusion of ideas from Greek philosophy with Christian theology. More specifically, Middleton is addressing the view of the ultimate direction of the created order as a whole, and humanity within that world, and the cosmic salvation and renewal of creation which Scripture presents- that is, he is taking a narratival approach to the scope of Scripture and the vision for the future in provides. The common picture of “where we are going” in many circles is of death as a separation of soul and body, with disembodied souls “going to heaven” after death. This, argues Middleton doesn’t square with the biblical depiction of a renewed creation which, having the curse of sin removed and creation healed, will reflect the original intent of creation as a place of flourishing and abundance on the earth which God made good, and into which God placed humanity to cultivate and function as God’s vice-regents. Middleton is seeking to recover the vision of resurrection life in the new creation.

Middleton begins (Introduction) with the roots of the problematic view of “otherworldly” salvation; where did this notion come from, and how did it shape the Christian worldview? Next (Part 1) he examines the picture Scripture gives us of the original design behind creation- a place for the flourishing of human activity, a place of harmony, peace, completeness; a venue for God and creation to be in an abundant connectedness. He also comments on the catastrophic result of human sin, bringing division between humans, a struggle for dominance, and an abuse of creation. Parts 2 & 3 examine the trajectory of biblical salvation; the story of the Old Testament (Part 2) declaring the hope of God’s working for salvation through the Exodus paradigm and the prophetic vision of the Day of the Lord which would bring judgment and salvation and the fulfilment of that paradigm (typology) and vision in the New Testament (Part 3).

Part 4 specifically looks at the texts which have often been drawn on to prop up the problematic view of otherworldly salvation which typically views eschatology as expecting the end of the created world and the continuation of the saved as disembodied souls in heaven following the cosmic conflagration; a total destruction of the corrupt physical world. Middleton aptly unravels the problems and insists that those texts which at first glance appear to speak of a coming end to the physical creation in fact do not, but instead speak of earthly judgment using cosmic imagery and symbolism- that in all these texts the age to come which follows is still centred around God’s people inhabiting God’s new creation.

The final section explores the ethical implications of this understanding of the big picture of biblical worldview. Middleton focuses in on Luke 4, Jesus’ first recorded public announcement in Luke’s Gospel, in which Jesus declares the fulfilment of Isaiah 61. Jesus states that with the coming of God’s renewed creation under his reign, all things are reoriented around justice, mercy, compassion, healing, repentance, and reconciliation. Thus, as participants in the kingdom’s coming on earth as it is in heaven, we are pressed with a Christ-like ethic of care and concern for the vulnerable, and a proclamation of the coming kingdom of God, inviting people to come and be reconciled to God. Thus, a kingdom coming/cosmic salvation view challenges us to move away from an “us vs. them” mentality, to a Christ-for-us view, which seeks to live out the love and grace of God to brother/sister, neighbour, and enemy alike. Thus, our Christology informs our soteriology and eschatology, which informs our ethics and ministry model.

The Good:

Although I already shared Middleton’s view of cosmic salvation, and fully appreciate the narratival approach to Scripture and how that informs both worldview and ethics (at almost every juncture I was nodding in agreement with Middleton), it is wonderful to be reminded of the beautiful vision which Scripture gives us, and the hope which comes from it. There can often be a temptation to specialize, and narrow our theological discussions, and so it can be vital to step back, take glance at the big picture and see how the whole works together. Middleton covers the sweep of Scripture, beginning to end, incorporating all sections of Scripture, even bringing in Wisdom Literature which is sometimes overlooked in discussions of biblical eschatology, as well as capturing key typological connections between the Old Testament and the Gospels, and the ways in which Paul interprets the death and resurrection of Christ in presenting his eschatalogical vision.

His argument is convincing, well laid out, fully substantiated, and considers all the evidence equally and offers gracious correction to opposing views. It is a solid example of how good scholarship should work; avoiding invective, focusing on the text of Scripture, carefully weighing all the data, and working through the practical implications of the conclusions for the Church.

Though not a central concern, I very much appreciated Middleton’s courage to take on two specific issues which are of note for my own interests and personal studies. First, in unpacking Genesis 1 & 2, Middleton takes a firm egalitarian reading, noting the shared vocation and complete equality of male and female in the created order, which is distorted and sent into a destructive and oppressive patriarchal way as a result of the fall into sin, which is being corrected in Christ, removing the stratification of gender relations (Gal. 3:28; see 50-55, 275-6, 276 n. 16). Secondly, Middleton hints at a reading of the new creation which fits with the view of conditional immortality. Middleton offers this not as a dogmatic view but a reasonable and probable conclusion from the biblical evidence using the terms “annihilation of the person” and “cosmic disinheritance, permanent exile from God’s good creation” (207).

The Not-So-Good:

While the implications section is very much welcome in order to work out how the biblical picture of eschatology applies to the life of the Church, there is a bit of a gap here. Middleton’s exegetical and theological work is beyond the average pew-sitter. Most of those who have been through formal theological education have been exposed to most of what Middleton is advocating for in the previous sections. Many (perhaps even most) Pastors and Academics have for quite some time had this view in mind (as best I can tell), but part of the struggle is bringing doctrinal/worldview conclusions from the world of the formally trained, to the pews where the problematic view still persists. Most average church-goers are not prepared to read a 300+ page work dealing with the historical development of eschatalogical and soteriological assumptions, and the influence of Platonic and Stoic ideas on anthropology, eschatology, etc. The basic model Middleton presents has been presented by Wolters, NT Wright, and others at the scholarly and, to a lesser extent, more popular level. While Middleton’s treatment (in my humble opinion) exceeds previous work on this topic which I’ve read both in comprehensiveness and style, it doesn’t bring much in terms of an original vision. It does what has been done before, only better. What hasn’t been done in anything I’ve seen, is take this vision and make it more accessible. I know this wasn’t Middleton’s goal- he wasn’t writing a popular level book, but an academic one, but I think what the church needs is a well crafted popular level version of this. Theologically trained leaders will need to do some of their own work with this to make this reflect in their leadership.

Overall:

Middleton can be commended for producing a fine piece of theological scholarship. As someone whose has recognized expertise in biblical exegesis and theology as well as worldview studies, this is clearly a book which Middleton can produce with excellence (and he has). Profoundly biblical, expertly arranged and written, and firm in its conviction but still gracious in tone, this deserves to be required reading in bible colleges and seminaries. Pastors need to work with this, so that this vision can be brought into the pulpit so that congregations can move away from the problematic view of disembodied souls being taken away from the earth. If this vision takes hold in the Church, the negative view of God’s creation, and the entrenched, triumphalist, exclusive, “circle the wagons” mentality, which has been a dark spot on the Church for far too long, may begin to be chipped away. The Gospel of the Kingdom offers new life. Our Gospel proclamation ought to reflect that, as should our view of both the present and the future. This is a gift to students and pastors which in turn, I hope and pray, will be brought to bear on the leadership they bring to congregations.