Holy Root, Holy Branches: Christian Preaching from the Old Testament - Ronald J. Allen > Reviews > From their fruits you shall know them...

Author's product rating:   

Degree of Information	High
How interesting was the book?	Mildly stimulating
How useful was it?	Very useful
Would you read it again?	Yes
Value for money	Good

Advantages:	An interesting look at the way biblical texts are read and used
Disadvantages:	-

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Ron Allen is a professor of preaching and New Testament at my seminary, Christian Theological Seminary, and the author of many books on preaching and biblical exegesis. For this volume, he teamed with John Holbert, who teaches preaching and Hebrew Bible at Perkins School of Theology, SMU. One of the perennial tasks of a preacher is to faithfully use the scriptures that came before the four gospels and rest of the Christian era writings. This books addresses that issue head-on.

One of the issues, which comes to the forefront at the very start of such an inquiry, is what to call it? There are issues with the terms ‘Old Testament’, ‘Hebrew Scriptures’, and other commonplace terms we take for granted. The assumptions built into the term ‘Old Testament’ conjure up negative images and an implicit second-class status. Thus, the authors adopt the terminology, still imperfect, of First and Second Testaments.

Attendant to this, and highlighted in the opening of the first chapter, is the tendency on behalf of Christian preachers to trivialise the First Testament, recasting it as at best less important than the Second Testament writings, and at worst, recreating a Marcion-esque trait of leaving it out altogether. Marcion recast the Bible as a small document that included only a few of the major Pauline letters and the gospel of Luke.

‘Ironically, Marcion’s ideas led to the formation of the Christian canon as we know it. He forced the church to consider the question of what should be in the canon and what should not. The church ultimately and wisely voted against Marcion and said that it could not live without the First Testament. Nonetheless, Marcion’s ghost still haunts the Christian pulpit.’

In approaching the First Testament as a document worthy of preaching, Allen and Holbert look toward images of God and God’s relationship with humanity that are able to stand alone while reflecting a message consistent with the gospel message. ‘The First Testament does not always need the Second to give it meaning and importance for the Christian community.’ Allen and Holbert give a systems of twelve steps to follow to build a credible and useful sermon from First Testament passages. (Readers of Allen’s other texts will know that he is big on step-by-step methodologies for sermon construction.) In addition to this process, the authors give various thematic approaches that could be appropriate for use of First Testament texts in preaching, such as creation, covenant and steadfast love, deliverance and justice.

Perhaps the most interesting chapter is the fifth chapter, ‘Texts that Apparently Offer Little or Nothing to the Christian Pulpit.’ To the astute reader, the word ‘apparently’ in the chapter title is an obvious give-away. Taking on texts such as regulations about circumcision, dietary restrictions, Temple rites and regulations, Allen and Holbert recommend various techniques and modes of thinking that can make them more relevant and useful. Above all, the authors caution against using these texts merely to dismiss them.

‘The preacher may be tempted to criticise or dismiss difficult passages because they do not appear to measure up to Jesus Christ or the Second Testament. This tactic is often problematic. It probably misrepresents the relationship between Christ, the Second Testament, and the First Testament. It presumes that the picture of God and religion in the Hebrew Bible is inferior to that of the church and that the First Testament is discontinuous with Christ and the church.’

Allen and Holbert then take a brief survey of the current state of biblical scholarship and criticism, particularly as it applies to the connection between the Testaments. The authors then look at five different sermons, the texts of which are presented in their entirety, with notations and important points highlighted in the midst of the sermons by commentary set off in italics.

One of the tasks of my seminary, Christian Theological Seminary, over the past few decades has been a deepening Jewish-Christian dialogue and recognition on the part of Christian preachers and leaders of their responsibility in making Jewish-Christian relations difficult. This text helps in the process of reconciliation, by helping to limit the misinterpretation and misrepresentation of the Jewish people and the Hebrew scriptures in Christian pulpits.

This is a useful text for anyone who wants to a greater understanding of the significance of the First Testament for current Christian preaching and practice.