Biblical Perspectives on Evangelism

By Walter Brueggemann

Book Overview

In this timely and provocative work, Walter Brueggemann applies his experience and skills in the area of biblical interpretation to the theme of evangelism. He argues for the importance of considering afresh how the Bible itself thinks and speaks about evangelism, how it enacts the dramatic claims of the "good news." Brueggemann here describes evangelism as a drama in three scenes, concerning (1) God's victory over the forces of chaos and death, (2) the announcement of that victory, and (3) its appropriation by those who hear the announcement. This same dramatic sequence, as he shows, is many time re-enacted in the Bible; the times and circumstances of the re-enactment may differ, but the essential message, as well as the structure of its presentation, remains the same.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0687412331
• ISBN13: 9780687412334
• Release Date: July 1993
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Length: 139 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Saving Those Within the... Church

I'm reading another book by Brueggemann, `Biblical Perspectives on Evangelism' I must confess when it comes to Brueggemann I don't always understanding a great deal of what I read, but at some point it does start to make sense, a great deal of patience is needed. This book is one of the most unusual books that I have read on the subject of evangelism. Let me say in advance that of the huge number of theological subjects on offer, the two that are of least interest are `evangelism' and `atonement' part of the reason I suppose for the first at least, is that strangely I have no interest whatsoever in doing this stuff. Rather disturbingly, I'm not one of those Christians who loses sleep over `the lost' and I have never experienced any sort of `passion for souls', and this has caused me a great deal of guilt and condemnation (to the extent that I've wondered about my own right to call myself a Christian). The other reason for this, is the that people always seem to be divided into one part that needs saving and the other part that doesn't matter... the rest is sort of discarded. Like pornography the only thing that matters is a limited one dimensional view of people. I'm not suggesting that my view is good it just happens to be true. Maybe we should rename it revengalism. My experience on a practical level have all been rather chilling and very embarrassing a little like doing `door-to-door' sales one braces oneself for the inevitable onslaught and justified rejection. Brueggemann argues that evangelism should first start within the Church; the focus should first be on the `insiders'. He goes on to say that we need to remember what it is that we have been `saved' from. Within the Old Testament a word that comes up very often is `remembrance' this is a covenant word (hased). The Israelites like most of us had a great tendency to forget, its human nature to slip into a sort of god forgetting amnesia. The problem for many is that remembrance is limited to a `single time event' called conversion or being `saved' instead of this being the beginning of the great adventure it becomes the end of the road, a little like standing permanently in the entrance to a large room. The whole Christian experience is sort of frozen in time to a particular time and place. Brueggemann argues that this fosters a sort of naïve illiterate view of all things spiritual. To have an experience that is frozen in time is at the same time to foster a sort of childish illiteracy. If one is still endeavouring to sustain oneself through a childhood supply of baby food years after the use by date have passed, a sort of cycle of infancy will be embraced. Through the very act of continual remembrance an adult present context is nurtured and relived, the events of the past take on a present context this (I would argue!) is the enemy of illiteracy. Its one thing to thank God for an event that took place 30 years ago, but this event needs to be brought into a present context or will face

Pastoral Visitation necessity

I used this book in one of my seminary classes on Pastoral Visitation. This book explores the Evangelistic element of Pastoral Visitation. Recommended reading.

Brueggemann Calls the Mainline Churchs Back to the Good News

Revered by many as one of our best biblical scholars, Walter Brueggemann prescribes a potent recipe for bringing Christ into the lives of the Unchurched, the Jaded Insider, and our at-risk Children. His advocacy for the narrow path between the legalistic Christian Right and the near Godless Secular Humanists comes, not from the gospels of the New Testament, but from the experiences of the Hebrew nation portrayed in the Old Testament. He shows us that maintaining a strong relationship with God was just as difficult for a thriving, aquisitive culture 3000 years ago as it it today. My current interest is in how to deal with the lack of support for spreading the "good news" in the old mainline churches in the Washington, DC metro area. I am a Presbyterian elder who is frustrated by the political, rather than biblical, focus of many members of our congregations. The first chapter is tough reading, lots of heavy theology terms. They are necessary to lay a foundation for the following chapters which contain the "meat" of his recipes. Each of the three covers one of the aforementioned groups. Because of my interest in the "Insiders", I found the last chapter on techniques for keeping our children close to Christ to contain much that also applies to adult believers-including myself. In the end, Brueggemann shows that one cannot choose a life in a love-of-neighbor covenant without giving up the anti-neighbor culture that surrounds us. The Christian church in America must "recover the nerve (courage and freedom) to say unambiguously that embrace of the news is pervasively transformative." He is very precise with his words. You can read it in an afternoon, but you will probably come back to it many times if you are struggling with issues of modern Christian life. Note: I knew of Brueggemann from sermon references but was drawn to this book by his commmentary in Bill Moyers PBS series "Genesis" and its companion book-still available I think. He has also written the definative theological commentary on Genesis.