Jeremiah: The World, the Wound of God

By Daniel Berrigan

In this powerful meditation for our times, Daniel Berrigan continues his spiritual and social commentaries on the Hebrew prophets by wrestling with the hapless hero Jeremiah. "For me, for many years," says Berrigan, "Jeremiah has been that one man" who could best serve as a concrete sign of Yahweh. In his visions, condemnations, and summons, Jeremiah speaks to us, Berrigan shows, of sanctity andsanctimony, of power and its perversion, of people feverishly active, but morally confused and directionless. Thundering away--for more than forty years--Jeremiah's shouts seem lost in contrary winds, yet their consolation and desolation are beautifully captured in Berrigan's deeply personal, poetic, and prophetic book. Berrigan's fiery appreciation of Jeremiah is "spiritual reading" of the searing sort, for persons and groups to feel anew the biblical flame for social justice, religious courage, and personal witness.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800631382
• ISBN13: 9780800631383
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Inspiration, not commentary

Daniel Berrigan's Jeremiah is not so much a commentary as a fiery meditation. The Jesuit priest and prominent social activist know the biblical scholarship but often dismisses it as missing the point. He interprets the prophet's poetry through poetry. He interprets prose as both story and parable. Thus, although the book is arranged to follow the biblical text, Berrigan's writing adopts a free-flowing associative style. He flies out on excursions wherever the Spirit leads. His ultimate interest is not scholarly but inspirational, connecting Jeremiah to Christian witness in the world today. If you're looking for a commentary on Jeremiah, this is not your book. Use Mackay's comprehensive verse-by-verse analysis (2 volumes) or try Brueggemann's work. But if these scholarly works leave you cold, pick up Berrigan for an unapologetically Christian activist's interpretive inspiration.

Really Good

I dont know what the above guy is talking about; the 70s and bongo drums? This is a great book for anyone who sees suffering and unecessary loss of life as paramount in their moral outlook. I have found Berrigan to be one of the best social thinkers of our time.

Daniel Berrigan, disturber of soporific peace

Jeremiah: The World, the Wound of God,is another In daniel Berrigans'series on "old Testament" prophets. His exegesis is not limited to Biblical times, as he attempts [with great success] to connect Jeremiahs' time with ours. Weapons of mass destruction,,aids,poverty,dicrimination are all still with us, despite what another reviewer wrote,and Fr.Berrigan shows us Jeremiahs reaction to like minded situations, and by default, ours. The book is an indictment of apathy,of governments and churches and NGO's ,etc. and corpoartions athat watch idly by ,wringing their collective hands, as innocents suffer.And Die. If you are willing to be challenged,to be unsettled,to look at things differently,then buy this book and savor it.Highly recommended,even more so in the present climate.