DEALING WITH VIOLENCE AND WAR IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

In a time when religious warfare is on the rise and the most dangerous and violent social movements seem to be religiously motivated, this explanation of war in the Hebrew Scriptures meets an urgent pastoral need. Christians and Jews alike need to seriously reflect on the nature and meaning of warfare in the Bible. This is one subject that bishops, priests, deacons and teachers have a moral obligation to take seriously. The soul of humanity and our very survival are at stake. Lawrence Boadt addresses the issue in five poignant presentations, War and Violence in the History of the Old Testament, The Divine Warrior Tradition, The Prophetic Traditions on Violence, Peace and Conflict in the Wisdom Tradition of Israel, and finally Anger, War and peace—divine and human in the Psalms and New Testament. With impeccable scholarship and riveting clarity Boadt takes the listener on a journey stand the ancient world and war and God’s involvement in the desperate situation of the human struggle for survival because it is exactly the same today. Though focusing on the Old Testament Boadt shows how this ancient tradition impacted the New Testament and the life and prayer of Jesus himself. This is more than an academic study, it is ultimately an invitation to prayer “delivers us from evil. Amen.”