“[T]estimony gets us in the habit of standing in our own lives (as opposed to the lives we wish we had) and in the biblical text (as opposed to the world’s texts), describing what we see (as opposed to what we wish we saw) and confessing what we believe (as opposed to what we should believe). Testimony teaches us a closer reading of and a deeper grace for human life and God’s Word.”
—from the introduction
By exploring the historical, theoretical, and practical elements of the tradition of testimony, Anna Carter Florence seeks in this much-anticipated book to establish the historical and contemporary validity of women’s preaching and to introduce testimony to a new generation of preachers and teachers. She begins with the stories of three women whose preaching was often described as testimony: Anne MarburyHutchinson (1591–1643), Sarah Osborn (1714–1796) and Jarena Lee (1783–?). Then, reflecting upon the work of Paul Ricoeur, Walter Brueggemann, Rebecca Chopp, and Mary McClintock Fulkerson, she examines biblical and theological perspectives on testimony. Finally, she explores how testimony plays out in a preacher’s life, offering constructive proposals for preaching as well as helpful guidelines, direction, and exercises.
Anna Carter Florence is Assistant Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia.
