These twenty-two meditations on the songs, prayers, and stories of the Bible invite readers to imagine themselves as part of a world in which human beings may fully live into their sufferings and joys as part of a vibrant while still critically searching faith in God. Here we see prophets and poets, as well as ordinary men and women, embrace the realities of life without apology or fear. Each meditation opens with the author's fresh translation of the biblical text and concludes with a prayer that seeks the critical edge of faith as an active stance toward human existence. The movement from text to commentary to prayer reflects a basic conviction that the encounter with the Bible allows persons of many cultures, whether believers or unbelievers, to engage the deepest layers of human existence today. These reflections come out of the author's search across cultures to find a common humanity before God. Since the Bible is a non-Western book in its origins and much of its present life, interpretation of that book can both confront the particularities of Western Christianity with its own limitations and offer sources of renewal for communal and individual spirituality. These reflections aim to contribute to that larger end. ""In the academy we often talk about our responsibility to the church, but more often than not we turn back to conversations with members of our guilds. Not so with Dr. Mark Hamilton, who draws from his training to serve both pew and classroom. These essays and lovely prayers beckon to us: engage, struggle, hope, 'go forth and be sane.' In these troubled times, Hamilton has given us a great gift. I am grateful "" --Robert M. Randolph, Chaplain to the Institute, Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ""This is a magnificent work that reflects the refreshing, piercing, and lively literature of the Scripture it explores. Hamilton is an artist of the first order whose poetry-charmed prose provokes honest faith and honest doubt. One can hear Hamilton's voice in the writing. He is an author with kind, humble, witty, and intelligent character. It is very good to hear that voice in every sentence where one finds good reasons to follow this most trustworthy guide."" --David Fleer, Professor of Homiletic, Special Assistant to the President, Director of the Thomas H. Olbricht Christian Scholars' Conference, Lipscomb University Mark W. Hamilton is the Robert and Kay Onstead Professor of Old Testament at Abilene Christian University. He is the author and editor of six books, including The Body Royal (2005), The Transforming Word (2009), and Instruction Shall Go Forth: Studies in Micah and Isaiah (2014).
