The New Testament writers construct God as active in the world and among human beings. These pictures of God are more functional than ontological, concerned with God’s activity rather than pondering God’s being. In this insightful book Warren Carter offers both a descriptive and critical look at key “snapshots” depicting God-at-work in the New Testament and asks readers to contend with the implications of these God-portraits for life in the world today. Rather than offering a single picture of God, Carter helps readers discover the power of engaging the sometimes competing images of God-at-work in the New Testament. This critical tension can lead to a more discerning understanding of what God is up to in the world today and how individuals and communities are called to live in light of God’s good news in Jesus Christ.
"Rarely
does one exclaim, “This is a real page-turner!” when describing a book
on the New Testament—but I must say it. With his characteristic
concision and clarity, not to mention wit and conversational style,
Carter leads us on a tour of “God-at-Work” in fifteen closely-read
texts. What claims do the various texts make about God? What questions
or “red flags” do these texts raise? What effect do or should these
texts have upon us as readers today?
Carter intrepidly takes up some
of the more challenging and cryptic NT texts and asks aloud many of the
uncomfortable questions we’ve wondered about but might not have voiced
so pointedly. He does not provide tidy answers, but his approach entices
us not to give up, but rather to dive even deeper into the texts, their
world, and ours. In reading this book, I was variously educated,
entertained, challenged, and even moved." -Jaime Clark-Soles
Professor of New Testament and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
