Robert P. Gordon, ed. The God of Israel (Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 2007), xvi + 307 Pps., $110.00; Lamin Sanneh and Joel A. Carpenter, eds. The Changing Face of Christianity: Africa, the West, and the World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), xiv + 233 Pps., $25.00.
In this, the twenty-first century, the God of Israel has truly gone global. The proverbial ‘face’ of the Judeo-Christian God is no longer strictly – or even predominantly – of European likeness. In contrast, face of the Judeo-Christian God is now more alike unto a mosaic of colors, stretching as far as the East is from the West. Indeed, over the past century, Christianity’s place and role in the world have changed dramatically. In 1900, 80 percent of the world’s Christians lived in Europe and North America. Today, more than 60 percent of the world’s Christians live outside of that region. This change calls for a reexamination of the way the story of Christianity is told, the methodological tools for its analysis, and its modes of expression. However, as this review of two recent books will highlight, there is still a large degree of continuity between the ‘new face’ of the Judeo-Christian God with that which was once delivered unto the saints, to invoke the terminology of the epistle of Jude.
The first title under review is edited by Robert P. Gordon, Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Cambridge. This title brings together a set of seventeen essays divided into two main parts: one that deals with general perspectives on the monotheistic God of Israel, and the second that focuses more acutely on particular texts within the Hebrew bible. Throughout, one may garner that in the ancient Near East the God of Israel stands unique. Unlike other deities, he is the central character of the Old Testament. Collectively, the essays in this volume present the historical background against which belief in Yahweh developed and discuss aspects of the topic that remain unresolved or largely unaddressed. Some of the over-arching questions addressed are, What was he like? How does he differ from other gods of the ancient world? What difference does the worship of Yahweh make, both in the biblical era and in the present one? Taken together, these essays contribute to the ongoing discussion about the God of Israel and other deities in the ancient Near East, and the emergence of monotheistic belief and worship. In all of the essays, a multifaceted approach is adopted in which theological, historical, literary-critical, cultural, canonical, and ethical issues are taken into account.
Notably, Gordon contributes the first chapter of the text, one in which a erudite and penetrating introduction to the God of Israel is given. In the highly interesting fourth chapter, Ronald E. Clements observes that the naming of God at Sinai has much to do with the unification of various earlier Israelite traditions. In what I consider to be the best essay of the lot, Katherine Dell addresses God as creator in chapter five; she notes that the creation narrative of Genesis could be seen as a preface to the account of salvation history that formally begins with the calling of Abraham. In another intriguing essay, chapter eight, Simon Sherwin explores the possible influence that the monotheistic Persians had upon during their exile in Babylonia in the sixth century B.C.E. The ninth chapter marks the transition to particular texts and themes within the Hebrew canon with a contribution by Janet Tollington, one in which she investigates the positive role of women in fulfilling God’s purposes, particularly as child-bearers in the text of Genesis. The fifteenth chapter, written by Philip Jenson, explores the portrayal of God in Jonah; he notes that a canonical approach to the portrayal of God in Jonah does justice to its complexity and open-endedness, whereas a historical-critical approach does not.
The second book under review is edited by Lamin Sanneh (Professor of History at Yale University), Joel A. Carpenter (Provost and Professor of History at Calvin College). In between an introduction and conclusion, both written by Sanneh, there are nine distinct chapters that cover a wide range of topics, from the integration of witchcraft and Christianity in Nigeria and the peacemaking role of churches in Mozambique to the American Baptist reception of Asian Christianity. The Changing Face of Christianity offers essays addressing this sea-change and its importance for the future of Christianity. Overall, The Changing Face of Christianity shows the striking cultural differences between the new world Christianity and its western counterpart. The book is broken into two parts, the first of which covers various case studies from Africa and the African Diaspora, and a second part that evaluates the history of Christianity in modern Asia.
Taken together, these two books display the notion that the God of Israel has applicability not just Europeans, but to the whole world. The first book could be seen as the foundation for a new, global Christianity, whereas the second volume could be seen as an attestation to the idea that we need new tools and methods to expound the story of the Judeo-Christian God to not only reach, but also be effective in witnessing, to all the citizens of the world. Given that migration has now produced a truly global culture in that this new Christianity now thrives within North American and European settings, northerners need to know this faith better. At stake is our ability to be good neighbors, embodying hospitality, and perhaps even to be good Christian citizens of the world. I could easily see these two texts being used in introductory courses in world Christianity and ecumenism.
Bradford McCall, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA.