Story, Ritual, Prophecy, Wisdom
Reading and Teaching the Bible Today
- Discipleship & Christian Education
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Published: 2024
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Publisher's Description
Christianity Today Book Awards - Bible and Devotional Finalist (2025) Discover how studying the Bible can renew your church community. How do we teach the Bible in a way that makes a real difference in our students’ lives and our communities? Too often, biblical introductions treat Scripture as a mere historical artifact. Mark W. Hamilton and Samjung Kang-Hamilton combine their decades of experience in theological and religious education to devise a new way to teach Scripture that brings out its life-giving qualities. The authors show how Scripture has four modes: story, ritual, prophecy, and wisdom. With an eye toward spiritual formation, the authors explore examples of each of the four genres within the Bible and show how they address real needs in the life of the church today. They also recommend how to incorporate contemporary tools like digital media alongside art, music, and other practices to draw wisdom from Scripture. Combining multicultural sensitivity with ecumenical spirit, this guidebook is ideal for educators and pastors seeking to renew their own Christian communities through biblical education.
Endorsements (4)
“This book presents us with a clear and captivating fusion of mainstream biblical scholarship and up-to-date pedagogy. The authors, each with solid experience as teachers in university and congregational settings, offer a handle on hearing and communicating the biblical message for all those who are beyond the proof-texting stage or would like to be. The book is a gift to the academy, the church, and the world.”
“I highly recommend Story, Ritual, Prophecy, Wisdom by Mark Hamilton and Samjung Kang-Hamilton. Written in a clear and engaging style and drawing upon some of the best of classic and contemporary scholarship in religious education, it offers much practical wisdom for effective education in Christian faith for our time.”
“This book asks us to think simultaneously about what the Bible is, how it shapes us, and how we might teach it in a way that is responsive to its own dynamics. By refusing to separate the subject matter and the mode of instruction, the authors invite us to imagine afresh how the Bible might inhabit our teaching in ways that lead to wisdom.”
“Mark Hamilton and Samjung Kung-Hamilton masterfully survey the world of Scripture surfacing the formative work of narratives, the transcendent power of ritual, the imagination and hope of the prophetic voice, and the potency of the practice of wisdom. Ministers and teachers of the church will find this book a lively and insightful source for conversation and action. Today’s congregations need to retrieve the power of the Bible for sake of the church’s witness to the world and this book will fuel that indispensable work!”
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