Millard Lind. The Sound of Sheer Silence and the Killing State

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Millard Lind. The Sound of Sheer Silence and the Killing State: The Death Penalty and the Bible. Cascadia Publishing House, 2004.

This book is a fitting conclusion to the career of Mennonite Old Testament scholar Millard Lind. Lind has written several important books on the Old Testament and ethical issues such as war and peace and the use of the law. This book on the death penalty, published when Lind was 86 years old, is a nice capstone.

Focusing on three biblical prophets–Moses, Elijah, and Jesus–Lind presents a strong case for see covenant love, not retribution, as the heart of Torah. As with his other writings, especially Yahweh is a Warrior: The Theology of Warfare in the Old Testament, Lind’s strength here lies in his careful reading of the texts. He asks penetrating questions that allow him to see the peace-oriented message in the challenging parts of the Bible that is too often missed in conventional interpretations.

This book does not present a wide-ranging argument directly engaging contemporary issues (two helpful books by the late lay biblical scholar Gardner Hanks [Against the Death Penalty and Capital Punishment and the Bible] are more socially engaged). Lind’s focus is more narrow and its achievement more modest. But we should be most grateful that Lind was moved to produce this final testament. For Christians wrestling with their response to the death penalty, this book will be a useful resource.

D. Seiple and Frederick Weidmann, eds. Enigmas and Powers

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D. Seiple and Frederick W. Weidmann, eds. Enigmas and Powers: Engaging the Work of Walter Wink for Classroom, Church, and World. Pickwick Publications, 2008.

Walter Wink has made a tremendous contribution to biblical studies, peace activism, and spirituality in his career at Union and Auburn seminaries. This short book contains 24 brief statements in tribute to Wink’s thought and life.  Most of the papers were presented at a May 2005 celebration of Wink upon his retirement from Auburn.

It is nice to have this collection to get a sense of the breadth of Wink’s influence. Several prominent scholars appear–such as Marcus Borg, Bruce Chilton, Joseph Hough, Amy-Jill Levine, Jack Miles, Robert Raines, and Wayne Rollins. 

Most of the pieces are quite short, so the book works much better as a series of “toasts” than as analyses uncovering or extending the depths of the implications of Wink’s scholarship. [Full disclosure: I have a small contribution in this volume, “Walter Wink and Peace Theology.” I have co-edited a more thorough tribute volume to Wink, Transforming the Powers: Peace, Justice, and the Domination System.]

Triumph of the Lamb: Conclusion—The Meaning of Revelation for Today

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the conclusion to the commentary from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).

Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation Twenty-One and Twenty-Two

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the commentary’s discussion of chapters twenty-one and twenty-two from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).

Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation Nineteen and Twenty

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the commentary’s discussion of chapters nineteen and twenty from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).

Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation Seventeen and Eighteen

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the commentary’s discussion of chapters seventeen and eighteen from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).

Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation Fifteen and Sixteen

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the commentary’s discussion of chapters fifteen and sixteen from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).

Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation Thirteen and Fourteen

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the commentary’s discussion of chapters thirteen and fourteen from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).

Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation Eleven and Twelve

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the commentary’s discussion of chapters eleven and twelve from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).

Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation Eight, Nine, and Ten

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the commentary’s discussion of chapters eight, nine, and ten from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).