An uplifting and scripturally literate reading of the subject of barrenness in Christianity.
A pastor’s study of the unexpected dimensions of barrenness in Christian Scripture.
In her nonfiction debut, Hudson explores how Christian Scripture and its later exegesis view barrenness. She looks at five barren Hebrew “matriarchs” of the Old Testament: Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel; Rachel, Jacob’s wife; Sarah, Abraham’s wife; Rebekah, Isaac’s wife; and the unnamed wife of Manoah, who was also the mother of Samson. More specifically, Hudson considers “each of the five matriarchs’ miraculous conception and birth of a son” or her “journey from barrenness to fruitfulness through God’s divine intervention.” By examining the women’s lives and including fictionalized segments in which they tell their own stories, Hudson seeks to underscore the layers of interpretation possible in understanding barrenness in the biblical world. “God is ever-new in His ways of answering our prayers,” she writes, noting what modern-day Christians can learn from these stories, including lessons about patience and humility. “Just like a farmer who plants a seed, there is a time of waiting,” she writes. “There is seed time and harvest and each season is different.” Dealing with her subjects both as individuals and as emblematic of larger themes, Hudson ends each chapter with discussion questions and space for taking notes, and she includes devotional guides for contemporary Christians dealing with infertility or another aspect of barrenness. Her interpretative tone throughout is optimistic and faith-oriented, linking her biblical stories to living parallels: “When you look on Jesus, you too will know unspeakable joy and laugh with Sarah who was barren....” Some of her readings are oddly specific; she describes Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, for instance, with the anachronistic term “post-menopausal.” But the book’s joyful tone overrides such concerns, reminding her readers that “when God is about to birth something new in you,” it will be a cause for joy.
An uplifting and scripturally literate reading of the subject of barrenness in Christianity.Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4908-8954-2
Page Count: 154
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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