Great Is Thy Faithfulness?: Reading Lamentations as Sacred Scripture

Synopsis: Lamentations is a book that has never had a place of honor at the table of Christian spirituality. This is an unfortunate state of affairs because its challenging poetry has much to offer. This volume explores the how the biblical book of Lamentations may be engaged afresh so that it can function as Holy Scripture for the ekklesia. Four main chapters consider issues in hermeneutics, exegesis, the use of Lamentations in worship, and pastoral reflections. These chapters have been supplemented by seventeen reception history studies written by an international team of Jewish and Christian scholars. These studies introduce a wide range of interpretations and uses of the book of Lamentations from throughout the history of Judaism and Christianity. They include examinations of the use of Lamentations in Isaiah 40-55, the Targum, Rashi, and contemporary Jewish thought, the Patristic period, Calvin, Jewish and Christian worship, music, Rembrandt, and psychological and feminist interpretation. Appendices include new English translations of LXX Lamentations and Targum Lamentations. Endorsements: "The question mark in this title points to the fact that sadness, loss, and grief are now the order of the day in Western culture. For that reason the book of Lamentations now draws great attention and energy among us. This book, with its long historical sweep of interpretations and its broad ecumenical reach in rereading Lamentations, is sure to become a point of reference for our continuing response to the question. The question of the title requires endless, continuing engagement among us. These pages provide guides and models for continuing answering." -Walter Brueggemann Columbia Theological Seminary "The essays in Great is Thy Faithfulness? focus upon one question: How is Lamentations a word of God? Responses are deep, rich, and many. They draw from interpretations, contemporary and ancient, Jewish and Christian, and from the arts, pastoral care, and liturgical usage. They reveal how Lamentations has been and can be embraced by believers. For pastors and classrooms, this book promises to stir up conversation, questions, and faith." -Kathleen M. O'Connor Columbia Theological Seminary Editor Biographies: Robin A. Parry is an Editor at Wipf and Stock Publishers. He is the author of a commentary on Lamentations in the Two Horizons series. Heath A. Thomas is Assistant Professor of Old Testament & Hebrew at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is author of Poetry & Theology in Lamentations: The Aesthetics of an Open Text (Sheffield Phoenix Press, forthcoming).

About the Author :
Robin Parry grew up near Liverpool before moving to Wales at the age of ten. It was in Wales that he became a Christian. In 1991, after completing his undergraduate degree in theology and some teacher training, he got married to Carol and moved to Worcester (the original one). They have been there ever since. Robin and Carol have two daughters, Hannah and Jessica, and a cat called Monty. Having been a teacher in a Sixth Form College (1991-2001), he moved into theological publishing, first at Paternoster (2001-2010) and then at Wipf and Stock (2010-), where he works as an editor. Robin's MA and PhD were in Old Testament, both degrees overseen by Professor Gordon Wenham. Robin writes books for a hobby and is trying to learn to play the cajon. Heath A. Thomas holds a PhD from the University of Gloucestershire. He is Director of PhD Studies and Associate Professor of Old Testament & Hebrew at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. He is also Fellow in Old Testament Studies at The Paideia Centre for Public Theology in Ontario, Canada. He is the author of Poetry and Theology in Lamentations and co-editor of Great is Thy Faithfulness? Toward Reading Lamentations as Christian Scripture (Pickwick Press). He has also co-edited Holy War in the Bible: Christian Morality and an Old Testament Problem. He has forthcoming volumes on Habakkuk and the Minor Prophets.