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The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment
The Old Testament comprises the majority of the Christian Bible and provides much of the language of Christian faith. However, many churches tend to neglect this crucial part of Scripture, leading to the loss of the Old Testament as a resource for faith and life.
This timely book details a number of ways the Old Testament is showing signs of decay, demise, and imminent death in the church. Brent Strawn analyzes the Old Testament's important role in Christian faith and practice and criticizes current misunderstandings that contribute to its decline, offering a way forward for all students of the Bible.
336 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2017
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214 people want to read
About the author
Brent A. Strawn
30 books16 followersBrent A. Strawn (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is professor of Old Testament at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia. He has authored or coedited various volumes and is on the editorial board of Catholic Biblical Quarterly and Journal of Biblical Literature.
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October 3, 2017
Strawn's book is certainly... interesting. It both disappoints and exceeds my initial expectations of what he might accomplish. Strawn utilizes a strong linguistic analogy: the Old Testament is compared to a language, and the church today (as well as its critics) is, in large part, forgetting how to speak it, thus risking language death. In this, he is undoubtedly correct, but there are three problems here.
First, his evidence for the condition of Old Testament 'language' in today's church is largely drawn from four sources: (1) an assessment of how poorly all religious groups scored on the 2010 US Religious Knowledge Survey; (2) the infrequency of OT-centric messages in several twentieth-century series titled Best Sermons, which were all but exclusively mainline in origin (with some Roman Catholic and Jewish contributions); (3) the way the psalms are handled in mainline hymnody; and (4) the manner in which the Old Testament plays second fiddle in the Revised Common Lectionary. This is the evidence he brings to bear for the current state of the Old Testament within Christian circles, but glaringly, these are overwhelmingly concerned with Mainline Protestantism. That's not to say that low-church or evangelical circles are immune from the phenomena Strawn detects; but would it really have killed him to actually provide some evidence pertinent to it - say, by a random sampling of sermons from churches belonging to denominations affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals, to complement the way Strawn utilizes the *Best Sermons* series?
A second concern here is - well, as a general rule, one has a right to be leery of linguistic analogies pressed too far when it comes to matters of religion, because there have been far too many thinkers (and I suppose I'm using the term a bit loosely there) who apply it in such a way as to ignore the truth-claims of any religious system - it reduces any given religion to mere functionality, a way of talking about the world, but a way no more 'apt' or 'inapt,' much less 'true' or 'false,' than any other. Strawn does not explicitly take it in this direction, but neither does he caution against this use of the analogy - yet early on, he approvingly quotes from Marcus Borg, who (if I recall correctly) is among those who make just such use of linguistic analogies. A better author than Strawn would have, at the very least, included some caveats. (I'll add, while I'm criticizing Strawn's reliance on other authors, that he is apparently more of a Brueggemann fanboy than is altogether healthy.)
Third, within the first couple chapters, it becomes painfully obvious that Strawn takes his analogy far too seriously, to the point of numbing most readers' minds with extensive discourses about language growth, language change, language contact, language death, and all manner of minutiae regarding linguistics.
And yet, I have to admit, a fair deal of this - while certainly still overdone - yields plenty of payout later. For in the second major section of the book, Strawn takes these tools and brings them to bear on three "signs of morbidity": the New Atheists (exemplified here by Dawkins), "Marcionites Old and New" (exemplified first by the original Marcion and secondarily by Adolph von Harnack), and "Happiologists" (exemplified by Joel Osteen). Strawn is still overly generous to all three (especially Dawkins), and yet some of his critiques are quite incisive. In the end, he concludes that both the New Atheists and the New Marcionites are speaking a mere pidgin - or, as Strawn says it elsewhere in the book, they are conversant in 'Old Testament' only to the point of baby talk, stringing together a certain subset of OT lexemes ('Holy war'! 'Violence'! 'Jealousy'!) in ways seldom more sophisticated than 'Cow go moo' (and, I'd add, often in ways about as accurate as 'Car go baa'). But even more dire is the plight of the Happiologists a la Osteen, for they offer no mere pidgin but a creole - the emergence of a new language in which the original OT 'language' is a minor substrate - and this, Strawn notes, is a far more difficult matter to remedy. Strawn scores many striking points in all three of these chapters (even if, as I said, he still goes more gently than he ought).
The third section is again more of a mixed bag - but mixed between excellence and banality. Here Strawn attempts to set forth a path to recovery, through two key lenses: the only arguable case of reversing language death (i.e., the restoration of Hebrew as a functional vernacular) and the lessons Deuteronomy offers, combined with known studies on second-language acquisition.
He brings this largely to bear well, and yet what he offers ends up being somewhat mundane: the importance of catechesis, of preachers and songwriters returning to the Old Testament (and here I would pause and observe that Strawn sounded a blaringly sour note when he urged preachers not to connect Christ with the Old Testament - Strawn, having just gotten through a chapter engaging critically with Marcionism Old and New, ought be too well aware of the structures of Christian theology to make such a jejune blunder as he does here!), and especially the central role of children learning the language.
Nothing particularly spectacular or novel here, and not necessarily confidence-inspiring. But perhaps that is in large part because of a glaring absence: Strawn nowhere sketches a portrait of what a person or community fluently speaking 'Old Testament' (and, of course, 'New Testament' - Strawn urges us to be bilingual there) would actually look like! He hints at some of the practices that would lead in that direction, but nowhere gives a picture of a healthy OT-speaking believer or church. Without a sense of what a generation fluent in 'Old Testament' might be like, how can we be sufficiently inspired to strive toward it? Or how can we properly assess Strawn's entire "diagnosis and recommended treatment" without knowing more about his vision for our healthy life? Here, then, is the final failure that makes Strawn's book speak more in whimpering stutters than in confident enunciation.
But one final kudos, as a review postscript: Just looking at the pleasing style, format, and thoroughness of his bibliography is enough to induce a happy sigh of contentment. He almost gets a bonus star to his rating just for that - it's really quite lovely. Nice font, too, for what that's worth.
First, his evidence for the condition of Old Testament 'language' in today's church is largely drawn from four sources: (1) an assessment of how poorly all religious groups scored on the 2010 US Religious Knowledge Survey; (2) the infrequency of OT-centric messages in several twentieth-century series titled Best Sermons, which were all but exclusively mainline in origin (with some Roman Catholic and Jewish contributions); (3) the way the psalms are handled in mainline hymnody; and (4) the manner in which the Old Testament plays second fiddle in the Revised Common Lectionary. This is the evidence he brings to bear for the current state of the Old Testament within Christian circles, but glaringly, these are overwhelmingly concerned with Mainline Protestantism. That's not to say that low-church or evangelical circles are immune from the phenomena Strawn detects; but would it really have killed him to actually provide some evidence pertinent to it - say, by a random sampling of sermons from churches belonging to denominations affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals, to complement the way Strawn utilizes the *Best Sermons* series?
A second concern here is - well, as a general rule, one has a right to be leery of linguistic analogies pressed too far when it comes to matters of religion, because there have been far too many thinkers (and I suppose I'm using the term a bit loosely there) who apply it in such a way as to ignore the truth-claims of any religious system - it reduces any given religion to mere functionality, a way of talking about the world, but a way no more 'apt' or 'inapt,' much less 'true' or 'false,' than any other. Strawn does not explicitly take it in this direction, but neither does he caution against this use of the analogy - yet early on, he approvingly quotes from Marcus Borg, who (if I recall correctly) is among those who make just such use of linguistic analogies. A better author than Strawn would have, at the very least, included some caveats. (I'll add, while I'm criticizing Strawn's reliance on other authors, that he is apparently more of a Brueggemann fanboy than is altogether healthy.)
Third, within the first couple chapters, it becomes painfully obvious that Strawn takes his analogy far too seriously, to the point of numbing most readers' minds with extensive discourses about language growth, language change, language contact, language death, and all manner of minutiae regarding linguistics.
And yet, I have to admit, a fair deal of this - while certainly still overdone - yields plenty of payout later. For in the second major section of the book, Strawn takes these tools and brings them to bear on three "signs of morbidity": the New Atheists (exemplified here by Dawkins), "Marcionites Old and New" (exemplified first by the original Marcion and secondarily by Adolph von Harnack), and "Happiologists" (exemplified by Joel Osteen). Strawn is still overly generous to all three (especially Dawkins), and yet some of his critiques are quite incisive. In the end, he concludes that both the New Atheists and the New Marcionites are speaking a mere pidgin - or, as Strawn says it elsewhere in the book, they are conversant in 'Old Testament' only to the point of baby talk, stringing together a certain subset of OT lexemes ('Holy war'! 'Violence'! 'Jealousy'!) in ways seldom more sophisticated than 'Cow go moo' (and, I'd add, often in ways about as accurate as 'Car go baa'). But even more dire is the plight of the Happiologists a la Osteen, for they offer no mere pidgin but a creole - the emergence of a new language in which the original OT 'language' is a minor substrate - and this, Strawn notes, is a far more difficult matter to remedy. Strawn scores many striking points in all three of these chapters (even if, as I said, he still goes more gently than he ought).
The third section is again more of a mixed bag - but mixed between excellence and banality. Here Strawn attempts to set forth a path to recovery, through two key lenses: the only arguable case of reversing language death (i.e., the restoration of Hebrew as a functional vernacular) and the lessons Deuteronomy offers, combined with known studies on second-language acquisition.
He brings this largely to bear well, and yet what he offers ends up being somewhat mundane: the importance of catechesis, of preachers and songwriters returning to the Old Testament (and here I would pause and observe that Strawn sounded a blaringly sour note when he urged preachers not to connect Christ with the Old Testament - Strawn, having just gotten through a chapter engaging critically with Marcionism Old and New, ought be too well aware of the structures of Christian theology to make such a jejune blunder as he does here!), and especially the central role of children learning the language.
Nothing particularly spectacular or novel here, and not necessarily confidence-inspiring. But perhaps that is in large part because of a glaring absence: Strawn nowhere sketches a portrait of what a person or community fluently speaking 'Old Testament' (and, of course, 'New Testament' - Strawn urges us to be bilingual there) would actually look like! He hints at some of the practices that would lead in that direction, but nowhere gives a picture of a healthy OT-speaking believer or church. Without a sense of what a generation fluent in 'Old Testament' might be like, how can we be sufficiently inspired to strive toward it? Or how can we properly assess Strawn's entire "diagnosis and recommended treatment" without knowing more about his vision for our healthy life? Here, then, is the final failure that makes Strawn's book speak more in whimpering stutters than in confident enunciation.
But one final kudos, as a review postscript: Just looking at the pleasing style, format, and thoroughness of his bibliography is enough to induce a happy sigh of contentment. He almost gets a bonus star to his rating just for that - it's really quite lovely. Nice font, too, for what that's worth.
November 24, 2019
Really 4.5 stars, but I rounded up.
August 31, 2024
Brent Strawn’s 2017 book The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment represents an attempt to counteract the perceived death of Old Testament literacy in the Christian community. Strawn, a professor of Old Testament studies, presents a well-researched argument, informative not only for his scholarly peers but accessible also for those in ministry and even interested laypersons. Through an extended analogy with language, The Old Testament Is Dying makes the case that the Hebrew Bible has lost its theological place in the Church before offering possible solutions to this urgent problem.
Strawn organizes his book into three sections of three chapters each: The Old Testament as a Dying Language, The Signs of Morbidity, and Path to Recovery. In the first section, he begins by stating his thesis that the Old Testament is dying as a guiding and authoritative voice in the Church and then sets out his plan to analyze this death through comparison to the growth and death of languages. He explains this connection in that “the Old Testament, like any other piece of literature or art… [is] a way of constructing reality, a way of understanding the world” (8). In the second chapter, Strawn lays out the evidence for his thesis. His first proof comes from the PewResearch study inspired by Stephen Prothero’s Religious Literacy in which Americans demonstrated poor biblical literacy and knowledge of the biblical story despite claiming religion’s high importance for their lives. His following three evidences are concerned with the dwindling exposure to Old Testament texts that congregants are receiving via sermons, hymns, and liturgies. In the third chapter, Strawn returns to his spoken language analogy, explaining the process of “pidginization” and “creolization” in languages and describing how the Old Testament is presently undergoing pidginization.
In the second section, The Signs of Morbidity, Strawn outlines some of the major ways in which the Old Testament is being pidginized or neutered. His first example is in the work of the New Atheists, particularly Richard Dawkins, who attack a simplified, un-nuanced version of the Bible. His next example is that of Marcionism and its modern sympathizers; for these thinkers, a certain subsection of Scripture is seen as authoritative. Strawn ends the section with a critique of those preaching the prosperity gospel, a hybrid (creole) version of the biblical message and capitalism.
In his final section of the book, Strawn turns to some possible solutions. However, he first prefaces this discussion by describing the difficulty of reviving a dead language and the need to approach relearning the Old Testament like learning a second language. (He also spends a portion of chapter seven giving further evidence for the death of the Old Testament.) He then moves on to some of the major principles needed for revitalizing the Hebrew Bible in Christian circles, using Deuteronomy as a template. Strawn concludes with a discussion of four more ways to fix the problem: regular use of the Old Testament, further training, intentional use, and recognizing it as a second language. He adds to this that appealing to the New Testament’s use of the Old will be counter-productive. He ends the book by describing the changes we should expect in this process and admitting that the task will be difficult but the results worthwhile.
With this summary in mind, it is worth commending Strawn’s efforts. In this work he has addressed an important issue facing the Church that will only grow worse if unchecked. He first demonstrates this issue in the general biblical illiteracy of American Christianity. While a pervasive unfamiliarity with the basic stories of the Bible—New and Old Testaments—is more perceptible in some Christian groups than in others (e.g. mainline protestants display greater biblical illiteracy than do evangelicals), in every case it is clear that Christians are not familiar with the foundational narrative and facts of the faith. Moreover, Strawn gives evidence of what many ministers had already feared: Christians are neglecting the Old Testament most of all. Many Christian leaders have worried that the Church has swung too far from the faith’s ancient origins in favor of focusing on the life of Jesus and writings of the apostles. Besides obscuring the context of the gospel, it is feared that this neglect exacerbates a growing emphasis on God’s mercy and grace over his justice and holiness. By choosing to study this trend, Strawn has placed his finger on an undeniably important pulse for American Christianity.
Another strength of Strawn’s work is his in-depth analysis through the metaphor of language. Though the shortcomings of this method will be addressed below, the nature of language in the mind as well as the social trends it is susceptible to makes it in many ways an ideal parallel to the presence and use of the Old Testament in Christian circles. The wide-scale and fundamental changes necessary to save something as expansive as a language are the same sort of changes necessary to mold the social standing of a whole canon of texts in the eyes of a religious body.
Lastly, Strawn should be praised for his practical and creative ideas to address this issue. Looking to Deuteronomy is a clear example of utilizing the Bible’s own wisdom on how to handle similar situations. Also, his idea to incorporate the Old Testament more often into congregational singing (an idea stemming from his analysis of Deuteronomy) is not only a surprisingly insightful suggestion but it will also resonate with younger audiences and ministers looking for new, organic ways to curb the decline of Hebrew Scripture in the Church.
With that said, Strawn’s The Old Testament Is Dying suffers from some major issues. On the most superficial level, the book struggles literarily. While it uses some jargon and gets fairly technical with its primary metaphor, the book seems to be aimed at ministers and serious nonprofessionals. Possibly on account of this intended audience, Strawn over-explains himself and makes frequent use (almost to a painful degree) of parenthetical remarks. More serious to the impact and enjoyment of his writing is his haphazard use of metaphor. In addition to the already mentioned extended metaphor of languages, Strawn also utilizes the metaphor of disease as suggested in the full title. Besides this overabundance, Strawn dedicates a sizable portion of his book’s length to describing the intricacy of language death and development, something that—as interesting as it is—readers were not bargaining for.
On a more consequential level, Strawn seems to struggle most in his middle section, not keeping in mind the ultimate goal of his work. Most naturally, the second section would follow the first’s proving that there is a problem by describing the consequences of the problem. However, Strawn meanders here, attacking the various vices of his three subjects—the New Atheists, Marcionites, and “Happiologists”—only occasionally bringing up how these groups exemplify a neglect of the Old Testament. Too often in this middle section and the rest of the book, Strawn confuses his thesis that the Old Testament is being neglected with biblical illiteracy in general and digresses toward that point. It should also be pointed out that the subjects of this section are relatively easy targets. More than enough ink has been used to condemn or criticize the work of the Richard Dawkins, Marcion (the heretic), and Joel Osteen. While readers will follow the connection—that the former two have pidginized the Bible and the latter has helped create a creole version—it seems that a discussion of how the majority of Christians are cheated by specifically neglecting the Old Testament would be more beneficial.
The last major problem worth discussing is the foundation of Strawn’s argument. Only one chapter (chapter 2) is dedicated to proving Strawn’s claim that the Old Testament is dying in Christian circles. Though he does briefly return to the subject at the end of chapter 7, such a bold claim demands more evidence. Moreover, the evidence he does give, with the exception of the PewResearch survey which focuses on general biblical literacy, is concerned more with ministerial and liturgical focus. While I personally suspect it to be true, a book of this sort should seek to prove that laypersons are neglecting the Old Testament in a significant way. In addition, Strawn assumes a central part of the discussion: the Old Testament’s relation to the New. While most scholars and ministers would surely agree with him in theory, at least some amount of discussion should be dedicated to claiming that the Old Testament deserves as much attention as the New. Said another way: there is a reason that the Old Testament has been neglected in favor of the New Testament; Strawn owes it to his readers to discuss why that is and why that trend should be reversed.
In The Old Testament Is Dying, Brent Strawn takes up a worthwhile case: the neglect and potential death of over half of the Christian canon. To this end, he employs an analogy of languages, seeking to apply insight from how human languages decline, potentially die, and are sometimes revitalized to better help Christians address the stated problem. While the prose of the book suffers at times and the argument often digresses from its intended goal, Strawn’s work at least proves interesting and tackles an important issue. His suggested for countering the tide should be heard and followed if Christians are to restore the Old Testament to its rightful place in their tradition and faith.
Strawn organizes his book into three sections of three chapters each: The Old Testament as a Dying Language, The Signs of Morbidity, and Path to Recovery. In the first section, he begins by stating his thesis that the Old Testament is dying as a guiding and authoritative voice in the Church and then sets out his plan to analyze this death through comparison to the growth and death of languages. He explains this connection in that “the Old Testament, like any other piece of literature or art… [is] a way of constructing reality, a way of understanding the world” (8). In the second chapter, Strawn lays out the evidence for his thesis. His first proof comes from the PewResearch study inspired by Stephen Prothero’s Religious Literacy in which Americans demonstrated poor biblical literacy and knowledge of the biblical story despite claiming religion’s high importance for their lives. His following three evidences are concerned with the dwindling exposure to Old Testament texts that congregants are receiving via sermons, hymns, and liturgies. In the third chapter, Strawn returns to his spoken language analogy, explaining the process of “pidginization” and “creolization” in languages and describing how the Old Testament is presently undergoing pidginization.
In the second section, The Signs of Morbidity, Strawn outlines some of the major ways in which the Old Testament is being pidginized or neutered. His first example is in the work of the New Atheists, particularly Richard Dawkins, who attack a simplified, un-nuanced version of the Bible. His next example is that of Marcionism and its modern sympathizers; for these thinkers, a certain subsection of Scripture is seen as authoritative. Strawn ends the section with a critique of those preaching the prosperity gospel, a hybrid (creole) version of the biblical message and capitalism.
In his final section of the book, Strawn turns to some possible solutions. However, he first prefaces this discussion by describing the difficulty of reviving a dead language and the need to approach relearning the Old Testament like learning a second language. (He also spends a portion of chapter seven giving further evidence for the death of the Old Testament.) He then moves on to some of the major principles needed for revitalizing the Hebrew Bible in Christian circles, using Deuteronomy as a template. Strawn concludes with a discussion of four more ways to fix the problem: regular use of the Old Testament, further training, intentional use, and recognizing it as a second language. He adds to this that appealing to the New Testament’s use of the Old will be counter-productive. He ends the book by describing the changes we should expect in this process and admitting that the task will be difficult but the results worthwhile.
With this summary in mind, it is worth commending Strawn’s efforts. In this work he has addressed an important issue facing the Church that will only grow worse if unchecked. He first demonstrates this issue in the general biblical illiteracy of American Christianity. While a pervasive unfamiliarity with the basic stories of the Bible—New and Old Testaments—is more perceptible in some Christian groups than in others (e.g. mainline protestants display greater biblical illiteracy than do evangelicals), in every case it is clear that Christians are not familiar with the foundational narrative and facts of the faith. Moreover, Strawn gives evidence of what many ministers had already feared: Christians are neglecting the Old Testament most of all. Many Christian leaders have worried that the Church has swung too far from the faith’s ancient origins in favor of focusing on the life of Jesus and writings of the apostles. Besides obscuring the context of the gospel, it is feared that this neglect exacerbates a growing emphasis on God’s mercy and grace over his justice and holiness. By choosing to study this trend, Strawn has placed his finger on an undeniably important pulse for American Christianity.
Another strength of Strawn’s work is his in-depth analysis through the metaphor of language. Though the shortcomings of this method will be addressed below, the nature of language in the mind as well as the social trends it is susceptible to makes it in many ways an ideal parallel to the presence and use of the Old Testament in Christian circles. The wide-scale and fundamental changes necessary to save something as expansive as a language are the same sort of changes necessary to mold the social standing of a whole canon of texts in the eyes of a religious body.
Lastly, Strawn should be praised for his practical and creative ideas to address this issue. Looking to Deuteronomy is a clear example of utilizing the Bible’s own wisdom on how to handle similar situations. Also, his idea to incorporate the Old Testament more often into congregational singing (an idea stemming from his analysis of Deuteronomy) is not only a surprisingly insightful suggestion but it will also resonate with younger audiences and ministers looking for new, organic ways to curb the decline of Hebrew Scripture in the Church.
With that said, Strawn’s The Old Testament Is Dying suffers from some major issues. On the most superficial level, the book struggles literarily. While it uses some jargon and gets fairly technical with its primary metaphor, the book seems to be aimed at ministers and serious nonprofessionals. Possibly on account of this intended audience, Strawn over-explains himself and makes frequent use (almost to a painful degree) of parenthetical remarks. More serious to the impact and enjoyment of his writing is his haphazard use of metaphor. In addition to the already mentioned extended metaphor of languages, Strawn also utilizes the metaphor of disease as suggested in the full title. Besides this overabundance, Strawn dedicates a sizable portion of his book’s length to describing the intricacy of language death and development, something that—as interesting as it is—readers were not bargaining for.
On a more consequential level, Strawn seems to struggle most in his middle section, not keeping in mind the ultimate goal of his work. Most naturally, the second section would follow the first’s proving that there is a problem by describing the consequences of the problem. However, Strawn meanders here, attacking the various vices of his three subjects—the New Atheists, Marcionites, and “Happiologists”—only occasionally bringing up how these groups exemplify a neglect of the Old Testament. Too often in this middle section and the rest of the book, Strawn confuses his thesis that the Old Testament is being neglected with biblical illiteracy in general and digresses toward that point. It should also be pointed out that the subjects of this section are relatively easy targets. More than enough ink has been used to condemn or criticize the work of the Richard Dawkins, Marcion (the heretic), and Joel Osteen. While readers will follow the connection—that the former two have pidginized the Bible and the latter has helped create a creole version—it seems that a discussion of how the majority of Christians are cheated by specifically neglecting the Old Testament would be more beneficial.
The last major problem worth discussing is the foundation of Strawn’s argument. Only one chapter (chapter 2) is dedicated to proving Strawn’s claim that the Old Testament is dying in Christian circles. Though he does briefly return to the subject at the end of chapter 7, such a bold claim demands more evidence. Moreover, the evidence he does give, with the exception of the PewResearch survey which focuses on general biblical literacy, is concerned more with ministerial and liturgical focus. While I personally suspect it to be true, a book of this sort should seek to prove that laypersons are neglecting the Old Testament in a significant way. In addition, Strawn assumes a central part of the discussion: the Old Testament’s relation to the New. While most scholars and ministers would surely agree with him in theory, at least some amount of discussion should be dedicated to claiming that the Old Testament deserves as much attention as the New. Said another way: there is a reason that the Old Testament has been neglected in favor of the New Testament; Strawn owes it to his readers to discuss why that is and why that trend should be reversed.
In The Old Testament Is Dying, Brent Strawn takes up a worthwhile case: the neglect and potential death of over half of the Christian canon. To this end, he employs an analogy of languages, seeking to apply insight from how human languages decline, potentially die, and are sometimes revitalized to better help Christians address the stated problem. While the prose of the book suffers at times and the argument often digresses from its intended goal, Strawn’s work at least proves interesting and tackles an important issue. His suggested for countering the tide should be heard and followed if Christians are to restore the Old Testament to its rightful place in their tradition and faith.
August 25, 2020
Stimulating, if technical at times. His dire diagnosis comes from the mainline vantage point, yet likely holds true for other communities as well, with only rare or localized exceptions. The prescriptions in chapter 9, though, are worthwhile for any church, though dosage should vary based on severity.
Teach your children to sing the Psalms. All of them.
Teach your children to sing the Psalms. All of them.
Read
July 18, 2020Clever use of analogy. Strawn likens the Bible to the use of language. And sometimes languages die for a lack of fluent speakers. Heavily influenced by Walter Brueggemann, Strawn offers a well researched analysis and a prognosis for language recovery. Fairly academic, yet somewhat practical in conclusion.
A few key takeaways for life and ministry.
1. Practice memorizing Scripture.
2. The old and new testaments are two parts of one plant.
3. A disagreement - The survival of the Bible needs no help of ours.
Continue to memorize Scripture.
I love how Strawn’s book uses language as a metaphor for the Bible. Once the use of a language is reduced and abbreviated fluency is quickly lost. And on page 217, Strawn reminds us that “Fluency is a lifelong project, precisely because speaking a language is a lifelong practice.” So what a great reason to continue memorizing Scripture. Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth.” He doesn’t say from your mind, but from your mouth. Memorize it and speak it all throughout the day. Speak it and keep speaking it. This means constant immersion in the text. Page 221 lists a bunch of things required to be a user of language and is worth visiting for years to come. Churches have a need for fully fluent ministers who can vary their instruction depending upon their context (218).
The Old and New Testaments are two parts of one plant.
I found Strawn’s section entitled, “On Bothness” to be helpful in conceiving that the two testaments are different but of the same essence – like a flower and a stem. How can you have a flower without a stem? And why would you have a stem without a flower? These are two parts of the same plant. Accordingly, how can you have a NT without the Old. And why would you even have an OT with the New? The one justifies the existence of the other.
The survival of the Bible needs no help of ours.
A hesitation I have with Strawn’s metaphor for the Bible places its survival on how well people use it. The tone of the book is urgent, probably for good reason, we need to get our act together. However, to think the viability of Scripture depends on us is, I believe, taking it too far. Strawn uses the Apocrypha as an example to show us what can happen when what people deem to be Scripture dies and then says, “That is exactly what I am arguing is happening to another part of the Bible” (speaking of the OT). Hmm. I’m not sure that’s a good corollary. The Apocrypha died in the Protestant tradition because of its lack of internal witness. I find this book (or at least the way its framed) to have an underdeveloped theology of canonicity. Does Scripture’s witness come from within or without? Community usage has never been the sole arbiter of Scripture’s viability. It has self-authentication – something that community doesn’t add, and can never take away.
A few key takeaways for life and ministry.
1. Practice memorizing Scripture.
2. The old and new testaments are two parts of one plant.
3. A disagreement - The survival of the Bible needs no help of ours.
Continue to memorize Scripture.
I love how Strawn’s book uses language as a metaphor for the Bible. Once the use of a language is reduced and abbreviated fluency is quickly lost. And on page 217, Strawn reminds us that “Fluency is a lifelong project, precisely because speaking a language is a lifelong practice.” So what a great reason to continue memorizing Scripture. Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth.” He doesn’t say from your mind, but from your mouth. Memorize it and speak it all throughout the day. Speak it and keep speaking it. This means constant immersion in the text. Page 221 lists a bunch of things required to be a user of language and is worth visiting for years to come. Churches have a need for fully fluent ministers who can vary their instruction depending upon their context (218).
The Old and New Testaments are two parts of one plant.
I found Strawn’s section entitled, “On Bothness” to be helpful in conceiving that the two testaments are different but of the same essence – like a flower and a stem. How can you have a flower without a stem? And why would you have a stem without a flower? These are two parts of the same plant. Accordingly, how can you have a NT without the Old. And why would you even have an OT with the New? The one justifies the existence of the other.
The survival of the Bible needs no help of ours.
A hesitation I have with Strawn’s metaphor for the Bible places its survival on how well people use it. The tone of the book is urgent, probably for good reason, we need to get our act together. However, to think the viability of Scripture depends on us is, I believe, taking it too far. Strawn uses the Apocrypha as an example to show us what can happen when what people deem to be Scripture dies and then says, “That is exactly what I am arguing is happening to another part of the Bible” (speaking of the OT). Hmm. I’m not sure that’s a good corollary. The Apocrypha died in the Protestant tradition because of its lack of internal witness. I find this book (or at least the way its framed) to have an underdeveloped theology of canonicity. Does Scripture’s witness come from within or without? Community usage has never been the sole arbiter of Scripture’s viability. It has self-authentication – something that community doesn’t add, and can never take away.
June 25, 2017
There are advantages to brevity. Unfortunately, Strawn hasn't discovered them. He makes his point. Then he does it again, and again, and again. Using modern linguistics, he looks at the Old Testament as if it were a language. As such, it has all the characteristics of a language that is dying. At least in the American mainline churches and in much of evangelicalism, I think he is right (and it is those two contexts he is mostly concerned with). There are three problems with his analysis. First, the Old Testament is not a language, but Strawn is too attached to his analogy to see that. Second, in a certain sense, the Old Testament has always been dying. For most of the history of the church, most Christians have had a mediocre to poor understanding of the Old Testament. That's unlikely to change. Third, the American mainline churches really have no reason to hang on to the Old Testament, or the New Testament, for that matter. For those churches, the Bible is the Word of God only in the most tenuous way, and they have no good reason to hang on to it. His recommendations for retaining the Old Testament are nothing new, but it is good to be reminded of them: the need to instruct the young people of the church in the full breadth of the Old Testament; the need for catechesis (though he doesn't use the term); and the importance of regular preaching from the Old Testament. The book is probably worth reading just as a reminder of how dire the present ignorance of the Old Testament is.
February 5, 2018
Brent A. Strawn is Professor of Old Testament and Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Strawn received an M.Div. and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the author of What is Stronger Than a Lion? Leonine Image and Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East, and the co-editor of several important works related to OT and ANE studies, such as The World Around the Old Testament: The People and Places of the Ancient Near East and The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Law. Most recently, Strawn has released a blockbuster book focused on the nature of the Old Testament in contemporary Christianity-a book that should both cause concern and promote change in its readers.
The Old Testament is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment is a straightforward and clear examination of the state of Christianity in North America. Strawn exposes exactly what an observant Christian has likely been pondering for some time now: what's happening to the Old Testament? As Strawn observes, "the Old Testament has ceased to function in healthy ways in . . . lives as sacred, authoritative, canonical literature. These individuals . . . do not regard the Old Testament in the same way (or as highly) as the New Testament, don't understand the Old Testament, would prefer to do without the Old Testament, and for all practical purposes do exactly that by means of their neglect and ignorance of it, whether in private devotion or public worship or both" (p. 4-5). Strawn skillfully frames the investigation in terms of linguistic analogy to provide explanatory impact for the reader. Strawn rightly notes, "the Old Testament, like any other piece of literature or art-like any other way of figuring the world-is, or at least can be, a way of constructing reality, a way of understanding the world, and way of perceiving all that is, including ourselves" (p. 8).
The initial section of the book, The Old Testament as a Dying Language, is primarily focused on orienting the reader towards the diagnosis. Strawn overviews the case, provides initial testing by way of Pew Research surveys and the examination of ecclesiastical expressions, and further adds to the linguistic analogy-applying characteristics of pidginized and creolized languages to the modern landscape of Old Testament awareness. The second section, Signs of Morbidity, directs focus upon three groups: (1) New Atheists, (2) Marcionites Old and New, and (3) Happiologists. The interaction in this section is illuminating and telling. There is a clear and variegated problem that Strawn uncovers in these three groups and the reader will do well to observe the discussion therein. The third section, Path to Recovery, brings the recommended treatment to the table and offers readers a clear and detailed way forward, including a renewed passion for Hebrew and the aim to push past a pidginized or creole dialect towards a fully developed linguistic expression.
The Old Testament is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment is timely and important. Strawn combines a unique and observable understanding of both culture and Christian faith in North America, and he makes the symptomatic manifestation of a dying or dead Old Testament is visible on almost every street corner and pew. The diagnosis is soundly established and the recommendation provides a hope for the future. In my opinion, Strawn has rightly identified a problem that deserves immediate and full attention, because once a language dies an identity soon follows. Thus, not only is the book readable and engaging, but the content of the message and the establishment of the thesis are perfectly positioned for readers to engage and act accordingly. If you are looking for a book that will likely challenge and expose some of your own frailties concerning the function of the Old Testament in your daily life, while also offering a feasible solution, then The Old Testament is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment is a perfect next read. It comes highly recommended and could easily be tagged as one of the most important books of the last year!
The Old Testament is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment is a straightforward and clear examination of the state of Christianity in North America. Strawn exposes exactly what an observant Christian has likely been pondering for some time now: what's happening to the Old Testament? As Strawn observes, "the Old Testament has ceased to function in healthy ways in . . . lives as sacred, authoritative, canonical literature. These individuals . . . do not regard the Old Testament in the same way (or as highly) as the New Testament, don't understand the Old Testament, would prefer to do without the Old Testament, and for all practical purposes do exactly that by means of their neglect and ignorance of it, whether in private devotion or public worship or both" (p. 4-5). Strawn skillfully frames the investigation in terms of linguistic analogy to provide explanatory impact for the reader. Strawn rightly notes, "the Old Testament, like any other piece of literature or art-like any other way of figuring the world-is, or at least can be, a way of constructing reality, a way of understanding the world, and way of perceiving all that is, including ourselves" (p. 8).
The initial section of the book, The Old Testament as a Dying Language, is primarily focused on orienting the reader towards the diagnosis. Strawn overviews the case, provides initial testing by way of Pew Research surveys and the examination of ecclesiastical expressions, and further adds to the linguistic analogy-applying characteristics of pidginized and creolized languages to the modern landscape of Old Testament awareness. The second section, Signs of Morbidity, directs focus upon three groups: (1) New Atheists, (2) Marcionites Old and New, and (3) Happiologists. The interaction in this section is illuminating and telling. There is a clear and variegated problem that Strawn uncovers in these three groups and the reader will do well to observe the discussion therein. The third section, Path to Recovery, brings the recommended treatment to the table and offers readers a clear and detailed way forward, including a renewed passion for Hebrew and the aim to push past a pidginized or creole dialect towards a fully developed linguistic expression.
The Old Testament is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment is timely and important. Strawn combines a unique and observable understanding of both culture and Christian faith in North America, and he makes the symptomatic manifestation of a dying or dead Old Testament is visible on almost every street corner and pew. The diagnosis is soundly established and the recommendation provides a hope for the future. In my opinion, Strawn has rightly identified a problem that deserves immediate and full attention, because once a language dies an identity soon follows. Thus, not only is the book readable and engaging, but the content of the message and the establishment of the thesis are perfectly positioned for readers to engage and act accordingly. If you are looking for a book that will likely challenge and expose some of your own frailties concerning the function of the Old Testament in your daily life, while also offering a feasible solution, then The Old Testament is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment is a perfect next read. It comes highly recommended and could easily be tagged as one of the most important books of the last year!
May 1, 2022
In this provocative book, Old Testament scholar Brent Strawn argues that the the Old Testament is dying. In order to make such a case, Strawn likens the Old Testament to a language—and just as languages can die out, either because of disuse or misuse, so Strawn argues that the Old Testament can also die out, primarily because of disuse and misuse. A number of chapters in Strawn’s book deal with what he calls “pidginized” or “creolized” versions of the Old Testament—i.e., versions of or ways of speaking about the Old Testament that do not do justice to the “full language” of the Old Testament. He discusses the arguments leveled against the Old Testament by the “New Atheists,” such as Richard Dawkins (chap. 4), as well as goes back all the way to Marcion in the Early Church, only to note the ways in which Marcionism is rearing its head again in our churches today (chap. 5). He also points to a number of “word of faith” and “prosperity gospel” preachers and teachers, all of whom, he argues, are also not speaking the “full language” of Scripture, but a dumbed-down (or pidginized) version of Scripture (chap. 6).
The last section of the book (chaps. 7–9) offers some recommendations for how to keep the Old Testament from dying, pulling from the realm of linguistics and language-learning, as well as from the book of Deuteronomy. Strawn proposes that the most effective way to keep the Old Testament from dying in the churches of North America, as well as elsewhere, is by repeated and regular use of the Old Testament. This, however, must be coupled with use that is memorable, and that does justice to the Old Testament. I especially appreciated Strawn’s discussion about (and warnings against) running to the New Testament too quickly in order to somehow “solve” Old Testament problems. In many regards, the New Testament is just as nuanced and has as many difficulties as the Old Testament, and it will not do to simply pit the Old Testament God against the New Testament Jesus.
All in all, Strawn’s book is an important and insightful read. He does not simply provide a sobering look at the (mis- and dis)use of the Old Testament in North America today, but also provides a way forward that is helpful and instructive, as well as hopeful. What we need is more and more Christians who are willing and ready to move beyond “baby talk” when it comes to the Old Testament, and who desire to attain full literacy and fluency in the language of the Old Testament.
The last section of the book (chaps. 7–9) offers some recommendations for how to keep the Old Testament from dying, pulling from the realm of linguistics and language-learning, as well as from the book of Deuteronomy. Strawn proposes that the most effective way to keep the Old Testament from dying in the churches of North America, as well as elsewhere, is by repeated and regular use of the Old Testament. This, however, must be coupled with use that is memorable, and that does justice to the Old Testament. I especially appreciated Strawn’s discussion about (and warnings against) running to the New Testament too quickly in order to somehow “solve” Old Testament problems. In many regards, the New Testament is just as nuanced and has as many difficulties as the Old Testament, and it will not do to simply pit the Old Testament God against the New Testament Jesus.
All in all, Strawn’s book is an important and insightful read. He does not simply provide a sobering look at the (mis- and dis)use of the Old Testament in North America today, but also provides a way forward that is helpful and instructive, as well as hopeful. What we need is more and more Christians who are willing and ready to move beyond “baby talk” when it comes to the Old Testament, and who desire to attain full literacy and fluency in the language of the Old Testament.
October 20, 2025
I was very excited about this book, and I completely agree with its premise that the OT is dying in the sense that it's not being used or taught within the Christian church. And Strawn uses a nice little metaphor of the OT as a dying language, which I as a linguist appreciated. The problem is that he turns the nice little metaphor into an overdone conceit pervading every page of the book, and much of the time it's just plain inappropriate. The OT as a Chomskyan 'deep structure' to the NT as a 'surface structure'? No formal syntactician would buy that (or even understand it) for a minute. The trouble seems to be that Strawn bases the vast majority of his linguistics discussion on more than a dozen books by a single linguist, John McWhorter. McWhorter is a perfectly fine linguist, but if you're going to treat the OT (not the Hebrew language, mind you, but the OT itself) as the equivalent of a language that we're losing fluency in, and you want to make corresponding points about its 'pidginization' and 'phonology' and 'acquisition' and 'dialects' and 'syntax', you really should read up on all of those linguistic subfields, and not rely on one author who isn't, e.g., a syntactician or phonologist or specialist in language acquisition. In short, Strawn makes great points about the imminent disappearance of the OT, wrapped up in a really unfortunate linguistic conceit.
June 4, 2018
I should start by saying that I was challenged by reading Strawn's book.
Strawn argues by way of linguistic analogy that the Old Testament, here like a language, is dying due to non-use, misuse, and arguably abuse. Strawn argues from surveys showing the lack of use of the Old Testament that knowledge of the Old Testament is dying away. He also argues from the misuse and even abuse of the Old Testament by "Happiologists" and the New Atheists that Christians do not know the Old Testament.
His solution to this problem consists of leadership in the church leading the way, whether that be by way of song, sermon, or other kinds of teaching. He sounds a call for the church to spend time learning the Old Testament as a language, to spend time at it and to focus on it.
I think that Strawn has a good way of explaining both the need and the solution, although I would have liked a bit more of a solution. Still, this is both a needed book and a good book.
Strawn argues by way of linguistic analogy that the Old Testament, here like a language, is dying due to non-use, misuse, and arguably abuse. Strawn argues from surveys showing the lack of use of the Old Testament that knowledge of the Old Testament is dying away. He also argues from the misuse and even abuse of the Old Testament by "Happiologists" and the New Atheists that Christians do not know the Old Testament.
His solution to this problem consists of leadership in the church leading the way, whether that be by way of song, sermon, or other kinds of teaching. He sounds a call for the church to spend time learning the Old Testament as a language, to spend time at it and to focus on it.
I think that Strawn has a good way of explaining both the need and the solution, although I would have liked a bit more of a solution. Still, this is both a needed book and a good book.
August 7, 2017
I think that the book's thesis is compelling, but the follow-through did not succeed. He utilizes linguistic concepts to bolster his theory that the loss of the Old Testament is like the death of a language and will inevitably lead to the death of the New Testament as well. However, his case studies are overly simplistic, in my opinion, and his solutions, though some were helpful, did not seem all that different than what many churches try to do. He has spoken to an extremely important issue in the church in America, but his work testifies to the complexity and difficulty one will have when looking for an answer.
September 17, 2017
Strawn's work compares the Old Testament to a language and explores the way languages pidgeonize, creolize, and ultimately die as an analogy for the hastening of the death of the Old Testament in Christianity. He argues that when the Old Testament, like a language, is no longer taught to children as a first language and begins to pidgeonize and creolize, it eventually leads to its death because it is not a native language to its speakers. The task of reviving the Old Testament is possible, he argues, but will require long and hard learning. This book will be difficult for those unfamiliar with language study, but it is a timely and much needed book.
December 26, 2018
This material was originally presented as a lecture series at Nazarene Theological Seminary, which I enjoyed greatly. In book form, it's not as good. The core idea is still there: the intriguing parallel between the Old Testament and an endangered language. As a Bible and linguistics fan, I love the metaphor. But the book doesn't add anything to what I got from the lectures; it mainly repeats the same points over and over. The "What can we do about it" section starts off with a chapter on "Let's recap what the problem is again." So: 5 stars for the thesis, but 2 stars for the delivery.
May 18, 2019
Great resource for data studies on how biblically illiterate our culture is, especially with regard to the OT. Charts, surveys, numbers... It's all there. What's missing is a strong argument for why the Church should recover the OT. What happens to us as a Church when we ignore parts (or all) of the OT? Why should we care? His suggestions for "treatment" are largely what you would expect.... which leaves me to wonder/hope that there's more that we as a Church should be doing to treat the OT as God's inspired Word.
January 12, 2023
A bit repetitive at times. There were some good bits here and there but I think much of this could have been condensed. Solutions are somewhat helpful but seem to be removed from real, practical ministry. May have been helpful to look at churches where the OT is not dying and see why that was the case. Assessment of Dawkins was quite good.
September 12, 2018
Though the analogies (there are two major ones: language and death) are belabored at times, there is a lot of good stuff here. Good questions about how we teach and preach the OT, and a few suggestions for how to do it better. Strawn is an entertaining writer, sometimes at the expense of brevity.
November 17, 2025
Excellent defense against claims that the Old Testament is nonsensical or bizarre or disconnected from the New Testament. Provides a good framework of the context, meaning and purpose of the New Testament.
November 27, 2019
This is an important book, especially for Christian pastors and seminary faculty, but it seriously needed editing.
September 14, 2021
Great points, needed to be an essay.
October 31, 2024
“And, one day, we might even dream in the language of Scripture.”
December 5, 2022
Despite it's somewhat histrionic title, this was an unexpectedly technical text due to Strawn's extended use of the analogy comparing Old Testament engagement and awareness with fluency in a language. This was simultaneously the greatest strength and detraction here; it works surprisingly well as a way of considering the steep decline of attention to the OT in mainline American Christianity, but the average reader could fault him for running a little too far with the more intricate details of the metaphor. A fair bit of that was lost on me, and I imagine anyone unfamiliar with linguistics would be bogged down by those portions of the book. I thought the highlight was the trio of chapters considering modern phenomena indicative of this troubling trend: the "pidgin" spoken by New Atheists (like Dawkins) who lack the ability to engage the texts with any sophistication or nuance that its original speakers would have been accustomed to; the heretical resurrection of Marcionism via our tendency to explicitly or subtly differentiate between the "Old Testament God" and the one revealed in the New Testament; and the "creole" of prosperity-gospel peddlers (like Joel Olsteen) who are speaking an utterly distinct language that bears a resemblance to Christianity but ultimately has its own grammar and logic. I really appreciated Strawn's sass in these sections, made for a spicier and more engaging read. Overall, this is a great, eye-opening resource, but I think could've been a bit more concise and not quite as reliant on linguistic jargon for wider appeal.
October 20, 2017
I don't remember what prompted me to get this book to begin with. I liked his premise and model for looking at people's knowledge of the OT in the modern world - it is like a dying language, the death of which is being hastened by the prosperity Gospel folk which leaves fewer people capable of truly speaking the language of the OT [not meaning the Hebrew or Aramaic, but understanding the concepts and theology]. But some of his analysis was tedious for me to read. And his solutions seemed to me would not fit well into an Orthodox context where we already make use of the OT by reading it Christologically. In the end it just felt pessimistic to me, almost like "the sky is falling".
April 8, 2017
There are definitely a few dense sections to wade through (e.g., data analysis and explanations of language theory), but it's more than worth taking the time to read through them as they are essential to the point he's making. Strawn's thoroughly developed analogy serves as a great vehicle to communicate the dire predicament of not only the OT but the entire language of Scripture. He doesn't shy away from rebuking those contributing to the problem, and he works in humor throughout the book, making the content more memorable and poignant. Most importantly, he ends with a call to action and recommendations for reviving the language of the OT (and consequently all of Scripture). His recommendations for repeated use and instruction of children were especially helpful. As a parent of young children as well as an aspiring biblical scholar, I felt both convicted and inspired to begin helping my children acquire this important language so they can contribute to its revival.
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