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An On-Going Imagination: A Conversation about Scripture, Faith, and the Thickness of Relationship
Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann has always excelled at making the Bible approachable and engaging. Drawn from a series of public conversations with Brueggemann and his former student and longtime friend Clover Reuter Beal, An On-Going Imagination explores Brueggemann’s most influential biblical-theological concepts and Why should we still bother with the Bible today? What is the purpose of prayer, and what can it do for our lives? How is keeping the Sabbath countercultural? What does it mean to say that the God in the Bible is “a God in recovery”?
Intimate, provocative, and challenging, An On-Going Imagination offers an enlightening introduction to Brueggemann’s work for readers who want to learn more and a way back into the Bible for people who feel alienated from it by those on the right and the left who claim to have it all figured out. Brueggemann and Beal reawaken us to the fascinating strangeness of biblical tradition and its incredible power to help us imagine new ways of seeing and being in the world.
Intimate, provocative, and challenging, An On-Going Imagination offers an enlightening introduction to Brueggemann’s work for readers who want to learn more and a way back into the Bible for people who feel alienated from it by those on the right and the left who claim to have it all figured out. Brueggemann and Beal reawaken us to the fascinating strangeness of biblical tradition and its incredible power to help us imagine new ways of seeing and being in the world.
- GenresTheology
161 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 15, 2019
16 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Walter Brueggemann
308 books564 followersWalter Brueggemann was an American Christian scholar and theologian who is widely considered an influential Old Testament scholar. His work often focused on the Hebrew prophetic tradition and the sociopolitical imagination of the Church. He argued that the Church must provide a counter-narrative to the dominant forces of consumerism, militarism, and nationalism.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 4, 2020
This book was a great introduction into Brueggemann’s theology and funded multiple ideas I want to explore further. While it isn’t as dense as a typical book from him, the conversational format lended itself to a readable exploration of Brueggemann, across multiple Christian themes. I enjoyed the variety and pointedness of the conversation, and I didn’t have to read through any extra “fluff”. I very much appreciate that. Clover does a great job of asking further questions that in turn give the reader deeper insight.
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October 25, 2019Imagine being able to sit down for coffee with one of your favorite theologians. During the time that you had together, you were able to ask them about their theological lineage, what they are currently thinking about, things that they have re-considered as time has gone on, and whatever else you would be able to think of in that time period. This book is similar to that concept (or, really, as close as you’ll ever be able to come!)
my full review at chriswerms .wordpress .com
my full review at chriswerms .wordpress .com
January 6, 2025
Based on a series of interviews curated by a former graduate student, An On-Going Imagination: A Conversation about Scripture, Faith, and the Thickness of Relationships is an intriguing exploration of the mind and methodology of a great U.S. theologian, Walter Brueggemann. Brueggemann has predominantly been an Old Testament scholar, but he is not content to be pastured by that discipline’s boundaries. Indeed, as he shares about his pilgrimage, he shares how he was never entirely comfortable with the cult of higher criticism, despite believing that we need some of the breakthroughs and concepts provided by those methodologies. “We don’t have to know every detail of the Documentary Hypothesis and other critical theories concerning the composition of the biblical canon, but we have to be aware of how complicated it all is, that it didn’t just drop down from the sky. But don’t stop there.” (p. 44).
The book reminded me that one of the reasons I’ve always appreciated Brueggemann’s work is because he believes in a close reading of the text. Indeed, he sees his task as (and I believe he has fulfilled it): “to read the biblical text honestly and faithfully. “Honestly” means not to avoid or bowdlerize the hard parts. “Faithfully” means to be without pretense about the quotidian reality of our bodily existence.” (Introduction, Location 190 in the Kindle Edition) But he doesn’t stop at an initial examination of the text: “if you get the letters down, the words, the sentences, then you begin to maximize it, as we do with all poetry, to see what it all means. But you’ve got to start with what’s there.” (p. 31). He compares his approach to that of the rabbis who insist on a polyvalence of meaning in the text (p. 50). Indeed, Brueggemann insists on asking, not what the text “means” as though there is one answer, but “How does it work?” and “What is it doing?” (p. 34).
I appreciate the credit he gives to James Muilenberg for his groundbreaking work in rhetorical criticism (p. 43) and the recognition provided to Brevard Childs for focusing on what the text does (p. 27). Both of these scholars greatly influenced my work as has Brueggemann, so it was nice to see the connection. These interviews are conversations, intriguing dialogues that bear further contemplation. For example, there is the question of those who do not see the church as relevant. Brueggemann doesn’t hold back: “what has happened to the church, particularly the liberal church, is that we have been rhetorically constructing a world that is so like the dominant world that people can’t even tell the difference. Liberals have just echoed culture. On the other hand, conservatives have compartmentalized, so they create a little bitty alternative world that doesn’t relate to anything.” (p. 54).
They do not stick to the Old Testament, but they consider the identity and purpose of the church, the idea of social justice, the tension between confession and doctrine (and why we need both—p. 78), the need for what he calls “doxological imagination” (pp. 40-41), the failure of process theology (p. 62), God and violence (pp. 64-66), primary pastoral tasks (pp. 81-82), preaching methodology (pp. 85-89), a theology of sin (p. 93), and the theology of and importance of liturgy (pp. 94-98), prayer (p. 100), and questions about personal spiritual disciplines (pp. 104-109), and some guidelines for being proactive in terms of building/protecting community.
One of my favorite lines in the books was: “So the church has to be bilingual. We have to preserve these classic formulas of the creeds about the Trinity and all of that, but we also have to think about Jesus like we’re teaching these stories to a six-year-old. A six-year-old does not need to know about the three persons of the Trinity in one substance. A six-year-old needs to know that wherever Jesus shows up, things are changed for the better.” (p. 78)
To be honest, I usually expect a profound experience when I pick up a book by or featuring Brueggemann. There is some of that in An On-Going Imagination: A Conversation about Scripture, Faith, and the Thickness of Relationships, but mostly, it is as if you were sitting at home having a conversation with one of your heroes. So, I enjoyed the book a lot, but I’m not sure it would be very exciting to those who weren’t already familiar with Brueggemann’s work.
The book reminded me that one of the reasons I’ve always appreciated Brueggemann’s work is because he believes in a close reading of the text. Indeed, he sees his task as (and I believe he has fulfilled it): “to read the biblical text honestly and faithfully. “Honestly” means not to avoid or bowdlerize the hard parts. “Faithfully” means to be without pretense about the quotidian reality of our bodily existence.” (Introduction, Location 190 in the Kindle Edition) But he doesn’t stop at an initial examination of the text: “if you get the letters down, the words, the sentences, then you begin to maximize it, as we do with all poetry, to see what it all means. But you’ve got to start with what’s there.” (p. 31). He compares his approach to that of the rabbis who insist on a polyvalence of meaning in the text (p. 50). Indeed, Brueggemann insists on asking, not what the text “means” as though there is one answer, but “How does it work?” and “What is it doing?” (p. 34).
I appreciate the credit he gives to James Muilenberg for his groundbreaking work in rhetorical criticism (p. 43) and the recognition provided to Brevard Childs for focusing on what the text does (p. 27). Both of these scholars greatly influenced my work as has Brueggemann, so it was nice to see the connection. These interviews are conversations, intriguing dialogues that bear further contemplation. For example, there is the question of those who do not see the church as relevant. Brueggemann doesn’t hold back: “what has happened to the church, particularly the liberal church, is that we have been rhetorically constructing a world that is so like the dominant world that people can’t even tell the difference. Liberals have just echoed culture. On the other hand, conservatives have compartmentalized, so they create a little bitty alternative world that doesn’t relate to anything.” (p. 54).
They do not stick to the Old Testament, but they consider the identity and purpose of the church, the idea of social justice, the tension between confession and doctrine (and why we need both—p. 78), the need for what he calls “doxological imagination” (pp. 40-41), the failure of process theology (p. 62), God and violence (pp. 64-66), primary pastoral tasks (pp. 81-82), preaching methodology (pp. 85-89), a theology of sin (p. 93), and the theology of and importance of liturgy (pp. 94-98), prayer (p. 100), and questions about personal spiritual disciplines (pp. 104-109), and some guidelines for being proactive in terms of building/protecting community.
One of my favorite lines in the books was: “So the church has to be bilingual. We have to preserve these classic formulas of the creeds about the Trinity and all of that, but we also have to think about Jesus like we’re teaching these stories to a six-year-old. A six-year-old does not need to know about the three persons of the Trinity in one substance. A six-year-old needs to know that wherever Jesus shows up, things are changed for the better.” (p. 78)
To be honest, I usually expect a profound experience when I pick up a book by or featuring Brueggemann. There is some of that in An On-Going Imagination: A Conversation about Scripture, Faith, and the Thickness of Relationships, but mostly, it is as if you were sitting at home having a conversation with one of your heroes. So, I enjoyed the book a lot, but I’m not sure it would be very exciting to those who weren’t already familiar with Brueggemann’s work.
March 4, 2025
"The church has to be bilingual. We have to preserve these classic formulas of the creeds about the Trinity and all of that, but we also have to think about Jesus like we’re teaching these stories to a six-year-old. A six-year-old does not need to know about the three persons of the Trinity in one substance. A six-year-old needs to know that wherever Jesus shows up, things are changed for the better.” (p. 78)
***
An On-Going Imagination: A Conversation about Scripture, Faith, and the Thickness of Relationship by Walter Brueggemann and Clover Reuter Beal is, as the subtitle tells us, structured as a series of conversations between Brueggemann, a renowned biblical scholar, and Beal, his former student and longtime friend. Brueggemann’s insights are intimate and challenging, offering readers a fresh perspective on familiar biblical narratives. Beal’s questions help to deepen the discussion, making complex theological ideas more accessible and a great introduction to Brueggemann’s work.
Brueggemann sees his task as “to read the biblical text honestly and faithfully. “Honestly” means not to avoid or bowdlerize the hard parts. “Faithfully” means to be without pretense about the quotidian reality of our bodily existence.” (Introduction). Brueggemann encourages us to move beyond asking 'what the text “means”' as though there is one answer, but ask better questions such as “How does it work?” and “What is it doing?” (p. 34).
Table of Contents:
-PARTY LINES AND CHURCH CAMPS Early Influences
-A NICE PROVIDENTIAL TRAJECTORY Education
-LUCK AND HAPPENSTANCE Gaining Notoriety
-A GOOD-ENOUGH GOD Personal-Theological Work
-MULTILAYERED AND CONFLICTED The Bible Makes Different Sense
-HEBREW BIBLE OR OLD TESTAMENT? What to Call It
-ALTERNATIVE LITERALISM Losing Our Bible Baggage
-NOT WHAT IT MEANS BUT HOW IT WORKS Bible as Rhetoric
-RESISTING FINAL SOLUTIONS Bible Study
-DOXOLOGICAL IMAGINATION Creation, Science, and Truth
-CRITICAL IS NOT ENOUGH Getting to Postcritical
-THIS PARTICULAR MANIFESTATION OF HOLINESS What Makes the Bible So Special?
-DISJUNCTIVE, CONTRADICTORY, HYPERBOLIC, IRONIC Recovering Jewish Modes of Interpretation
-WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO YOU WANT? Acts of Imagination
-IN, WITH, AND UNDER The God of the Text
-DIVINE IRASCIBILITY An Astonishing and Scandalous God
-GOD IN RECOVERY The Bible and Violence
-THE OFFENSE OF JESUS Death as the Seedbed of Life
-DOCTRINAL OVERLAYS From Jesus in the Gospels to Jesus in the Trinity
-ARTICULATING AN ALTERNATE WORLD Clergy Work as a Life-and-Death Matter
-FUNDING THE ELEMENTS OF IMAGINATION Subversive Preaching
-GRIEF AND THE TOTALISM Confessing Pain and Anger
-THE GODNESS OF GOD Theology of Sin
-LITURGY VERSUS EMPIRE Elements of Worship
-PARADE OF LOSSES Eucharistic Empowerment
-THICKNESS OF RELATIONSHIP Public Prayer
-LEANING INTO A PRESENCE THAT VALORIZES Private Prayer
-MYSTERY OF AN ALTERNATE EXISTENCE Sabbath Resistance to Brick Quotas
-COUNTERING TECHNOLOGICAL MILITARY CONSUMERISM Neighborliness
-ECONOMIES OF EXTRACTION Money and Possessions from Exodus to Today
-WHAT IS OLD AND WHAT IS NEW When Do We Cease to Be Church?
-BELIEVING IN The Relationality of Faith
-JUSTICE AND REFORMATION What Keeps You Going
***
An On-Going Imagination: A Conversation about Scripture, Faith, and the Thickness of Relationship by Walter Brueggemann and Clover Reuter Beal is, as the subtitle tells us, structured as a series of conversations between Brueggemann, a renowned biblical scholar, and Beal, his former student and longtime friend. Brueggemann’s insights are intimate and challenging, offering readers a fresh perspective on familiar biblical narratives. Beal’s questions help to deepen the discussion, making complex theological ideas more accessible and a great introduction to Brueggemann’s work.
Brueggemann sees his task as “to read the biblical text honestly and faithfully. “Honestly” means not to avoid or bowdlerize the hard parts. “Faithfully” means to be without pretense about the quotidian reality of our bodily existence.” (Introduction). Brueggemann encourages us to move beyond asking 'what the text “means”' as though there is one answer, but ask better questions such as “How does it work?” and “What is it doing?” (p. 34).
Table of Contents:
-PARTY LINES AND CHURCH CAMPS Early Influences
-A NICE PROVIDENTIAL TRAJECTORY Education
-LUCK AND HAPPENSTANCE Gaining Notoriety
-A GOOD-ENOUGH GOD Personal-Theological Work
-MULTILAYERED AND CONFLICTED The Bible Makes Different Sense
-HEBREW BIBLE OR OLD TESTAMENT? What to Call It
-ALTERNATIVE LITERALISM Losing Our Bible Baggage
-NOT WHAT IT MEANS BUT HOW IT WORKS Bible as Rhetoric
-RESISTING FINAL SOLUTIONS Bible Study
-DOXOLOGICAL IMAGINATION Creation, Science, and Truth
-CRITICAL IS NOT ENOUGH Getting to Postcritical
-THIS PARTICULAR MANIFESTATION OF HOLINESS What Makes the Bible So Special?
-DISJUNCTIVE, CONTRADICTORY, HYPERBOLIC, IRONIC Recovering Jewish Modes of Interpretation
-WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO YOU WANT? Acts of Imagination
-IN, WITH, AND UNDER The God of the Text
-DIVINE IRASCIBILITY An Astonishing and Scandalous God
-GOD IN RECOVERY The Bible and Violence
-THE OFFENSE OF JESUS Death as the Seedbed of Life
-DOCTRINAL OVERLAYS From Jesus in the Gospels to Jesus in the Trinity
-ARTICULATING AN ALTERNATE WORLD Clergy Work as a Life-and-Death Matter
-FUNDING THE ELEMENTS OF IMAGINATION Subversive Preaching
-GRIEF AND THE TOTALISM Confessing Pain and Anger
-THE GODNESS OF GOD Theology of Sin
-LITURGY VERSUS EMPIRE Elements of Worship
-PARADE OF LOSSES Eucharistic Empowerment
-THICKNESS OF RELATIONSHIP Public Prayer
-LEANING INTO A PRESENCE THAT VALORIZES Private Prayer
-MYSTERY OF AN ALTERNATE EXISTENCE Sabbath Resistance to Brick Quotas
-COUNTERING TECHNOLOGICAL MILITARY CONSUMERISM Neighborliness
-ECONOMIES OF EXTRACTION Money and Possessions from Exodus to Today
-WHAT IS OLD AND WHAT IS NEW When Do We Cease to Be Church?
-BELIEVING IN The Relationality of Faith
-JUSTICE AND REFORMATION What Keeps You Going
March 21, 2020
My first real exposure to the work of Walter Brueggemann came in 2017, through reading one of his earliest and best known books, The Prophetic Imagination. I had also listened to his conversation with Krista Tippett, host of On Being, which I heard in December 2018. The title of the On Being episode was also “The Prophetic Imagination.”
An On-Going Imagination is a memoir or autobiography composed by interview. It consists of edited versions of conversations that Brueggemann had with his coauthor, Clover Reuter Beal, over several years beginning in 2011. Clover Reuter Beal is the Colead Pastor of Mountview Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Denver. She and her spouse, Timothy Beal, who edited the book, are former students of Brueggemann’s.
The book retains its conversational origins in its tone. It includes conversations about some complex theological subjects, and if time were to permit I would want to read further on those subjects in Brueggemann’s books and essays. That is the genius of the work. Walter Brueggemann is a brilliant man with a lot of intriguing things to say about scripture, theology, the state of the ancient world, and the state of the modern world. Further reading of his work on any of those subjects would be time well spent. It’s interesting, though, that the list of works cited and suggestions for further reading includes only sixteen titles. Then again, Walter Brueggemann has published over one hundred books.
In the chapter entitled “Divine Irascibility: An Astonishing and Scandalous God,” Brueggemann admits that some of what he sees as he examines the scriptures “confront[s] orthodox Christian theology in disturbing and fascinating ways.” I find some of his positions challenging. In challenging orthodoxies, though, Brueggemann’s goal is not to tear them down but to stretch them in ways that they ultimately will find beneficial.
John Knox Press sent me this book by way of a giveaway hosted by Englewood Review of Books. They asked for feedback, so this is an attempt at providing that for them.
An On-Going Imagination is a memoir or autobiography composed by interview. It consists of edited versions of conversations that Brueggemann had with his coauthor, Clover Reuter Beal, over several years beginning in 2011. Clover Reuter Beal is the Colead Pastor of Mountview Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Denver. She and her spouse, Timothy Beal, who edited the book, are former students of Brueggemann’s.
The book retains its conversational origins in its tone. It includes conversations about some complex theological subjects, and if time were to permit I would want to read further on those subjects in Brueggemann’s books and essays. That is the genius of the work. Walter Brueggemann is a brilliant man with a lot of intriguing things to say about scripture, theology, the state of the ancient world, and the state of the modern world. Further reading of his work on any of those subjects would be time well spent. It’s interesting, though, that the list of works cited and suggestions for further reading includes only sixteen titles. Then again, Walter Brueggemann has published over one hundred books.
In the chapter entitled “Divine Irascibility: An Astonishing and Scandalous God,” Brueggemann admits that some of what he sees as he examines the scriptures “confront[s] orthodox Christian theology in disturbing and fascinating ways.” I find some of his positions challenging. In challenging orthodoxies, though, Brueggemann’s goal is not to tear them down but to stretch them in ways that they ultimately will find beneficial.
John Knox Press sent me this book by way of a giveaway hosted by Englewood Review of Books. They asked for feedback, so this is an attempt at providing that for them.
September 2, 2019
Brueggemann's book "Sabbath as Resistance" was one of those top ten, life changing, influential books in my life.
It changed how I look at life, at rhythms in my life at so on.
This book wasn't what I had expected, and thus I think my expectations were set high, if I am frank.
I was seeking another Master's level book to challenge my thinking, debate in my head.
Instead I felt as if I was reading a very long Magazine article on faith, prayer, old testament etc. The list of topics was a bit sporadic and though it did flow well at times, the pieces weren't fully connected together.
If you are looking for a book to meet the author, to hear his thought process a bit in an unrefined way then this is a decent book.
Yet, as a theological work that challenges my view of how I look with imagination at scripture or God then this isn't it. Thought provoking at times, but challenging elements were not as prevalent.
It changed how I look at life, at rhythms in my life at so on.
This book wasn't what I had expected, and thus I think my expectations were set high, if I am frank.
I was seeking another Master's level book to challenge my thinking, debate in my head.
Instead I felt as if I was reading a very long Magazine article on faith, prayer, old testament etc. The list of topics was a bit sporadic and though it did flow well at times, the pieces weren't fully connected together.
If you are looking for a book to meet the author, to hear his thought process a bit in an unrefined way then this is a decent book.
Yet, as a theological work that challenges my view of how I look with imagination at scripture or God then this isn't it. Thought provoking at times, but challenging elements were not as prevalent.
February 24, 2020
Amazon.com.au, Christianbook.com, goodreads, Barnes and Noble my review will be published/posted at. Run date of 24 February 2020 the review will be posted/published at. A link to your review on my Facebook blog page, is available. This is an interesting book in the form of set interviews between Walter Brueggeman and Clover Reuter Beal. They converse about lectures, theology studies and cultural contexts and issues. The book is not entirely what I would read for leisure but one I would utilise for a secondary text for a Theology assessment.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a free copy of this book for Westminster John Knox Press and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.facebook.com/BlueFalkon95...
#AnOnGoingImagination #NetGalley
I voluntarily read and reviewed a free copy of this book for Westminster John Knox Press and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.facebook.com/BlueFalkon95...
#AnOnGoingImagination #NetGalley
January 31, 2020
Walter Brueggeman and his approach to Scripture fascinates me. The papers and books I have read by him are poetic, imaginative and while I don't always agree - stretching. This book - which was a set of interviews with Brueggeman about his scholarly journey, his beliefs on various issues, scriptural perspectives and so on - was thought provoking and powerful. I loved getting "inside" his brain a little bit!
March 6, 2023
Classic Brueggemann
This short and accessible volume provides a wonderful overview of the important themes expressed in the work of Walter Brueggemann, a renowned scholar. The structure of the book makes it ideal to be used as a guide to conversation by a class or group.
This short and accessible volume provides a wonderful overview of the important themes expressed in the work of Walter Brueggemann, a renowned scholar. The structure of the book makes it ideal to be used as a guide to conversation by a class or group.
April 17, 2020
A great overview of Brueggemann’s work over his life. The book is framed as short topical chapters written in a very conversational interview style. Very easy to follow along with.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews