148 - Let Justice Roll Down: The Old Testament, Ethics and Life

Let Justice Roll Down: The Old Testament, Ethics and Life
By Bruce C. Birch
Louisville, Westminster/John Knox, 1991. 383 pp. $19.99.

Bruce Birch of Wesley Theological Seminary has written extensively on the relationship of the Bible and ethics. The best known of his previous books is one coauthored with ethicist Larry Rasmussen entitled Bible and Ethics in the Christian Life. In this most recent volume, Birch has provided a survey of the Old Testament, with attention to issues of morality, ethics, and justice. The book begins with two chapters on methodology in relating Scripture and ethics. Birch is informed by a variety of influences: Brevard Child's canonical approach, liberation and feminist hermeneutics, narrative theology, the recognition of the great diversity in perspective and traditions in the Old Testament, and the practice of Christian ethics. Although appreciative of historical-critical methods, Birch seeks a method more

149 - Let Justice Roll Down: The Old Testament, Ethics and Life

closely tied to the given text of Scripture, one that enables modern Christians to appropriate the ethical resources of the Old Testament.

Chapters 3-9 survey broad areas of the Old Testament in more or less canonical sequence: creation, exodus, covenant, kingship, prophets, exile and return, and wisdom. Each area involves a summary of the most important recent studies and scholarship on issues related to theology and ethics. Birch's goal is not to present a dramatically new approach to the issue of the Bible and ethics. As he himself writes, "My purpose has not been so much to break new ground as to see ground which has already been broken become planted and harvested for the work of the church in the world."

Birch provides a reliable and readable guide through the Old Testament and scholarship related to theology and ethics. While the survey of the biblical materials is very helpful, the reader may wish for more detailed illustrations or examples of how the modern Christian may move from the diversity of ethical witnesses in the Old Testament to specific contemporary ethical issues. Birch acknowledges that this book is only a starting point for much work which still needs to be done. For example, he himself laments the fact that he does little with the important question of the New Testament's effect upon Old Testament ethics. Birch's survey is a valuable integration of previous scholarship, laying the groundwork for new ventures in integrating the use of Scripture and the practice of ethics.

Dennis T. Olson
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, NJ