Böcker av Hemchand Gossai

We live in turbulent times. The question is why, and now what. The principal aim of this volume is to provide additional interpretive lenses through which themes of hope and redemption might be seen from a range of biblical and literary texts. Thus, the volume will explore a range of texts, characters, and ideas--from Antigone and Jephthah''s daughter to Nabal to the parable of the good Samaritan, from Tobit and Ruth to ideas such as charity and trauma. So, this is a time to Take Heart. In the use of the unusual term Resouling the study emphasizes and accentuates nefhesh. Resouling underlines the possibility of being refreshed after an existential or even routine reality of pain or injustice. The study seeks to understand the possibility of new beginnings, where text and new contexts intersect and shape one another. This study will further enrich the manner in which biblical texts continue to speak to a range of societies and peoples, applying universal themes of social justice and belonging while challenging a status quo that thrives on otherness.

The themes of these stories are profoundly human themes, capturing the persistent interaction between God and humankind. These narratives invite us to witness the manner in which God enters human community in all of its complexities, struggles, challenges, fears, and ultimately hope. As the narratives unfold, not only is it clear that God will not be restricted by societal and cultural conventions, but the human journey will be generated by faith and doubt, fear and hope, promise and fulfillment. Hemchand Gossai not only explores the various themes within a variety of texts, but maintains a constant eye on the implications for the church and contemporary readers. In this regard, some of the literal and particular experiences such as barrenness, wilderness, and wrestling with God are examined as metaphors for our experiences. The richness and texture of metaphors allow us to embrace these stories in a way that makes them our stories.""Hemchand Gossai has long been working on the stories of Abraham and Sarah with great clarity, literary sensitivity, and theological savvy. In this volume, he expands upon that journey with new studies regarding God, the human characters, and their interrelationships. Gathering the major themes from these narratives, Gossai presents them in such a way that Israel''s stories can speak once again into the complexities of our interreligious world. Students and scholars alike will benefit from his many insights.""--Terence E. Fretheim, Elva B. Lovell Professor of Old Testament, Luther Theological Seminary; author of Abraham: Trials of Family and FaithHemchand Gossai is Director of Religious Studies at Georgia Southern University. He is also the author of Social Critique by Israel''s Eighth-Century Prophets and River Crossings: Memories of a Journey--A Memoir.

Who will speak for Hagar or Isaac or Sarah or the daughters of Lot? With an interpretive trajectory that moves from the margin to the center, this book gives voice to the marginalized and voiceless in the Abraham Narratives. Further, this approach is based on the premise that there is a continuum of power in the various characters in these narratives and that the most powerful are those who are lodged at the center while those with the least power are on the margin or beyond. The intent of this study is to direct and perhaps re-direct our attention to the text and with fresh eyes seek a sometimes radical realignment of roles and power. It is true that many of the characters focused on in this book are women. This is not, however, only a book about women, though clearly women are the principal characters on the margin.

Description:Who will speak for Hagar or Isaac or Sarah or the daughters of Lot? With an interpretive trajectory that moves from the margin to the center, this book gives voice to the marginalized and voiceless in the Abraham Narratives. Further, this approach is based on the premise that there is a continuum of power in the various characters in these narratives and that the most powerful are those who are lodged at the center while those with the least power are on the margin or beyond. The intent of this study is to direct and perhaps re-direct our attention to the text and with fresh eyes seek a sometimes radical realignment of roles and power. It is true that many of the characters focused on in this book are women. This is not, however, only a book about women, though clearly women are the principal characters on the margin.Endorsements:""Gossai is a bold poser of new questions. And when new questions are asked of the text, fresh readings become available. In Gossai''s capable hands, there are no innocent texts. Now there are hidden writs of power that pervade the text. Gossai invites the reader to the thickness of the text that cuts beneath surface meanings to where real life-and-death issues are exposed. Abraham and the cast of characters around him are shown to be, like the reader, summoned to hard choices to make and real risks to run.""--Walter Brueggemannauthor of A Pathway of Interpretation and Divine Presence amid ViolenceAbout the Contributor(s):Hemchand Gossai is Professor of Religious Studies at Georgia Southern University. He is also the author of Barrenness and Blessing: Abraham, Sarah, and the Journey of Faith; Social Critique by Israel''s Eighth-Century Prophets; and River Crossings: Memories of a Journey--A Memoir.

Description:The themes of these stories are profoundly human themes, capturing the persistent interaction between God and humankind. These narratives invite us to witness the manner in which God enters human community in all of its complexities, struggles, challenges, fears, and ultimately hope. As the narratives unfold, not only is it clear that God will not be restricted by societal and cultural conventions, but the human journey will be generated by faith and doubt, fear and hope, promise and fulfillment. Hemchand Gossai not only explores the various themes within a variety of texts, but maintains a constant eye on the implications for the church and contemporary readers. In this regard, some of the literal and particular experiences such as barrenness, wilderness, and wrestling with God are examined as metaphors for our experiences. The richness and texture of metaphors allow us to embrace these stories in a way that makes them our stories. Endorsements:""Hemchand Gossai has long been working on the stories of Abraham and Sarah with great clarity, literary sensitivity, and theological savvy. In this volume, he expands upon that journey with new studies regarding God, the human characters, and their interrelationships. Gathering the major themes from these narratives, Gossai presents them in such a way that Israel''s stories can speak once again into the complexities of our interreligious world. Students and scholars alike will benefit from his many insights.""--Terence E. Fretheim, Elva B. Lovell Professor of Old Testament, Luther Theological Seminary; author of Abraham: Trials of Family and FaithAbout the Contributor(s):Hemchand Gossai is Director of Religious Studies at Georgia Southern University. He is also the author of Social Critique by Israel''s Eighth-Century Prophets and River Crossings: Memories of a Journey--A Memoir.

This is an exhaustive and perceptive analysis of the use of 'mishpat' and 'sdq' in the Hebrew Bible and in particular the Eight-Century Prophets. The author focuses on the social critique of these prophets and the role of 'mishpat' and 'sdq' in this development. Further, the book offers an insightful exploration of chosen texts and provides a daring platform for contemporary society to discern the intrinsic connection between worship and social justice.

A Hermeneutic on Dislocation as Experience