The imaginative, poetic, astonishing scholar Walter Brueggemann 

Walter Brueggemann, who has died aged 92, was the most influential Old Testament scholar over several generations, writes Andy Goodliff 

Coming to prominence in 1978 with The Prophetic Imagination, he went on to write several landmark books on how to read the Old Testament, both as texts from the past and as a word for the present. The list of his books is ridiculously long, and here are just a few: The Message of the Psalms; David's Truth; Finally Comes the Poet; Texts Under Negotiation; Cadences of Home; The Word that Redescribes the World; Disruptive Grace.

On top of that were commentaries on Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy; 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Psalms; Isaiah, Jeremiah.

On top of that was his magnum opus Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy.

For Brueggemann the Old Testament was scripture and scripture in its own right, not just as a precursor to the New Testament. He read the Old Testament as gospel, good news. It was good news, but not easy news; Brueggemann showed how the Old Testament was a challenging word, a word that 'redescribes reality' and is a 'testimony to otherwise', generating 'abiding astonishment' and 'hopeful imagination.' (He had a wonderful gift for coining brilliant phrases.)

For some studying the Old Testament could be a boring affair — all about sources and dating — Brueggemann made it exciting and living and preachable, so preachable! He was a scholar and a preacher. Among the many many books were three collections of his sermons, and several books that were aids to the preacher. (Alongside the sermons, were also several books of prayers).

I have nearly everyone of his books, definitely every commentary, and they are all read, because to me he was such a helpful guide* to helping me see what a passage was saying or how it could be heard for a congregation.  

The church has lost a giant, but his voice will live on for a long time. He was a Christian of deep conviction, who loved God, who loved the Bible, who loved to preach from the Bible. Tributes to Walter, to him as a person and to his scholarship and his sermons will be many over the next few weeks and rightly so.

Let me encourage you to read him! You could almost start anywhere, but my top three would be The Prophetic Imagination, his commentary on Genesis, and the relatively more recent Disruptive Grace.


Image | walterbrueggemann.com 

Andy Goodliff is the minister of Belle Vue Baptist Church, Southend. He is a lecturer in Baptist History at Regent's Park College, Oxford

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