Let Justice Roll Down: The Old Testament, Ethics, and Christian Life.

After an introductory discussion of the role of the Old Testament in church life, its moral perspective, and some rules of interpretation, Birch follows the biblical story in rough chronological order (beginning with Genesis and ending with the Wisdom literature) to tease out the major ethical considerations reflected m the text of the Hebrew Bible. I must confess not to have read the book right through. I used it for my own personal background reading while teaching an undergraduate course on biblical foundations of theology and, as a consequence, read in a rather unsystematic fashion (e.g,, "Let's see what Birch says about the psalms") and over a four-month period.

In general my impression is of an author who has a deep pastoral orientation in his biblical scholarship, a gift for clear exposition, and a fine grasp of the main contours of scholarly research. The book is very "user-friendly" for those, like myself, who are not professional scholars of the Hebrew Bible: the extensive bibliography is limited to English titles; there is an index of scriptural passages (always a plus!); and where there are scholarly disputes, Birch tells us what they are and how he assesses them. Above all, he keeps his topic in focus: how the Old Testament enriches the way we live.

Birch's work is not aimed at scholars, but at anyone who wishes to help make his or her learning come alive for others. I think pastors, teachers, and serious readers of the Bible will profit from a reading of it. It would make a good book for background reading in college ethics courses but could also be used for adult education.

Gutierrez's most recent work, like his fine WeDrink from Our Own Wells (1984), locates itself at the intersection of theology and spirituality or, more precisely, in the area of what was once called "biblical theology." This present work is a meditation, to borrow Pascal's classic phrase, not on the god of the philosophers but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and, as Gutierrez notes in his introduction, that same God is the God of Jesus. I say that this work is one of biblical theology because it is on the biblical text that Gutierrez keeps his eye as he plumbs the mystery of the God of revelation.