Theologies in the Old Testament. (Briefly Noted).

Theologies in the Old Testament. By Erhard S. Gerstenberger (Fortress, $30). The plural "theologies" is central to the thesis of this series of lectures, originally delivered in Germany and Brazil. S. denies therefore that there is a "center" or even a unity in the Old Testament, and he traces out the contexts of that faith in family and clan, village and small town, tribal alliances, the monarchical state, and the confessional and parochial communities of the exile and beyond. Not surprisingly, S. envisages theologies today that are ecumenical and contextual, transcending in a sense the limits of Judaism and Christianity. S. has been a close observer of the role (or lack of it) of women in the Bible, and these lectures are peppered with asides that are controversial and worth the price of admission. Items: "The exchange of ideas between married couples is said on average still to claim five or six minutes a day." The family "has degenerated into a limited place of reproduction and ... a repair shop for burde ned solitary fighters." "The way in which some church statements still regard the family as the only valid norm for human social life is pure wishful thinking." Expect to be challenged on the history of Israel's religion and on the task of church leadership today.