Book Description
Ideal for any Cultural Anthropology course, this brief and inexpensive collection of ethnographic case studies introduces students to fifteen cultures and exposes them to ethnography without overwhelming them with excessive reading material. Each sketch, or chapter, was selected for its relevance to students and for its ability to reflect the basic concepts found in introductory courses. Each sketch concludes with critical thinking questions that enable students to test their understanding of how and why this mini-ethnography illuminates the anthropological theory presented in their textbook. All sketches follow a logical, consistent organization as they introduce students to major themes such as geography, myth creation, history, sociopolitical systems, and belief systems.
Customer Reviews:
Love It.......2007-08-09
Even though I had to buy this book for an anthropology class for college, I absolutely love it. Every bit of information is both colorful and interesting. There are some things you wouldn't even guess were out there, but they are, and the people talked about in this book are extraordinary to learn about. Even just for reading because of interest in different cultures around the world, I would recommend this book to anyone. It was great.
Great for all!.......2000-08-14
Peters-Golden's Culture Sketches is a must have for any student of anthropology or anyone interested in the basics of anthropology. Each chapter reviews and details a particular culture/society and explains the particular culture in an academic and laymans way. In other terms, the book is easy to understand even if you do not know a thing about anthropology and it provides useful information for students and academics alike about 13 societies that exist or have existed on this planet. These are not detailed ethnographies, i.e. they do not explain every thing about the society. Peters-Golden gives a taste of each society and encourages to further explore the societies that interest the reader. If you are a student looking for an insight on what anthropologists study (such as economic systems, religion, rituals, beliefs in magic and mystics, marriage rites, rites of passage, etc) or anyone else who is curious about the other societies on this planet, this book is for you.
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- A helpful hint in the right direction
- Very helpful book
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Graphic Thinking for Architects and Designers
Paul Laseau
Manufacturer: Wiley
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Architectural Drawing: A Visual Compendium of Types and Methods
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Visual Notes for Architects and Designers
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Architecture: Form, Space, & Order
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Design Through Discovery: An Introduction
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Design Drawing
ASIN: 0471352926 |
Book Description
The essential design companion-now in an up-to-date new edition
For architects, drawing is more than a convenient way to communicate ideas; it is an integral part of the creative process that has a profound impact on thinking and problem-solving. In Graphic Thinking for Architects and Designers, Third Edition, Paul Laseau demonstrates that more versatile and facile sketching leads to more flexible, creative approaches to design challenges. To encourage this flexibility and stimulate graphic thinking, he introduces numerous graphic techniques that can be applied in a variety of situations. He also helps readers acquire a solid grasp of basic freehand drawing, representational drawing construction, graphic note-taking, and diagramming.
Important features of this new edition include:
* Easy-to-understand discussions supported by freehand illustrations
* A new format with superior representation of techniques and concepts
* Dozens of new and updated illustrations
* Extensive coverage of new technologies related to the graphic thinking process
For architects and students who want to maximize their creativity, Graphic Thinking for Architects and Designers is a valuable tool in the pursuit of architectural solutions to contemporary design problems.
Customer Reviews:
A helpful hint in the right direction.......2000-05-27
As an Architecture Student, I really enjoyed this book. It was very helpful with sketching techniques and just general concepts related to architecture. It was a required text for a class, but it has been a helpful reasource since. I recommend this book to any person wishing to develop a good sketching technique. This book refrences very important works by Aalto and Wright. It also addresses important and helpful hints about abstraction of ideals and their graphic weight.
Very helpful book.......2000-03-30
As an interior design student I have found this book to be very informative and helpful. The step by step analysis of the design process is terrific and I've practically worn out the copy at the library, so it's time to buy it for myself.
Average customer rating:
- You Can Sketch: A Step by Step Guide for Absolute Beginners
- Must have for beginners!!
- Sketching
- Sketching as a Hobby
- Very Basic but a good place to begin
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You Can Sketch: A Step-by-Step Guide for Absolute Beginners
Jackie Simmonds
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ASIN: 0823059928 |
Book Description
Absolute Beginners guides represent a fresh new series of drawing and painting books for budding artists written by professional artist/ teachers. In You Can Sketch, master artist Jackie Simmonds leads the novice by the hand, demonstrating dozens of step-by-step, easy-to-follow techniques using a variety of sketching media. Over 100 clear, full-color illustrations show readers how to sketch the separate elements of simple still life and landscape subjects one by one in pencil, charcoal, colored pencil, pastel pencil, and Conté crayon. Explicit instructions demonstrate how easy it is to combine these different elements to make a finished picture. With You Can Sketch, even the most hesitant artists will gain confidence and start sketching fast!
Customer Reviews:
You Can Sketch: A Step by Step Guide for Absolute Beginners.......2007-01-11
For the size and price of this book it is packed with very usable information. It is easy to read for young and old. The book details various media and materials and composition.
The demonstrations are very nice. I was very surprised at the variety of sketches from small objects to landscapes,animals, people,skies,water,etc.
I would recommend this book for beginners as well as those who have been sketching their own pictures for painting.
Sharon
Must have for beginners!!.......2006-06-15
I absolutely love this book!! Being a beginner wanting to learn basics about drawing everything from landscapes to fruit the book lets you explore the different methods and mediums. It's also a complete confidence builder and I was excited to run out a get a sketch book (which she encourages) to learn to become better. There is something in here for everyone and she makes it so easy to follow her step-by-step examples. You can choose your favorite medium to use, from charcoal to pastel pencils instead of being tied the medium she used in her examples, this is also a great way to see the differences between the textures of each medium. I borrowed this book from the library but I intend to purchase it to refer to as a reference! A must have for beginners and a great source for finding your favorite medium!
Sketching.......2006-02-08
Jackie Simmonds wonderful pastel books have saved me more times than I can count and I can't say enough about those wonderful books so I won't even start. So, when I told my art teacher I'm going to England in the Spring she suggested I take a sketchbook along with my camera. Not having done any sketching beyond a quick thumbnail in class to check composition and value of a still life I felt panic set in. I didn't need to worry, as soon as I found that Ms. Simmonds had a sketch book I knew I'd be fine and she hasn't dissapointed me. This book makes it almost impossible to mess up. You don't have to work page by page through this book, just pick an example you like and with a little time, (as in a few mins!) you will have produced a nice sketch and it will encourage you to do more. This book is really inspiring and confidence building. Now I can't wait to go to England and I'm going to take 2 sketch books! Ms. Simmonds shows you that art doesn't have to be scary and gives you the confidence and inspiration to really surprise yourself with what you can produce.
Sketching as a Hobby.......2002-09-16
I decided to do some sketching as a hobby. This book was perfecto. It is easy to understand and explains basic methods used. Simmonds explains exactly which parts of your subject to focus on and where to start. It also gives a good list of materials to use but simple pencils are all you need. I love this book because it gets me excited about sketching.
Very Basic but a good place to begin.......2002-06-22
The title says it all for this book. The author skillfully takes the reader on a step-by-step tour of basic sketching techniques. Throughout the book each project has detailed illustrations showing how the sketches should look as the reader follows along. It covers several drawing media including pencils, charcoal, pastel pencils, water soluble colored pencils, etc. The instruction covers basic sketching, shading, and composition techniques. Sketching subjects in the lessons include fruits, vegetables, natural forms, plants, flowers, trees, skies, water, landscapes, animals, people, buildings, people and the seaside. If you have had no art training and don't know where to begin or just want to try your hand at sketching then this is an excellent place to start.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent series.......2006-12-01
We have owned and used this 3 book series for about 15 years or so and it is a favorite of all ages. All our children have grown up on them and love them. We are a home educating family and our girls always said this was the painless way to get nature science. These books help form a great foundation for education, as character is the foundation for learning. Now our grown children are desiring their own copies for their homes and children. Each Volume of this series covers 7 Character traits in 4 aspects each. Each aspect has a defining statement, Scripture verse, nature story, facts about the animal in the story, and a Biblical illustration of the Character trait.
Excellent book.......2006-08-14
It's engaging, has wonderful illustrations of different animals. It teaches you about different animals and highlights how their behavior exemplifies a particular character trait. Then it ties it all together with stories from the bible exemplifying the same character trait. The stories are short and make a wonderful study of various character traits. Especially if your reader enjoys nature. I think this would be enjoyed by kids 7 to adults.
Book Description
For the first time since it originally appeared, this classic work has been newly typeset in an easy-to-read modern typeface, making reading, studying, consulting easier than ever before.
The most relevant citations of Scripture, rabbinic sources, and the works of Philo and Josephus are supplied to complement Edersheim's masterful assessment of the writings of Jesus' day. This makes bland references come alive, in many cases shedding invaluable light on difficult passages or capturing the deep devotion. Edersheim brings to the task of understanding the world of Jesus and his disciples.
The scenes portrayed by Edersheim's hand come alive in the more than 50 carefully selected illustrations, maps, photos, and drawings. Enhanced both aesthetically and practically, this edition of Sketches of Jewish Social Life has no rival.
Edersheim's notes remain indispensable for unlocking the mysteries of the ancient world. Always sensitive to the priority of God's Word, Edersheim takes the reader back to the Bible time and again to show the authority behind his writing. Readers know they will receive reliable primary and secondary resources in these helpful notes.
Customer Reviews:
Great for Details.......2007-02-14
Edersheim's book on Jewish social life was just what I needed for many of the questions that arose while I was writing "Maccabee." Whenever I needed to give a description of clothing, housing, sleeping arrangements, food, or anything else related to daily lifestyle, this book and William L. Coleman's "Today's Handbook of Bible Times & Customs" were my two best sources of information. This book is a vital addition to any Bible student's personal library.
Crammed full of solid facts........2005-07-04
Chapter 2, Jews and Gentiles in the Land, was very helpful for my Ph.D. dissertation against modern tithing. I quoted this book more than any other because of its conciseness (pages 15-17, 118 [education], 169 [crafts], 172, 173 [trades/guilds].
A Good Intro for Understanding the Times of Christ.......2002-03-10
If you're looking for a good introduction to the period of time surrounding Jesus Christ, this book will do nicely. It gives enough detail so as not to leave the reader hanging, but does not overwhelm the reader with complex issues, which is why it is referred to as sketches in the title. However, if you're looking for an in depth study of this period, there are other resources that would provide much more detail although not necessarily in one text. This author does a nice job of pulling together various mainstream resources for his work like the Mishnah and the Talmud, although the Talumud was compliled much later. The most important teaching I could see was the exposition on the various sects and political forces that exerted influence during this quasi-theocratic state regardless of their tributary status under the Romans. Considering the time of writing, late 19th century, I doubt you can find anything better geared toward a Christian audience. For most Christians, this book will help fill a void that exists and continues to hinder a proper understanding of the contextual issues surrounding New Testament studies.
Read Acts 10 if you think Paul was on the roof........2001-03-06
SKETCHES OF JEWISH SOCIAL LIFE and other classic works by Alfred Edersheim have gone out of copyright and are available for free online if you can't afford to buy here.
What was Paul doing on the roof top?.......2000-04-26
If an American was writing a book meant to be read by today's Americans, he would routinely use phrases such as "they went through a drive in" or "9 to 5" without giving it a second thought. He'd be confident that every reader would know what was meant by those words and wouldn't fill his pages with lengthy explanations of every day items. The early writers of the New Testament also assumed that the readers of their writings would know what words Christ prayed over the cup at the Last Supper, why a bunch of virgins were waiting for hours outside the bridal door and what Paul would be doing sitting around on his roof when he has the vision. However, many of us in the modern world have wondered about these "curosities". Edersheim clears them up with his extensive research and thorough examination of the Jewish life in the time of Christ. This is the world the New Testament was originally written for and Edersheim fills in the gaps the early writers left in the "common knowledge" of the day. The book, while rich in theology, is easy and entertaining to read. It sheds light on the Bible and brings to life the scriptures. It will enlighten and enrich every Christian from the oldest scholar to the newest convert.
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Published in 1949, shortly after the author's death, A Sand County Almanac is a classic of nature writing, widely cited as one of the most influential nature books ever published. Writing from the vantage of his summer shack along the banks of the Wisconsin River, Leopold mixes essay, polemic, and memoir in his book's pages. In one famous episode, he writes of killing a female wolf early in his career as a forest ranger, coming upon his victim just as she was dying, "in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes.... I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, no wolves would mean hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view." Leopold's road-to-Damascus change of view would find its fruit some years later in his so-called land ethic, in which he held that nothing that disturbs the balance of nature is right. Much of Almanac elaborates on this basic premise, as well as on Leopold's view that it is something of a human duty to preserve as much wild land as possible, as a kind of bank for the biological future of all species. Beautifully written, quiet, and elegant, Leopold's book deserves continued study and discussion today. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
This special edition of the highly acclaimed A Sand County Almanac commemorates the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Aldo Leopold, one of the foremost conservationists of our century. First published in 1949 and praised in The New York Times Book Review as "full of beauty and vigor and bite," A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land. The volume includes a section on the monthly changes of the Wisconsin countryside; another section that gathers together the informal pieces written by Leopold over a forty-year period as he traveled around the woodlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Sonora, Oregon, Manitoba, and elsewhere; and a final section in which Leopold addresses more formally the philosophical issues involved in wildlife conservation. As the forerunner of such important books as Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire, and Robert Finch's The Primal Place, this classic work remains as relevant today as it was forty years ago.
Customer Reviews:
My view.......2007-10-07
Well written book. A. Leopold was an early messenger regarding people`s influence on nature and the risk of damage because of short-sighted politics/business. His description of his surroundings is vivid. One wonders how "his" landscape looks today!
A sand county Almanac: and sketches Here And there by Aldo Leopoid.......2007-02-27
was not a hard covered book recieved a paper back. I kept it only because I wanted to read it. arrived in good condition and in about 10 days
First Time User.......2007-01-16
The whole process went great. It took a few minutes extra at the beginning as it was my first time. Since then, I have bought another book and some other items. It's truly a great way to get a good deal on thing you would never think were available on line. Have plans for many other items that I have been checking out as my budget allows.
an excellent edition of an outstanding book.......2007-01-16
Book worth reading and re-reading for anyone interested in ecology, also professionally, or who has respect for the natural world. In a way it is pity that the book is as vital now as it was. Our undersanding of ecology and needs for looking after our environment increased alongside with the rate of its destruction
book revisited.......2007-01-13
except for about 3 missprinted words in this book,it is just as good a read as it was for me in high school.A true conservation and nature classic.
Book Description
Our Nig is the tale of a mixed-race girl, Frado, abandoned by her white mother after the death of the child's black father. Frado becomes the servant of the Bellmonts, a lower-middle- class white family in the free North, while slavery is still legal in the South, and suffers numerous abuses in their household. Frado's story is a tragic one; having left the Bellmonts, she eventually marries a black fugitive slave, who later abandons her.
Wilson combined and subverted two literary styles, the sentimental novel and the slave narrative, in writing Our Nig, which was drawn from her real-life experience. Her sardonic treatment of abolitionists in the novel has long perplexed scholars and readers; Foreman and Pitts explain this puzzle in their Introduction and recount Wilson's life and career after the 1859 publication of Our Nig.
Customer Reviews:
Slave of Northern Abolitionist but free.......2007-05-07
This book was written by a woman who was supposed to be a free Black woman. In fact she was treated like a slave, a Black wage slave. She was oppressed by a family of who were Northern Abolitionists. Yet, she was treated like a slave. Succeeding generations of whites studying the book denied her and her class the ability to write such a book: they claimed the book had to have been written by a white person and that it was a novel, not real.
Millions of Black women who have slaved in white kitchens and cleaning white homes during and since slavery have a spokesperson in Harriet E. Wilson. This book helps us understand not just to pity them, but to understanding their ability to fight back with their minds.
buy it with the Foreman & Pitts introduction.......2005-05-08
Though I currently have the 1983 edition with the introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr (whose name is in the introduction for almost every important Af-Am text in circulation, it seems), I plan on getting this latest edition.
Until recently, biographical details on Wilson were limited. Indeed, they seemed to trail off soon after the publication of her book (a death certificate for her son six months after its printing has suggested to some that her call for support went unheard). This introduciton offers new and happier information, showing that Wilson lived a long life--in part as a successful lecturer on the Spiritualist circuit.
In any edition this is a great book. Really, "great" isn't superlative enough to cover how important and interesting it is. But if you're going to buy it, get this edition.
The North Wasn't Much Better.......2000-09-15
The female child of a white female outcast and a black freeman, the author gives a detailed account of what it was like being raised by a white family in the pre-Civil War North of the United States (a household where she was abandoned by her mother at 3). This biography gives a general idea of what a Negro's life in the North was like -- and it was not much different from that life of a slave in the South. The mistress of the house was brutal beyond measure, but many of the other family members were reasonably kind (though not kind of enough to put a stop to the abuse), and it makes one shudder to think of what could have happened in a family who had nothing but Negro-haters in it. Still, she recounts how she got a small measure of schooling, and how she eventually became a Christian (something which the lady of the house -- a Christian herself -- opposed) and her eventual marriage. An upsetting story, it is nevertheless of much more value than "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as it was told from the point of view of the victim and not a sympathetic white.
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The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies Revised Edition (Popular Authors Series)
Bernard A. Drew
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ASIN: 1563086158 |
Book Description
The book focuses on individuals writing in the '90s, but also includes 12 classic authors (e.g., Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, J.R.R. Tolkien) who are still widely read by teens. It also covers some authors known primarily for adult literature (e.g., Stephen King) and some who write mainly for middle readers but are also popular among young adults (e.g., Betsy Byars). An affordable alternative to multivolume publications, this book makes a great collection development tool and resource for author studies. It will also help readers find other books by and about their favorite writers.
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- Brilliant, engaging, and inspired
- Above head-height
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Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch (Current Issues in Theology)
John Webster
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Longing to Know
ASIN: 0521538467 |
Book Description
John Webster argues that, whereas any understanding of scripture must be subject to appropriate textual and historical interrogation, it is also necessary to acknowledge the special character of scriptural writing. His book strongly reaffirms that the triune God is at the core of a scripture-based Christianity. Written with intellectual enthusiasm by a theologian who understands the currents of modern secular thought, the volume develops a constructive position on biblical authority.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant, engaging, and inspired.......2006-04-01
This little book is not a light read. Webster writes at a high level of discourse and assumes the reader is familiar with theological terms and developments. As a masters level student, I read this at the tail end of my first year and still felt I was only grazing the surface. Webster is particular with his word usage, serving the purpose of delivering a very punctual, direct message. He uses terms that require industry specific familiarity, nearly to the scholar's level. It is not enough to look up the unfamiliar words in a dictionary, as the words are nuanced according to current-day use.
That said, John Webster was certainly targeting his scholarly peers with this book. It is fascinating and brilliant. He addresses the both the liberal and fundamentalist position over scripture as arrogant and overstepping the authority given to the church by God. The main thrust is that the church should come before God on its knees in humility, instead of "lording" over the Scriptures. The church should not act like God, thus "limiting" God. It should not claim to know things it can not know. The church should not worship its own authority, but allow God to continually make and rebreak it, to continue to allow God's truth to speak... Jesus upholds the church, just as he upholds the individual believer. The church never "arrives", never has it all figured out. God's revelation has not stopped. The Scriptures are not God's Word without the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, it is just a book. The Holy Spirit is required for truth from the Scriptures to be grasped. This is because God's revelation is being continually revealed to us. The Scriptures are living and breathing and powerful because of the HS. We should be open to God's leading. We can not read the Bible and force our interpretation on the Bible. Instead, we should approach it with humility before God and wait for him to reveal it to us. We should maintain our understanding of it in humility. Neither the individual nor the church is ever an authority over the Scriptures. The Scriptures are in continued authority over the church, and with the HS will reshape the church over and over, perserving truth. This is much like how walking with God is a faith proposition. To try to define it and box it up, or to create a list of rules and say "this is walking with God" is to miss the point. The church must do the very same thing with regard to the scriptures.
Above head-height.......2005-04-14
I really should downgrade the original 2-star rating as per my former comment below. But I'll leave it.
I quit trying to read this book. I have offered it to a Pastor friend of mine with the challenge of reading AND understanding what it is that Webster is attempting to say. And I say, 'happy trails'. Not me. Waste of my money and time.
My 2-star rating was simply a preliminary to approach my comment.
Although I am only 20 or so pages into this book I am already disconcerted. I have had to re-read passages to attempt to grasp Webster's point.
What is the point of phrasing a book in such a way that it is severely restrictive in readership. Already, before even touching on content, the application is narrowed, for not many can go there. It requires a highfalutin vocabulary, probably available only to graduate and post-graduate theological/philosophical minds.
I have read 'theological' books for some time, and enjoy (and am quite interested in, from a 'what's going on?' perspective) the current discussions on interpreting Scripture. Webster's approach, according to the write-up, was particularly attractive to me, as I stand squarely on the Divine source and His intention to be understood at all levels.
I will wade through this one for that reason. But .. wow!
Brilliant!.......2003-11-26
Hurray! At last a robustly trinitarian and systematic account of Scripture! Webster lays out succinctly, and with refreshing clarity, a doctrine of Scripture in terms of the doctrines of God (chapter 1), the church (chapter 2), and salvation (chapter 3), and then turns, in the final chapter, to a consideration of the role of Scripture in the task of theology. Rejecting critical detachment from his subject, refusing distraction by debates in modern hermeneutics, and setting aside even such pertinent issues as Scripture's relation to tradition and proclamation, Webster has written an urgent and focused account of the nature of Scripture and its role in the economy of grace.
Chapter 1, `Revelation, sanctification and inspiration'. Webster argues that a doctrine of Holy Scripture must be based on a prior account of divine communicative activity; everything to be said about Holy Scripture must be `subservient to the self-presentation of the triune God' (6). Webster then describes this self-presentation in terms of revelation, sanctification, and inspiration. Revelation is `the life-giving and loving presence of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Spirit's power among the worshipping and witnessing community' (12). `The "sanctification" of Scripture (its "holiness") and its "inspiration" (its proceeding from God) are aspects of the process whereby God employs creaturely reality in his service' (8-9). Speaking of Scripture in terms of these three particular aspects of divine communicative activity preserves the priority of divine action, what Webster calls `proper dogmatic order'. Particularly helpful are Webster's explanation of his choice of the term `sanctification' to depict God's use of Scripture, along with his critique of descriptions of Scripture as divine accommodation, as analogous to the hypostatic union, as testimony, as a means of grace, and as taking `servant form' (Berkouwer).
Chapter 2, `Scripture, church and canon'. Where God is communicatively present, says Webster, there also is the church. The church, therefore, is rightly described as the `creature of the word', and so a doctrine of Scripture must also address Scripture's relationship to the church. According to Webster, `The definitive act of the church is faithful hearing of the gospel of salvation announced by the risen Christ in the Spirit's power through the service of Holy Scripture' (44). Webster then offers suggestive sketches of the visibility and apostolicity of the church, Scripture's authority within the church (`its Spirit-bestowed capacity to quicken the church to truthful speech and righteous action' (52)), and the church's act of canonisation.
Chapter 3, `Reading in the economy of grace'. What then does God's communicative presence, within the communion of the church, achieve in the individual reader of Scripture? In this deeply moving, even devotional, chapter, interwoven with seasoned advice from the likes of Calov, Calvin, Bonhoeffer, and Zwingli, Webster portrays the act of reading Scripture as `an instance of the fundamental pattern of all Christian existence, which is dying and rising with Jesus Christ through the purging and quickening power of the Holy Spirit. Reading Scripture is thus best understood as an aspect of mortification and vivification: to read Scripture is to be slain and made alive' (88).
Chapter 4, `Scripture, theology and the theological school'. The `Current Issues in Theology' series to which this book belongs is intended for `upper-undergraduates and graduate students of theology, as well as...Christian teachers and church professionals'. It is appropriate, then, that the one particular, non-dogmatic issue Webster chooses to address is the role of Scripture in the theological tasks of formulating doctrine, catechesis, and training church leaders. Taking his cue this time from Ursinus, Webster argues that theology, in all its tasks, is `a simple sketch or outline of the different parts of Christian teaching with an eye to their scope and interrelations. There is no organising principle,...and no interest in defence or apologetic commendation: the aim is simple summary description' (113). Theology, therefore, is `not a set of improvements on Scripture', but is rather `most properly an invitation to read and reread Scripture, to hear and be caught up by Scripture's challenge to a repentant, non-manipulative heeding of God's Word' (130). Webster then concludes this extraordinary account of Scripture with Calvin's `Jeremiah' prayer and a poignant appeal from Augustine's sermons on the Gospel of John.
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