Robert K. Gnuse, The Old Testament and Process Theology - Book Review

St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2000. Pp. ix + 230. Paper, $29.99.

Robert Gnuse, professor of Old Testament at Loyola University of New Orleans, has put together a thirteen-chapter volume that integrates Process Theology into major First Testament themes. He admits that other scholars have written such books, but, as he says, "no one has attempted to articulate a wide range of specific themes from the Hebrew Scriptures in Whiteheadian terms" (p. 8). With that said, if one is not familiar with Process Thought one needs to be aware that Process is more of a philosophy than a theology. Therefore, the reader needs to recognize that Process scholars use a distinctive language--words such as "prehension," "primordial nature of God," objectification," "ingression," "actual entities," etc.--in their theological discussions. Although his presentation is somewhat technical, Gnuse explains much of the language and basic concepts of Process Thought in chapter two so that a college educated reader can understand it.

In the first three chapters, Gnuse gives an overview of recent scholarship (ch. 1), the basic tenets of Alfred North Whitehead's philosophy (ch. 2), and contributions of other major Process scholars such as Charles Hartshorne, John Cobb, Schubert Ogden, and Norman Pittenger (ch. 3). Chapter two is the most critical since the rest of the book is built upon its content. In this chapter, Gnuse describes Whitehead's philosophy of who God is and how God is involved in each moment--past, present, and future. He also explains how humanity has freedom of choice in decision-making and God's role in influencing those decisions. Then, in chapter three, Gnuse successfully weaves together Whitehead's philosophical foundation with the contributions of other scholars into his general overview of Process Thought.

In Chapters 4-11, Gnuse discusses basic First Testament themes from the Process perspective. He begins with a discussion of the God of the Hebrew Scriptures (ch. 5). The God of Process is active in the world, and he "lures individuals and the people of Israel as a whole into the future" (p. 70). He presents God as a "suffering God" in chapter six, where he also presents a viable theodicy.

Gnuse discusses the theme of creation in chapters seven and eight. His basic thought is that God and humanity are in the creative process together, a process that is still ongoing. Chapter nine is about the theme of covenant. Gnuse sums up the idea of covenant in saying, "Covenant language is close to the hearts of process thinkers, because they seek to describe the world as a social process, and the relationship of all things in the world ... are described in terms of social relationships" (p. 114). Gnuse discusses the role of the prophet in chapter nine, whose role is to speak "words of divine intent ..." (p. 130). God in the process of justice and law is the subject of chapter ten, and Gnuse discusses Process thought in relation to Heilsgeschichte in chapter eleven.

The final two chapters (12-13) cover the development and canonization of the Hebrew Scriptures. In chapter twelve, Gnuse discusses how Israel was influenced by its environment. He points out that this influence shaped the nature and content of the scriptures. Then he turns to the formation and canonization of scripture in chapter thirteen, which basically, as he admits, is a modified version of the Roman Catholic social inspiration model.

THE OLD TESTAMENT AND PROCESS THEOLOGY is a good overview of the basic concepts of Process Thought, including an introduction to key scholars and their contributions. This is the strength of the book. Using the First Testament themes of creation, covenant, prophecy, justice and law, etc., Gnuse applies Process Philosophy to the Bible and demonstrates what Process Thought can contribute to theology. The book is organized in a fluid manner, and the author proves his knowledge of the subject matter. The minor drawback to the book is the font size. The print should have been larger, especially in the footnotes. If you are interested in Process Theology and have reading glasses, the book is worth reading.

The book has a sizable bibliography, divided into Process Thought and Biblical Studies sections, and it has scripture, author and subject indices. These tools should prove most helpful to one doing research or wishing to do additional reading on the subject.

Terry W. Eddinger
Houston Graduate School of Theology
High Point Campus
High Point, NC 27262

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