New book

OK, new book. Hopefully you will find something to like in New Testament Christological Hymns; I know I have been. I purchased this one last year at the AAR/SBL Annual Meeting. I'm a little behind in my reading, as you probably have gathered by the slow pace of posting. Maybe this one will go a bit faster?

Anyway, here's the first excerpt:

Depending on the cultural and social world in which worshipers find themselves, not only may worship facilitate the broadening of one’s view of reality to include invisible, spiritual realities, but it may also take on the role of countering other claims that are on offer within the worshiper’s world. This is particularly the case when what is affirmed, proclaimed, and confessed about God in worship runs counter to affirmations, proclamations, and confessions that are accepted, or vying for acceptance, within society as a whole. As we will see, early Christian worship thus had very tangible and visible manifestations in words, actions, and rituals that made sense in the first century CE. It also offered a revolutionary worldview and countercultural perspective to those who participated in it.—Matthew Gordley, New Testament Christological Hymns, 12

<idle musing>
Indeed! And if ever we needed a countercultural look at the world, it is now!
</idle musing>