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Book Review: The Religion of the Earliest Churches: Creating a Symbolic World

a detailed exegetical process. In fact the procedure is so detailed that in its full form it has more value for the seminarian composing a term paper than for a busy pastor writing weekly sermons. Chapter 9 aims at demonstrating how one makes a biblical text relevant for a contemporary audience by means of sample expositions. This section is the weakest part of the book. His sermons and Bible studies rarely demonstrate how detailed exegesis of the Hebrew text actually benefits a final exposition. The samples sometimes advocate dubious exegetical conclusions and belabor the reader with lengthy, tangential illustrations. The author's very casual sermonic style is often cliched and generally aimed at a youth audience. Thankfully, the book concludes on a more positive note with a final chapter that contains some helpful exegetical exercises for students. Chisholm's book is a mixed bag. On the one hand the style of his writing at the beginning and end is so colloquial that it puts the reader off. The sermonic expositions of chapter 9 are unappealing. His failure to appreciate the benefits that come from a judicious use of critical methodologies robs him of certain exegetical tools that he needs to demonstrate for the reader. On the other hand, he offers some sound encouragement and guidance in dealing with the Hebrew text itself, and his syntactical survey of biblical Hebrew is an excellent resource.