Experiencing Our Biblical Heritage

• Paperback
• 160 pages

Says Roland Murphy in the preface, “I began this series of essays on the Old Testament with an eye to the traditions of the Carmelite rule and way of life,” and he proceeds to focus on key ideas in the Carmelite tradition that have, as well, universal appeal—such as land, prophets, wisdom, prayer, the poor, and mysticism. He unfolds the background of important themes in our biblical heritage—including Speech and Silence, The Psalms and Prayer, and Who Are the Poor?—and reveals their rich contribution to our spiritual experience. Reviews.

"Roland Murphy is a 'church treasure' in the field of Old Testament studies. He is not only a senior among us, but a senior scholar who continues his work with freshness and with a deep sense of what is at stake in our faithful reading. He holds tenaciously to historical critical methods, but works them together with a mystical sensibility rooted in his own Carmelite community. The outcome is a series of essays that are not a full 'Old Testament theology,' but a clear model of how to do theological interpretation without the usual polemics on preliminary matters. Murphy has no energy for polemics; instead he lets the reader come close to the text with all of the generosity of the text that is matched by Murphy's own generosity as an interpreter. The accent in this particular book on 'experiencing' bespeaks the way in which Murphy intends the reading of the text to be a theologically significant enterprise for the reader." —Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

"Experiencing Our Biblical Heritage is a wonderful collection of the best of Father Roland Murphy’s thinking on the importance of the Bible for Christians today. He combines the fruit of his own life-long scholarship probing and revealing biblical origins and the ancient world of thought behind the Old Testament with rich insights into the spiritual meaning and liturgical expression of its use in Jewish and Christian tradition. In exploring the dramatic literary power of both prophetic stories and the major wisdom books, Fr. Murphy captures the vital and faith-filled efforts of biblical writers to pass on their unique experience of God. By combining insights into the individual biblical books with reflections on such major themes as silence, prayer, life and immortality, he brings alive the dynamic influence that the Old Testament has had for Christians through the centuries. Fr. Murphy writes with vast knowledge, clarity, sensitivity, passion, and above all, compassion, that opens the treasures of the Old Testament for any modern reader seeking spiritual wisdom." —Lawrence Boadt, CSP, Professor Emeritus of Sacred Scripture, Washington Theological Union, and President, Paulist Press.

Author Bio

Roland E. Murphy, O. Carm., is George Washington Ivey Emeritus Professor of Biblical Studies of Duke University and adjunct at the Washington Theological Union. He has participated in many biblical workshops, is coeditor of the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, and has written numerous articles, books, and commentaries.

Physical Info: 0.57" H x 8.53" L x 5.54" W (0.62 lbs) 160 pages