Lyrics of Lament


Book Description

From ancient cultures to flashpoints in our own world, the rhythms and lyrics of an ancient art form, the lament, have provide an indispensable vehicle for women and men to give voice to their grief and protest. Nancy C. Lee surveys lament in the Abrahamic sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; examples of the people's lament in poetry and song from over thirty cultures worldwide; and practices for recovering lamentation as a vital expression for faith today. Book jacket.




Lament


Book Description

Lament seems to have been universal in the ancient world. As such, it is an excellent touchstone for the comparative study of attitudes towards death and the afterlife, human relations to the divine, views of the cosmos, and the constitution of the fabric of society in different times and places. This collection of essays offers the first ever comparative approach to ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern traditions of lament. Beginning with the Sumerian and Hittite traditions, the volume moves on to examine Bronze Age iconographic representations of lamentation, Homeric lament, depictions of lament in Greek tragedy and parodic comedy, and finally lament in ancient Rome. The list of contributors includes such noted scholars as Richard Martin, Ian Rutherford, and Alison Keith. Lament comes at a time when the conclusions of the first wave of the study of lament-especially Greek lament-have received widespread acceptance, including the notions that lament is a female genre; that men risked feminization if they lamented; that there were efforts to control female lamentation; and that a lamenting woman was a powerful figure and a threat to the orderly functioning of the male public sphere. Lament revisits these issues by reexamining what kinds of functions the term lament can include, and by expanding the study of lament to other genres of literature, cultures, and periods in the ancient world. The studies included here reflect the variety of critical issues raised over the past 25 years, and as such, provide an overview of the history of critical thinking on the subject.




A Sacred Sorrow


Book Description

God desires for us to pour out our hearts to Him, whether in joy or pain. But many of us don’t feel right expressing our anger, frustration, and sadness in prayer. From Job to David to Christ, men and women of the Bible understood the importance of pouring one’s heart out to the Father. Examine their stories and expand your definition of worship. Also available: A Sacred Sorrow Experience Guide (9781576836682, sold separately), to help individuals or small groups get the most out of this book.




The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms


Book Description

An indispensable resource for students and scholars, The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms features a diverse array of essays that treat the Psalms from a variety of perspectives. Classical scholarship and approaches as well as contextual interpretations and practices are well represented. The coverage is uniquely wide ranging.




Finding Lost Words


Book Description

The brokenness of this world inevitably invades our lives. But how do you maintain faith when overwhelmed by grief? When prayer goes unanswered? When all you have are questions, not answers? What do you say to God when you know he is in control but the suffering continues unabated? Is there any alternative to remaining speechless in the midst of pain and heartbreak? This book is about finding words to use when life is hard. These words are not new. They are modes of expression that the church has drawn on in times of grief throughout most of its history. Yet, the church in the West has largely abandoned these words--the psalms of lament. The result is that believers often struggle to know what to do or say when faced with distress, anxiety, and loss. Whether you are in Christian leadership, training for ministry, or simply struggling to reconcile experience with biblical convictions, Finding Lost Words will help you consider how these ancient words can become your own.




The Songbook of Benny Lament


Book Description

A piano man in 1960s New York keeps to himself and away from his father's mob ties until his hit collaboration with Esther Mine thrusts him into a national spotlight that also stirs up issues with his father's associates.




Lamentations in Ancient and Contemporary Cultural Contexts


Book Description

Personal tragedy and communal catastrophe up to the present day are universal human experiences that call forth lament. Lament singers--from the most ancient civilizations to traditional oral poets to the biblical psalmists and poets of Lamentations to popular singers across the globe--have always raised the cry of human suffering, giving voice to the voiceless, illuminating injustice, or pleading for divine help. This volume gathers an international collection of essays on biblical lament and Lamentations, illuminating their genres, artistry, purposes, and significant place in the history and theologies of ancient Israel. It also explores lament across cultures, both those influenced by biblical traditions and those not, as the practices of composition, performance, and interpretation of life's suffering continue to shed light on our knowledge of biblical lament. --From publisher's description.




Jesus Wept: The Significance of Jesus’ Laments in the New Testament


Book Description

Lament does not seem to be a pervasive feature of the New Testament, particularly when viewed in relation to the Old Testament. A careful investigation of the New Testament, however, reveals that it thoroughly incorporates the pattern of Old Testament lament into its proclamation of the gospel, especially in the person of Jesus Christ as he both prays and embodies lament. As an act that fundamentally calls upon God to be faithful to God's promises to Israel and to the church, lament in the New Testament becomes a prayer of longing for God's kingdom, which has been inaugurated in the ministry and resurrection of Jesus, fully to come.




Rachel's Cry


Book Description

""Modern theology needs the rediscovery of the category of consolation. This book is rich of consolations because it takes the cry of lament seriously."" --Jurgen Moltmann ""A timely, accessible, and valuable book. The recovery of the biblical traditions of loss and hurt is intrinsically worth doing, more worth doing in an increasingly disestablished society."" --Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary, Emeritus ""This cross-disciplinary collaboration is . . . poignant and compelling testimony to the personal and communal power of lament and its importance to the practice of ministry. This book is the one that I have been waiting for."" --Christie Cozad Neuger, Brite Divinity School ""Few books in the literature of lament have drawn together so much material from the biblical, theological, and pastoral spheres as Rachel's Cry."" --Patrick D. Miller, Princeton Theological Seminary ""Honesty with God is the doorway to authentic hope and faith. . . . This is one of the most liberating books I have read in a long time."" --James Newton Poling, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary ""This is the first book to bring scattered discussions together into one coherent whole . . . with deep Christian insight and conviction, with vivid examples, and with learning which is as gracefully communicated as it is broad and deep in its substance. I will be keeping it near at hand, so as to return to it often."" --Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale University ""Rachel's Cry is not only a timely book, it is an urgently needed resource for people who long for a way to live with irrational suffering. Unless we recover the prayer of lament, we are in danger of being trapped in powerlessness, cynicism, and despair."" --Herbert Anderson, Catholic Theological Union, Emeritus ""I found it difficult to put this book down. Rachel's Cry convincingly argues that an authentic and empowering spirituality requires the language of lament and protest alongside praise and thanksgiving."" --Nancy J. Ramsay, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Kathleen M. Billman is dean of academic affairs and professor of pastoral theology and counseling at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Daniel L. Migliore is Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.




Lament for a Son


Book Description

A loving father explores with honesty and intensity all facets of his grief at the death of his 25-year-old son.