Missing the Mark: Sin and Its Consequences in Biblical Theology
Biblical Studies/Bible General"The haunting question of Karl Menninger, 'Whatever Happened to Sin?', is given full, thick answer here. Sin has been flattened, trivialized, reduced to 'crime,' and completely misconstrued among us. With shrewdness and finesse, Biddle shows the 'thickness' of sin in the Bible, and the way in which sin, without reductionism, pertains to the deepest human reality. Biddle is one 'Mark' that impressively does not miss!  Walter Brueggemann Columbia Theological Seminary"Missing the Mark is a watershed in the biblical study of sin. Beyond simplistic understandings of sin, it is a comprehensive recovery of the biblical understanding of sin as an organic continuum of act, condition, and cause. Biddle’s view of sin lays a momentous biblical foundation for the healing of sinners trapped in vicious cycles. This book is an indispensable tool for understanding the biblical conceptions of sin, salvation, and healing."Andrew Sung Park United Theological Seminary,Dayton, Ohio."Missing the Mark is more than a good book; it is an enormously important one.  Beginning with a simple thesis -- 'it matters how the church and its theologians define sin' -- Biddle first submits conventional views to a probing critique, then, calling upon insights drawn from biblical scholarship, philolosophy, psychology, social sciences, and common experience -- he offers a comprehensive diagnostic framework that provides 'enhanced tools for ministry.'  Pastors, scholars, students, laypersons -- in sum, all who seek better to understand the problem of human existence in the real-life world -- will welcome Biddle’s invitation to return once more to the abiding and transforming truths of a "biblically oriented theology of sin."  Samuel E. Balentine, Professor of Old Testament, Union Theological Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian EducationMark E. Biddle is Russell T. Cherry Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. CPSG:Biblical Studies/General Studies/General