April 30, 2007

Minneapolis – In the weeks after September 11, 2001, some conservative evangelists spoke of the terrorist attacks as God's judgment on the United States. Such comments appalled other Christians, who insisted the U.S. was an innocent victim of an act of pure evil.

In his latest book, Divine Justice, Divine Judgment: Rethinking the Judgment of a Nation, distinguished biblical scholar Dan Via discusses the ancient Greek and Hebrew conceptions of justice as the context for speaking of divine judgment in the present. While he rejects the belief (of Jerry Falwell and others) that the 9/11 terror attacks were "God's judgment" on an America that permitted homosexuality and abortion, Via does not wish to abandon the deeper biblical understanding of divine judgment on unjust nations, and asks what that understanding might mean for us today.

"Communities of Christians seem caught today on either one side or the other as a widening theological gap between the proclamation of God's justice and the proclamation of God's judgment. I confess that as a pastor, I have been much more comfortable living on the side of ‘justice,' leaving ‘judgment' to others. Now Dan Via builds a credible bridge between the two by returning to the words of scripture, the wounds of 9-11, and the warring world around us. Via makes an unswerving case for national judgment. . . ." – The Rev. Dr. Nancy Victorin-Vangerud, Pastor, Prospect Park United Methodist Church, Minneapolis; author of The Raging Hearth: Spirit in the Household of God.

Contents
Introduction: Twin Towers and Biblical Towers
1. Justice in Greek and Hebrew Thought
2. Divine Justice among the Prophets of Israel
3. Divine Justice and the Question of American Injustice
4. Speaking Theologically of Judgment
5. Unheeded Warnings
Conclusion: A Case for National Repentance

Dan O. Via is Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Duke University Divinity School. His recent books include What Is New Testament Theology? (Guides to Biblical Scholarship, 2002, 978-0-8006-3263-X) and with Robert Gagnon, Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views (2003, 978-0-8006-3618-X). He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Divine Justice, Divine Judgment: Rethinking the Judgment of Nations, By Dan O. Via, Price: $7.00, Format: Paperback, 208 pages, 4.25 x 7 inches, Item No: 978-0-8006-3896-2, Publisher: Fortress Press.

To order Divine Justice, Divine Judgment please call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at http://www.fortresspress.com/.

Fortress Press