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Featured Book

Great Themes of the Bible, Volume 1

Great Themes of the Bible, Volume 1 is the first volume in a series for laity that provides an accessible study of some of the Bible's most important themes. March traces the understanding of key themes, such as God, covenant, and sin, through the Old and New Testaments and demonstrates their importance for Christian life today. Discussion questions are included at the end of each chapter to enhance the usefulness of the book for church study groups.


W. Eugene March is A.B. Rhodes Old Testament Professor Emeritus at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He wrote the concluding These Times article for the January/February/March issue and devotions for the week of January 27 - February 4. He excerpted portions of his book in the devotions.


More about W. Eugene March


W. Eugene March is the author of God's Land on Loan, The Wide, Wide Circle of Divine Love: The Biblical Case for Religious Diversity, and editor of The Mighty Acts of God: Revised Edition, all published by Westminster John Knox Press.

Below is a recent interview with him.

Question: What has your ability to communicate biblical issues and themes to pastors and laity meant for you and your ministry?

Early on I decided that one of the major breakdowns in our church educational program was the failure of pastors and scholars to communicate the results of serious biblical study to the laity. Part of the problem was that pastors didn’t feel competent enough to deal with the technical issues. Another part of the difficulty was that scholars tended to write for their peers and not provide adequate explanation for non-specialists. So I decided that I should work on the problem and have dedicated much of my energy to trying to bridge the gap, so to speak. Too many people say “the Bible says” without actually knowing what it does day.

Question: How do you anticipate that the book [Great Themes] will be used? What do you hope those who read your book will take from it? How do you think the book is relevant for Christians today?

I hope contemporary Christians will find my work useful in better understanding what the Bible says on some of the more important theological topics that are foundational for Christian faith. I have tried to use non-technical language, so far as possible, to discuss what the Bible “means” when it addresses these topics or themes. Of course, every reader “interprets” to some degree, and I know I certainly do, but there is a lot of factual data that folk need to know about if they want to speak with any degree of integrity about what they think “the Bible says” on these issues. I hope my work will help people do that with better knowledge and with more confidence. Further, there was a conscious effort to approach these topics in light of the whole Bible and not simply one Testament or the other. The old Marcion heresy (the Old Testament is about a ‘bad god’ and the New Testament about a “good god”) is still alive and well in the church and needs to be put to rest.

Question: How do you think your new book, God’s Land on Loan, will help Presbyterians and others in faith communities understand the relationship between Israel and Palestine and the conflict that exists between the two countries? How do you hope this book will be used? What can you say to help people understand these issues a bit differently that they may have in the past?

To begin, there is an awful lot of ignorance – I don’t mean to sound judgmental, but I think that is just a fact – about the whole mid-East. Many people, Christians included, simply do not know much of the history that has led to the present state of affairs. I hope my book will help some people gain a better understanding of this history. Second, many Christians in the United States (and in the mid-East for that matter) tend to have a built-in bias either for or against Jews. Our denomination has long championed the cause of the Palestinians, and rightly so, but in so doing we have also fed a certain form of “anti-Jewish” prejudice. I think that my book presents a more balanced view than is sometimes found. I hope that the book may be used as a starting place for discussion about the issues. It would be good if groups of Christians and Jews could study the book together, but I know that might be difficult to arrange. One of the biggest problems, I think, is the tendency of many to confuse “biblical Israel” with “modern Israel,” so I spend a good bit of time trying to redress this “misinterpretation.” Many books approach the problems in the mid-East basically on the grounds of practical politics. While that is good, I feel that Christians should reflect theologically about the problems as well. So long as anyone thinks that God only loves the Jews or only loves the Palestinians or only favors any one group, misunderstanding is bound to occur. I hope my book will help people avoid that error.

Question: Can you talk a little bit about how that project [Wide, Wide Circle] was developed?

The book, in a way, is the culmination of a decade of reflection on the matter of theological diversity. It seems to me that this is one of the major theological issues of our time. In a nutshell: what do/should Christians think about people of other faith traditions? The long history of an “exclusivistic” interpretation – namely, that the Christian faith is the only legitimate way to experience God – is well-known. But is that actually what the Bible teaches? There are some passages that clearly support the traditional view, but there are many others that raise significant questions about the way other religions have been viewed in the past. So, I decided to explore some of these lesser-known passages and consider what they might suggest. In conversation with many lay people, I came to the conclusion that questions about pluralism/diversity and how to view the status of non-Christians in relation to God, was very important and needed to be addressed directly in light of the whole of the biblical message – not just the few “proof texts” that are regularly presented – and that is what I have tried to do. I hope the book will “give permission” for thinking Christians to recognize that we do not have to approach others in the exclusive way that has traditionally been taught. Many passages suggest that a more inclusive interpretation is quite in order.

Question: How dopes your faith inform and guide what you teach and what you write?

I work and write as a follower of Jesus Christ. I regularly worship with others of Christ’s followers and understand myself to be an advocate of and witness to the Lord Jesus. I believe that Christians have been given a special mission to testify to any and all about the all-embracing love of God as made incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. That is who I am and it is from this perspective that I try faithfully to articulate what I understand the Bible to say and to require. My study and writing is my current vocation and I rejoice in it.

Below is an interview with W. Eugene March.


Question: What has your ability to communicate biblical issues and themes to pastors and laity meant for you and your ministry?

Early on I decided that one of the major breakdowns in our church educational program was the failure of pastors and scholars to communicate the results of serious biblical study to the laity. Part of the problem was that pastors didn’t feel competent enough to deal with the technical issues. Another part of the difficulty was that scholars tended to write for their peers and not provide adequate explanation for non-specialists. So I decided that I should work on the problem and have dedicated much of my energy to trying to bridge the gap, so to speak. Too many people say “the Bible says” without actually knowing what it does day.

Question: How do you anticipate that the book [Great Themes] will be used? What do you hope those who read your book will take from it? How do you think the book is relevant for Christians today?

I hope contemporary Christians will find my work useful in better understanding what the Bible says on some of the more important theological topics that are foundational for Christian faith. I have tried to use non-technical language, so far as possible, to discuss what the Bible “means” when it addresses these topics or themes. Of course, every reader “interprets” to some degree, and I know I certainly do, but there is a lot of factual data that folk need to know about if they want to speak with any degree of integrity about what they think “the Bible says” on these issues. I hope my work will help people do that with better knowledge and with more confidence. Further, there was a conscious effort to approach these topics in light of the whole Bible and not simply one Testament or the other. The old Marcion heresy (the Old Testament is about a ‘bad god’ and the New Testament about a “good god”) is still alive and well in the church and needs to be put to rest.

Question: How do you think your new book, God’s Land on Loan, will help Presbyterians and others in faith communities understand the relationship between Israel and Palestine and the conflict that exists between the two countries? How do you hope this book will be used? What can you say to help people understand these issues a bit differently that they may have in the past?

To begin, there is an awful lot of ignorance – I don’t mean to sound judgmental, but I think that is just a fact – about the whole mid-East. Many people, Christians included, simply do not know much of the history that has led to the present state of affairs. I hope my book will help some people gain a better understanding of this history. Second, many Christians in the United States (and in the mid-East for that matter) tend to have a built-in bias either for or against Jews. Our denomination has long championed the cause of the Palestinians, and rightly so, but in so doing we have also fed a certain form of “anti-Jewish” prejudice. I think that my book presents a more balanced view than is sometimes found. I hope that the book may be used as a starting place for discussion about the issues. It would be good if groups of Christians and Jews could study the book together, but I know that might be difficult to arrange. One of the biggest problems, I think, is the tendency of many to confuse “biblical Israel” with “modern Israel,” so I spend a good bit of time trying to redress this “misinterpretation.” Many books approach the problems in the mid-East basically on the grounds of practical politics. While that is good, I feel that Christians should reflect theologically about the problems as well. So long as anyone thinks that God only loves the Jews or only loves the Palestinians or only favors any one group, misunderstanding is bound to occur. I hope my book will help people avoid that error.

Question: Can you talk a little bit about how that project [Wide, Wide Circle] was developed?

The book, in a way, is the culmination of a decade of reflection on the matter of theological diversity. It seems to me that this is one of the major theological issues of our time. In a nutshell: what do/should Christians think about people of other faith traditions? The long history of an “exclusivistic” interpretation – namely, that the Christian faith is the only legitimate way to experience God – is well-known. But is that actually what the Bible teaches? There are some passages that clearly support the traditional view, but there are many others that raise significant questions about the way other religions have been viewed in the past. So, I decided to explore some of these lesser-known passages and consider what they might suggest. In conversation with many lay people, I came to the conclusion that questions about pluralism/diversity and how to view the status of non-Christians in relation to God, was very important and needed to be addressed directly in light of the whole of the biblical message – not just the few “proof texts” that are regularly presented – and that is what I have tried to do. I hope the book will “give permission” for thinking Christians to recognize that we do not have to approach others in the exclusive way that has traditionally been taught. Many passages suggest that a more inclusive interpretation is quite in order.

Question: How dopes your faith inform and guide what you teach and what you write?

I work and write as a follower of Jesus Christ. I regularly worship with others of Christ’s followers and understand myself to be an advocate of and witness to the Lord Jesus. I believe that Christians have been given a special mission to testify to any and all about the all-embracing love of God as made incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. That is who I am and it is from this perspective that I try faithfully to articulate what I understand the Bible to say and to require. My study and writing is my current vocation and I rejoice in it.