Confronting Old Testament Controversies: Pressing Questions About Evolution, Sexuality, History, and Violence

The Old Testament is rife with controversial passages and events that raise questions about its continued significance for today. Often our solutions have tended toward the extremes--ignore problem passages and pretend they don't matter or obsess over them and treat them as though they are the only thing that matters. Now Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman confronts pressing questions of concern to modern audiences, particularly young people in the church:  
  
the creation/evolution debate  
  
human sexuality  
  
the historicity of people, places, and events  
  
God-ordained violence  
  
Pastors, leaders in the church, and thoughtful and troubled Christians in the pews will find here a well-reasoned and faithful approach to dealing with the Old Testament passages so many find challenging or disconcerting.  
  
"Longman's high view of biblical authority, his deep pastoral concern, and his commitment to the power of the gospel have shaped this insightful guide to help inform our conversation about difficult and hotly debated Old Testament topics."--Paul Copan, Palm Beach Atlantic University; coeditor of the Dictionary of Christianity and Science and author of Is God a Moral Monster?  
  
"In this book Tremper Longman III is courageous, clear, charitable, and confessional. This book will be a blessing and resource for those wrestling with these contentious issues in honesty and faith."--Christopher J. H. Wright, Langham Partnership; author of Old Testament Ethics for the People of God and The God I Don't Understand  
  
Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. Before coming to Westmont, he taught at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia for eighteen years. He has authored or coauthored more than thirty books, including An Introduction to the Old Testament, How to Read Proverbs, The Lost World of the Flood, and commentaries on Genesis, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Jeremiah and Lamentations, and Daniel.  
  
-Publisher.

For many people, skeptics and believers alike, the Old Testament is rife with controversial passages and events that make both belief and sharing our beliefs with others difficult. Often our solutions have tended toward the extremes--ignore problem passages and pretend they don't matter or obsess over them and treat them as though they are the only thing that matters.  
  
Now with clarity of purpose and fidelity to the message and spirit of Scripture as a whole, Tremper Longman confronts pressing questions of concern to modern audiences, particularly young people in the church:  
  
- the creation/evolution debate  
- God-ordained violence  
- the historicity of people, places, and events  
- human sexuality  
  
Pastors, leaders in the church, and thoughtful and troubled Christians in the pews will find here a well-reasoned and faithful approach to dealing with the Old Testament passages so many find challenging or disconcerting.Read less