Description
Book SynopsisThe Bible is filled with commands to care for the poor. But how does Scripture envision the people of God becoming a community capable of following those commands? In Formative Feasting, Dr. Michael J. Rhodes argues that meals stand at the heart of Scripture's strategy for moral formation oriented towards justice and solidarity. To make this case, Rhodes brings together a constructive, theological account of moral formation through practice with rigorous exegesis of the Deuteronomic tithe-meal and Corinthian Lord's Supper. By drawing on virtue ethics, ritual studies, and socio-economic research on meals in the ancient Near East and Greco-Roman world, Rhodes both demonstrates that these meals intended to transform the individual and corporate character of the communities that practiced them, and uncovers the mechanics of moral formation embedded within them. The result is a book that models a partnership between theological ethics and theological interpretation t
Trade Review
“Michael Rhodes’s Formative Feasting is a stunning example of the benefits that accompany a truly interdisciplinary and intertestamental approach to the Bible, theology, and ethics. Don’t be fooled by the textual foci, as important as Deuteronomy and 1 Corinthians are. Readers will gain much insight about these texts here, but this book is just as much about virtue ethics, ritual and liturgical ethics, and ecclesial formation. All by itself Part I of this volume is a tour de force that can stand alone and is well worth the price of the book. Rhodes models and then demonstrates what difference the Bible, theology, and ethics can make when they are pressed down, shaken together, and then, run over!” —Brent A. Strawn, Professor of Old Testament and Professor of Law, Duke University
“In Formative Feasting, Michael Rhodes offers a rich study on the tithe feast of Deuteronomy 14 and the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11. By drawing upon virtue ethics, ritual and liturgical studies, and biblical studies, Rhodes convincingly displays how these feasts were meant to form virtue within the communities of Ancient Israel and early Christianity. Highly recommended, especially for those interested in theological interpretation!” —Dr. Andrew Abernethy, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College
Table of Contents
Introduction – Constructing a Theory of Formative Practices – Sources for a Theory of Formative Practices: Virtue Ethics – Sources for a Theory of Formative Practices: Ritual and Liturgical Ethics – Formative Practices in the Context of Holistic Ecclesial Formation: A Constructive Account – Formative Practices, Holistic Ecclesial Formation, and the Deuteronomic Tithe Meal – Feasting for Fear of the Lord: Eating the Tithe and Acquiring Virtue in Deuteronomy 14:22– 29 – Feasting for Fear of the Lord: Eating the Tithe and Acquiring Virtue in Deuteronomy 14:22– 29 – Formative Practices, Holistic Ecclesial Formation, and the Lord’s Supper in Corinth – Approaching the Meal: Morally Formative Practices . . . In Paul? – Forward Unto Virtue: The Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:17– 34 as a Formative Practice– Conclusion – Bibliography – Index – Scripture Index.
