About the Author

Brent A. Strawn is professor of Old Testament and professor of law at Duke Divinity School. His is the author of over 200 articles and has edited or coedited over twenty volumes. He has also authored four books, including The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment (2017) and The Old Testament: A Concise Introduction (2019).

Reviews

"If you want to be honest before, about, and to God, not only in preaching, but in your entire life, this is the book for you. Strawn is a world-class biblical theologian, a truth-teller, and if we follow his wisdom, the Christian pulpit will eventually be set free to tell the honest-to-God truth and nothing but the truth." --Luke Powery, Duke Divinity School "Strawn brings his singular gifts to the reality and crisis of preaching. These include his deep, wide attention to Scripture, his deep reading in collateral disciplines, and his passion for the church. The church has spent too much energy being 'the friendliest place in town' and too much time being 'the happiest place in town.' And now, says Strawn, it is called to be 'the most honest place in town.'" --Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary "Preachers: Look no farther for your next sermon series (I won't). Professors: Look no farther for your next homiletics text (I won't). This is no book to sit back and passively consume. It is an invitation to the courage necessary to risk ecclesial confession and restoration. Who's with me?" --Jason Byassee, Vancouver School of Theology in British Columbia "Strawn is one of our most fruitful, astute, honest interpreters of Scripture. Strawn and his Old Testament friends shake our preconceptions, rattle our cages, and boldly speak to subjects that often dumbfound the contemporary church." --Will Willimon, Duke Divinity School "Strawn's bracing call for honesty about sin, suffering, and violence offers an important challenge to contemporary preaching. But what really sets this book apart is its close reading of some of the most difficult texts in the Old Testament. Strawn joins thoughtful exegesis with an integrative vision that illumines the whole." --Ted A. Smith, A. H. Shatford Professor of Preaching and Ethics, Candler School of Theology