Three Tabor authors have books published this year
Three Tabor College professors have been rather busy lately.
That's because in addition to their normal teaching duties, they've also been writing books. And all three have had books published during this academic year.
The authors were honored Friday morning during a fellowship at the Wohlgemuth Music Education Center.
Dr. Richard Kyle, professor of history and religious studies, has published the book "The Ministry of John Knox: Pastor, Preacher and Prophet." This was his sixth book, but it was also his second about Knox, the Scottish reformer.
Kyle became intensely interested in Knox as a graduate student, he said Friday. But after writing his first Knox book, Kyle discovered that he had more to say about the man.
"The Ministry of John Knox" covers more than biographical matter. In addition to a summary of Knox's life, the book also talks about the pastorates he held and his approach to pastoral counseling.
Delving into Knox's life has showed him to be more complex than one might expect, Kyle said.
"He was a highly paradoxical figure," he said.
Another book presented Friday morning deals not just with one man's faith, but the faith of an entire denomination.
"Family Matters: Discovering the Mennonite Brethren" is a work written by Dr. Lynn Jost, associate professor of biblical and religious studies. It was also co-authored by Connie Faber, associate editor of the Christian Leader.
"Family Matters" was commissioned by the MB church, which wanted a comprehensive look at the denomination in book form.
"It's a tract, in a way, about who the Mennonite Brethren are," Jost said.
The book gives a broad overview of the history of the MB denomination, going back to its Anabaptist roots. It also discusses the MB theological beliefs.
The book should be helpful for pastors or other persons just coming into the MB for the first time, Jost said.
And the title "Family Matters" is particularly appropriate for the book, since Faber and Jost are cousins, he said.
The final book presented Friday morning presents a deep view into a single Hebrew word: hebel.
The work is titled "Symbol and Rhetoric in Ecclesiastes: The Place of Hebel in Qohelet's Work," and the author is Dr. Douglas Miller, associate professor of biblical and religious studies.
The thrust of the book came from Miller's doctoral dissertation, which he defended at Princeton University.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, the word "hebel" is traditionally translated as "vanity" in the King James Version. But literally, the word means "vapor." It's a puzzle that Biblical scholars have often pondered.
"In many parts of the bible there are puzzles, things we wonder about," Miller said.
While the traditional translation of hebel as vanity has made the tone of Ecclesiastes seem rather hopeless, Miller proposes a new approach with hebel. His thesis says that the book tells the reader to look at life with hope — to make the best of your circumstances.
