Spiritual Complaint

Miriam J. Bier, Lecturer in Old Testament, London School of Theology, London, U.K.Elizabeth Boase, Lecturer in Old Testament, Department of Theology, Flinders University; Co-Director of Biblical Studies, Uniting College for Leadership and Theology, Adelaide, Australia.Colin Buchanan, formerly the Bishop of Aston and then of Woolwich; former Principal, St John's College, Nottingham, UK.Tim Bulkeley, Freelance Biblical Scholar teaching as Visitor at Laidlaw Graduate School, Auckland, New Zealand; and Colombo Theological Seminary, Colombo, Sri Lanka.Stephen Garner, Lecturer in Theology in the School of Theology, Faculty of Arts, The University of Auckland, New Zealand.Yael Klangwisan, Senior Lecturer in Education, Laidlaw College, Auckland, New Zealand.Will Kynes, Departmental Lecturer in Old Testament Studies, Stipendiary Lecturer at St Peter's College, and Liddon Research Fellow and Tutor of Theology at Keble College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.Alistair J. Mackenzie, Senior Lecturer, School of Theology, Mission and Ministry, Laidlaw College, Christchurch Campus, New Zealand.Jeanette Mathews, Lecturer in Old Testament, Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia.

• ContributorsAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroduction1 A Lament for Christchurch -Colin BuchananPART ONE: Foundations2 Does Jeremiah Confess, Lament, or Complain? Three Attitudes Towards Wrong -Tim Bulkeley3 The Unique Contribution of Lamentations 4 in the Book of Lamentations: Metaphor and the Transition from Individual to Communal -Miriam J. Bier4 Lament Personified: Job in the Bedeutungsnetz of Psalm 22 -Will Kynes5 The Enemy Lament: A Socio-Cognitive Approach to the Metaphors of Job 16:7-14 -Carlos Patrick Jimenez6 Blurring the Boundaries: The Rhetoric of Lament and Penitence in Isaiah 63:7-64:11 -Elizabeth Boase7 The Profit and Loss of Lament: Rethinking Aspects of the Relationship Between Lament and Penitential Prayer -Donald P. Moffat8 The Doubtful Gain of Penitence: The Fine Line between Lament and Penitential Prayer -Lena-Sofia TiemeyerPART TWO: Reflections9 Wrestling with Lamentations in Christian Worship -Robin Parry10 Liturgy and Lament -Colin BuchananPART THREE: Explorations11 Learning to Lament in Aotearoa -Alistair McKenzie12 Framing Lament: Providing a Context for the Expression oF Pain -Jeanette Mathews13 Public Lament -Elizabeth Boase and Steve Taylor14 Lament in an Age of New Media -Stephen GarnerPART FOUR: Refraction15 In Search of the Shulamith in the State of Israel: A Lament -Yael KlangwisanBibliography

"[...] this [...] collection represents a brave insistence on the significance of the academic community as a resource to the Church."The Revd. Philip Welsh, Church Times, (5 September 2014)The international and interdisciplinary scope of this collection commends its use in many different contexts. Spiritual Complaint will be particularly helpful resource in ministry training settings but also holds much value for researchers in pastoral theology more generally and lament studies in particular.Taylor Worley, Theological Book Review, volume 26, no 1, 2014[...] this is a welcome volume, advancing the discussion and pushing the church to embrace lament alongside attitudes of praise and penitence.Andrew C. Witt, Reviews in Religion and Theology vol. 22, issue 2 , March 2015"Miriam J. Bier and Tim Bulkeley have skilfully drawn together a collection of essays, which not only touch the nerves of pain and suffering and advance the understanding of lament, but also ... this book is a 'must' for every bookshelf, as it takes the theology and practice of lament from the academy, synagogue, and church into the public arena of tragedy and disaster. Spiritual Complaint deserves reflection and exploration, as it affects us individually and in community wherever we are."Gwen Knight, Journal of Theological Studies, vol 66 issue 1, April 2015