God the Creator - by Ben C Ollenburger (Paperback)

About the Book

A highly-respected scholar captures the Old Testament's celebration of God the Creator and the Creator's relentless efforts to bring the world into harmony with God's intentions.

Book Synopsis

Christians today are focused on two important creation topics: how the world came to be and how we should care for it. A highly respected Old Testament theologian recommends that before discussing these questions, we focus on God the Creator and God's ongoing work in creation. We should explore what the Bible tells us and let the text set the agenda for our reflections.

Combining his storytelling gift with rigorous biblical exegesis and deep reflection, Ben Ollenburger describes the action of God the Creator as presented throughout the Old Testament. He shows how creation is about more than origins. It is about God acting against the hostile forces of chaos that can be historical, political, and military. About how God created a well-ordered world, and how human transgression ruptures God's relationship with humans and threatens creation. About how God responds as Creator to those threats by disturbing and reordering the disorder, bringing about what God intended--a world ordered in the social, political, and natural realms that is characterized by the justice, righteousness, and peace required for human flourishing.

From the Back Cover

"A splendid contribution"

This volume captures the Old Testament's celebration of God the Creator and the Creator's relentless efforts to bring the world into harmony with God's intentions.

"Ollenburger synthesizes and expands his career-long investigation of biblical concepts of creation. On display are the author's finest characteristics: keen attention to primary texts, breadth and depth of scriptural engagement, restraint of other scholars' overstatements, and the rare gifts of clarity and accessibility. Taking the Creator God as its touchstone, this book articulates a concise biblical theology. Highly recommended."
--C. Clifton Black, Princeton Theological Seminary

"God the Creator is the magnum opus of a mature scholar and teacher, the loving product of years of study, teaching, and reflection. Ollenburger focuses on multifaceted ways that Old Testament and some New Testament texts portray God in the mode of Creator. A must-read for seminarians, ecologists, pastors, church groups, and anyone seeking an encounter with the Creator God."
--Kathleen M. O'Connor, Columbia Theological Seminary (emerita)

"While much attention now rightly centers on how the Bible might speak to the precariousness of our ecosystems, this insightful work instead focuses on God as Creator. Ollenburger spotlights the Creator's involvements since the beginning of all things and the responses of the faithful. A careful, informed study from a master theologian."
--M. Daniel Carroll R. (Rodas), Wheaton College and Graduate School

"Biblical accounts of God as Creator may begin with Genesis 1, but they scarcely end there. In this deeply researched and accessible volume, Ollenburger demonstrates the breadth of biblical reflection on the God who creates, protects, and sustains the world and its inhabitants. A splendid contribution that will amply enrich its readers."
--Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Princeton Theological Seminary (emerita)

"Ollenburger skillfully weaves together the Bible's diverse portrayals of God as the maker of the cosmos. He serves as a trustworthy and engaging tour guide for specialists and laypeople alike. In the introduction, Ollenburger laments the lack of a systematic work on God as Creator; this book capably begins to fill that void."
--Jackie Wyse-Rhodes, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

About the Author

Ben C. Ollenburger (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is professor emeritus of biblical theology at the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, where he has taught since 1987. Prior to AMBS, he taught for seven years at Princeton Theological Seminary. Ollenburger has written or edited numerous books, including Old Testament Theology: Flowering and Future and the New Interpreter's Bible commentary on Zechariah.