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Finding Lost Words: The Church's Right to Lament (Australian College of Theology Monograph) Paperback – March 31, 2017

by G. Geoffrey Harper (Editor), Kit Barker (Series Editor), David G. Firth (Foreword)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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The brokenness of this world inevitably invades our lives. But how do you maintain faith when overwhelmed by grief? When prayer goes unanswered? When all you have are questions, not answers? What do you say to God when you know he is in control but the suffering continues unabated? Is there any alternative to remaining speechless in the midst of pain and heartbreak? This book is about finding words to use when life is hard. These words are not new. They are modes of expression that the church has drawn on in times of grief throughout most of its history. Yet, the church in the West has largely abandoned these words--the psalms of lament. The result is that believers often struggle to know what to do or say when faced with distress, anxiety, and loss. Whether you are in Christian leadership, training for ministry, or simply struggling to reconcile experience with biblical convictions, Finding Lost Words will help you consider how these ancient words can become your own.
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  1. Print length
    310 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    March 31, 2017
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    153261747X
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1532617478
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

As the contributors to Finding Lost Words so insightfully point out, the Psalms offer us a robust invitation to express our honest feelings before God. I found this volume utterly compelling and encourage everyone to read this book and let the laments of the Psalms teach you how to pray.
--Tremper Longman III, Westmont College

This book is a work the church needs. Lament is a missing practice in the praying life of too many Christians in a broken world. It needs to be recovered. After all we find it in psalm after psalm. . . . Scripture not only gives us a language for our joys, it also gives us a language for our confusions, disappointments, and even anger towards God. In this work, a constellation of careful thinkers and practitioners serve us so very well. I commend it without reservation.
--Graham A. Cole, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

There is a level of superficiality in the spiritual experience of today's church that needs to be challenged. . . . Finding Lost Words is an excellent set of readable essays dealing with the theology and practice of lament from an exegetical, historical, and pastoral perspective. I don't want to overstate things but, if we really hear the message of this book, it will change the way we do church.
--Jamie A. Grant, Highland Theological College UHI

Like a well-cut diamond, this collection of essays radiates light in many directions, helping readers to see the biblical concept of lament from different perspectives with greater clarity. . . . This timely volume offers a much needed rebalance to Christian theology that often appears to have lost sight of the pain and suffering caused by the reality of evil in our broken world.
--T. Desmond Alexander, Union Theological College, Belfast

About the Author

G. Geoffrey Harper is Lecturer in Old Testament at Sydney Missionary and Bible College. He has written several essays and articles on intertextuality in the Old Testament.

Kit Barker is Lecturer in Old Testament at Sydney Missionary and Bible College. He is the author of Imprecation as Divine Discourse (2016) and the author of Imprecation as Divine Discourse: Speech Act Theory, Dual Authorship and Theological Interpretation (Eisenbrauns).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wipf and Stock (March 31, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 153261747X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1532617478
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

About the authors

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  1. G. Geoffrey Harper

    G. Geoffrey Harper

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    Geoff Harper is Director of Research and Lecturer in Old Testament at Sydney Missionary & Bible College, Australia.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Rachel Ciano

    Rachel Ciano

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    I am a historian, teacher, writer, and thinker. I love uncovering stories from history and making them known. I believe the past teaches us to live better here and now.

    I lecture in Christianity in History at Sydney Missionary and Bible College in Australia, and I am currently a 2023 Anglican Deaconess Ministries Senior Fellow. I speak locally and internationally on the intersection between history, theology, and everyday life. My research and publications are wide-ranging and particularly focus on the sixteenth-century Reformation period.

    Connect with me through rachelciano.com

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jamin D. Bradley
5.0 out of 5 stars A Book I Didn’t Know I Needed
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2021
Verified Purchase
We’re about two years into the pandemic and it seems everyone I’m pastoring is in deep pain right now. I wasn’t sure if this book would be too academic to make any emotional impact on me, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think all pastors would find themselves deeply impact by this book and I highly recommend it. There are a few essays that are a bit dry, but the majority of them are well worth the read and very necessary.
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Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars important book about a topic neglected by the Western church
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2019
Verified Purchase
This might be my most life-altering read of 2019. Somewhere long ago I learned that negative emotions (sadness, fear, frustration) are inherently bad (maybe even sinful) and so coped by shamefully stifling them. I had no space in my theology for lament. The psalms of lament were truly lost words to me. I am so thankful for the message of this book. I am so thankful for the challenge to be honest with God about the pain and distress that are part of the human experience in this fallen world. This book is on the academic side of things, and some of the chapters are written to a crowd more interested in debating Greek phrases than I am as a lay person, but most of the chapters were written for us ordinary folk, and all of them were interesting. Highly recommended.
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Top reviews from other countries

Sam
5.0 out of 5 stars It is ok to lament to God!
Reviewed in Australia on August 1, 2022
Verified Purchase
Different authors share their thoughts and experiences of Lament.
A book you can go back to in different seasons of life.
Jesus lamented, the Psalmists lamented and so can we.
This book gives ideas and examples for lamenting to God and the authors share some of their struggles and how lamenting is appropriate.
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