For centuries Christians have struggled to know what to do with the Old Testament. Early in Christian history there was a movement to abandon the Old Testament in favour of a shortened biblical canon. But the Church rejected this proposal and chose the hard path of retaining Christianity's earliest scriptures. In the recent past, calls to "unhitch" the Church from the Old Testament have been heard once again. Even those who express the wish to retain the Old Testament often regard it as "second-class scripture."
In this book, Old Testament professor Don Burke makes the case for the Old Testament, not primarily with a systematic argument, but by showing how a selection of texts from the Old Testament can inform and shape Christian faith. In these Christian reflections the author challenges prejudices against the Old Testament. The result is that the Old Testament can claim its place within the Christian canon.