The Book of Gratitudes: An Encounter Between Life and Faith

You are holding a collection of short stories that reveal how every aspect of life takes a particular dimension when considered from the perspective of faith in relationship with everyday experiences. From the darkness of human selfishness the author manages to bring forth the light of God inviting us to feel gratitude even under the most challenging situations. Rev. Andinach has transcended the dogma of religion to share with us the bittersweet experience of simply being a human being in a world constantly searching for divine guidance. Pablo Andinach is an internationally renowned scholar of the Old Testament and a fine theological educator with a Latin American voice. He now demonstrates in this volume his sensitivity to matters of deeply personal journeys of faith. Having heard believers share their lives in the spirit he reveals in this wonderful work not only the faith of those who tell their stories but also of the one who has compiled them. --William B. Lawrence Professor of American Church History Perkins School of Theology Southern Methodist University You hold in your hands a cornucopia. The Book of Gratitudes is a thanksgiving offering of faith stories from one of Latin Americas most distinguished biblical scholars. For those tired of reading stale intellectual wonder-bread the verses tales and ruminations overflowing from this horn of plenty will feed your theological imagination. --Edgardo A. Colon-Emeric Assistant Professor of Christian Theology Duke University Divinity School Andinach is an astute and provocative interpreter of the Scriptures. In The Book of Gratitudes he conveys the wonder mystery and complexity of ancient stories and contemporary witnesses. In bringing to light the breadth of the biblical traditions he reveals wisdom often hidden from our sight and inspires us to see the world and especially the marginalized with a renewed vision. --Kenneth H. Carter Jr. Resident Bishop Florida Area The United Methodist Church The Book of Gratitudes is a unique poetic meditation upon faith in God. Weaving together history scripture science biography and personal memoir Andinach offers the reader a luminous sense of the divine in our midst. Indeed his words of gratitude for the Bible can be applied to his own book: It is a blessing to have received it. --Elaine A. Robinson PhD Professor of Methodist Studies and Christian Theology Saint Paul School of Theology Oklahoma City University Pablo R. Andinach is Professor of Ancient History and Biblical Studies in the Universidad Catolica Argentina. In 2004 and 2011 he was invited as Visiting Professor in Perkins School of Theology Dallas Texas. His publications in English include Being Church An Ecclesiology for the Rest of Us (2014); and co-editor of La Violencia in the Hebrew Bible (2016). Most of his works however are published in Spanish. He is an ordained minister in the Methodist Church in Argentina.