It can be argued that the whole concept of sin and forgiveness is a founding principle to the Christian faith. In this installment of the “ Catholic Biblical Theology of the Sacraments” series, the primary focus here is where this pattern is found within the Christian Holy Scripture, with the principle target audience being Catholics of the Latin Rite where the Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important element. Beginning with the Old Testament, we examine how the concept of how the People of God (aka [Proto]-Israelites) turn away from God (aka sin), suffer consequences (sometimes seen as punishment), repent or turn back to God and finally reconcile with God’s forgiving mercy. The second half of the book looks at this pattern in the New Testament, were reconciliation is less communal and more personal or individual. It is repeated enough in both cases that there is now real doubt about what this cycle is or how it works …

Where the book stretches and is less convincing, is the need to have a human mediator of reconciliation (aka priest absolution) where the author primarily looks at the power of the Apostles, and ultimately the church authority, was created to power to bind and loose on earth and translating that as giving them exclusive authority to do so. This approach is unlikely to have the same interpretation outside the Catholic Church … and I think this may be a missed opportunity. There is a very brief discussion about traditions within the early church where sins were confessed to the whole community. There is another very brief sentence that explained that as the severity of penance was reduced/relaxed, the concept of confession and reconciliation was expanded to less serious sins (aka venial sins). That whole hierarchy os sins and what can be reconciled by the individual and what needs a mediator is frequently misunderstood by non-Catholics … and I was hoping for more on that (despite the Title limiting the discussion to the Bible). That makes this a solid book for what it was designed to do, I just wish it had done more.

The chapters and sections in this work are:

1. Confession and Reconciliation An Encounter with Divine Mercy
2. Sin, Mercy, and Promise Foundations in Genesis 1–11
3. Mercy, Penalty, and Mediation The Patriarchs and the Exodus
4. Rebuke and Promise for Israel Kings and Prophets
5. Confession, Restoration, and Penance Psalms and Sages
6. Confessing in Hope, Awaiting the Messiah
7. Jesus and the Mission of Restoration
8. Christ, the Spirit, and the Ministry of Forgiveness
9. Be Reconciled to God! Sin and Restoration in the Pauline Letters
10. Growing in Christ, Confessing in Hope The Catholic Epistles and Revelation
11. The Manifold Mercy of God

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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