The Reviews of my most personal and intimate work are pouring in and here are some of the first ones. For those interested in exploring the work more here is the link–

http://wipfandstock.com/store/The_Living_Legacy_The_Soul_in_Paraphrase_The_Heart_in_Pilgrimage

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“I have known Ben Witherington as a superb scholar, teacher, and proclaimer of God’s Word. This book introduces us to Ben the poet. He and Julie Noelle Hare have brought together a collection of poems, reflections, and readings from Holy Scripture—a wonderful treasury of the spiritual life.”
—Timothy George
Beeson Divinity School

“The Living Legacy is a must read for anyone who seeks to understand and be transformed by written reflections on the holy mysteries of the Christian Year and beyond. Ben Witherington knits the sacred and secular together in one unique volume through poetry, theological reflections, meditations, and personal musings. Ben has given the reader a holistic way in which to better understand their relationship to the Kingdom of God and affirm their higher calling as a disciple of Jesus Christ.”

—The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane
Episcopal Bishop, Diocese of Washington D.C

This is a book of spiritual value for our times, and it has an honored pedigree. As well as having a line by George Herbert for subtitle, The Living Legacy has a warm devotional tone and a tripartite structure that are reminiscent of John Donne’s famous Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. Ben Witherington’s poems correspond to the metaphorically-inventive “Meditation” sections in each of Donne’s Devotions, Ben’s “Theological Musings”on the relevant scriptures to Donne’s “Expostulations”, and Julie Hare’s “lectio divina” to Donne’s “Prayers.”But each of the modern sections is readily accessible and the whole work is reader-friendly for 21st-century audiences. — Christopher M. Armitage

Bowman & Gordon Gray Professor of English and Adjunct Professor of Peace, War and Defense

Greenlaw Hall CB 3520 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3520

“For those who know Ben Witherington from his voluminous scholarly writings, this book will provide a wonderful introduction to the poetic spirit of the man. And not only to his poetic spirit, but also to his deep understanding of the essence of the Christian life and his gifted ability to convey this in fresh, compelling ways. His poetry is evocative, challenging, and persuasive-calling the readers not only to enter into a new perception of the Christian life but to engage that life for themselves. His prose ‘digressions’ on the poems flesh out the focus of the poem in a more left-brained mode for those for whom the right-brained dynamic of poetry is difficult. Julie Robertson’s supplementary materials from the spiritual masters of the Christian tradition help to locate Witherington’s musings within the solid core of classical Christian spirituality. Finally, the organization of the book with the stages of the liturgical year provides a new and refreshing means for moving through the Christian calendar from Advent to the Sunday of Christ the King.”

—Dr. M. Robert Mulholland, Jr.
Professor of NT and Spiritual Formation
Asbury Theological Seminary