May 28, 2012 – CMU Professor Gordon Matties has won an award in the annual Canadian Church Press awards program in the Biblical Interpretation category.
Matties’ article, titled, “You Save Humans and Animals Alike, O Lord,” was published by Mennonite Brethren Herald in October, 2011 and earned third place honours for the author and for the magazine from Judge Rolf Pedersen.
The award citation states: “This is a remarkable article. It is clearly, forcefully and artistically written. It is firmly rooted in scripture and in an older and wiser Hebrew (and Christian) sense of humanity’s place within the cosmos. The author cites numerous scriptural passages that illustrate and illuminate the tradition that holds to the view that there is an intimate relationship between humankind and the rest of creation, which is ignored at our peril. He also cites some of his own fascinating experiences of the divine in nature. These do much to bring the whole to life and make it entirely relevant within the context of the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith. Superbly done!”
Matties is Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg and is CMU’s former Dean of Humanities and Sciences. He holds a PhD in Old Testament from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. Matties is the author of the recently published book, Joshua, Believers Church Bible Commentary, published in May 2012. He contributed to Abingdon Press’s The New Interpreter’s Study Bible and to the forthcoming Common English Bible Study Bible.