The Bible in the Public Square: Reading the Signs of the Times

by Kittredge, Cynthia Briggs

• ISBN13: 9780800638597
• ISBN10: 080063859X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-07-01
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Pub

Summary

Though the Bible has long enjoyed a place of privilege in the American public square, much of the contemporary discussion centers on the influence of the religious right in national politics and on the principled "separation of church and state." How might other perspectives on the Bible help us to "read the signs of the times" and move beyond the status quo? In The Bible in the Public Square, renowned biblical interpreters reflect on how biblically informed engagement with political issues, ancient as well as modern, is reshaping the face of contemporary biblical scholarship and challenging American civil religion. This insightful exploration bridges conventional gaps between university, seminary, church, and civic life.The contributors include: Norman Gottwald, Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Barbara Rossing, Allen D. Callahan, Warren Carter, Antoinette Clark Wire, Sze-Kar Wan, and many more.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Biblical Insight into the Present Moment
Church Bible Studies, Ancient and Modern Empires, and the Gospel according to John	p. 13
Hastening the Day when the Earth Will Burn: Global Warming, 2 Peter, and the Book of Revelation	p. 25
Biblical Hermeneutics in a Secular Age: Reflections from South Africa Twenty Years after the Kairos Document	p. 39
Echoes of Paul in the Speeches of George W. Bush	p. 55
American Babylon: Days in the Life of an African-American Idea	p. 67
Do Not Fear What They Fear: A Post-9/11 Reflection on Isaiah 8:11-18	p. 83
Questioning the Ekklesia and the Academy
Hermeneutics in the American Empire: Toward an Anti-Imperialist Theology	p. 89
Contending with the Bible: Biblical Interpretation as a Site of Struggle in South Africa	p. 101
The Blessings of Hegemony: Poverty, Paul's Assemblies, and the Class Interests of the Professoriate	p. 117
"Nobody Tasted Blood in It": Public Intellectuals Interrogating Myths of Innocence in Biblical Studies	p. 129
Jesus' Subversive Victory Shouts in Matthew 27: Toward an Empowering Theology of the Cross	p. 143
Prospects for Politically Engaged Biblical Studies
Reading Scripture in the Context of Empire	p. 157
Coded Resistance: A Proposed Rereading of Romans 13:1-7	p. 173
A Famine of the Word: A Stringfellowian Reflection on the American Church Today	p. 185
Communities Reading the Bible and Public Vision	p. 197
Notes	p. 205
Index	p. 265
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