The Violence of Scripture

by Seibert, Eric A.

• ISBN13: 9780800698256
• ISBN10: 0800698258
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-08-01
• Publisher: Fortress Pr

Summary

No one can read far in the Hebrew Bible without encountering depictions of violence carried out by human beings, sometimes in the name of God, or indeed violence carried out or commanded by God-from Cain's murder of Abel to the slaughter of Canaanite populations and much. For those who read the Bible as sacred scripture, such depictions can pose tremendous moral and theological challenges. Eric A. Seibert faces these challenges head-on, offering perspectives on the roles human and divine violence play in different parts of the Old Testament, evaluating the biblical presentation of "virtuous violence," and proposing strategies for reading the Bible out of a commitment to nonviolence. At last he offers "soundings" in biblical texts where we encounter alternative voices, often neglected, that seek and announce ways of peace.

Author Biography

Eric A. Seibert faces these challenges head-on, offering perspectives on the roles human and divine violence play in different parts of the Old Testament, evaluating the biblical presentation of "virtuous" violence, and proposing strategies for reading the Bible out the a commitment to nonviolence. At last he offers "soundings" in biblical texts where we encounter alternative voices, often neglected, that seek and announce ways of peace. Eric A. Seibert is associate professor of Old Testament and former Director of the Peace and Conflict Studies Initiative at Messiah College. He is the author of Subversive Scribes and the Solomonic Narrative (2006) and Disturbing Divine Behavior (Fortress Press, 2009).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Introduction: The Bible Should Never Be Used to Harm Others	p. 1
Exploring the Old Testament's Troubling Legacy
The Old Testament's Troubling Legacy	p. 15
The Pervasive Presence of "Virtuous" Violence in the Old Testament	p. 27
The Danger of Reading the Bible	p. 45
Proposing a Way of Reading the Old Testament Nonviolently
Developing Good Reading Habits: Becoming Ethically Responsible Readers	p. 61
Reading the Old Testament Nonviolently	p. 73
Applying Nonviolent Reading Strategies to Violent Texts
Confronting Canaanite Genocide and Its Toxic Afterlife	p. 95
Keeping the Old Testament from Being Used to Justify War	p. 115
Preventing Violence against Women	p. 129
The Necessity and Urgency of Reading the Old Testament Nonviolently: Some Conclusions	p. 147
	p. 159
Notes	p. 163
Bibliography	p. 193
Index of Biblical References	p. 211
Index of Modern Authors	p. 217
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