Rescuing the Bible
Blackwell Manifestos
1. Edition November 2007
184 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
What is the future for the Bible, one of the most important books
in the world? In this manifesto, Roland Boer explores the idea that
the Bible is an unruly and uncontrollable text that has been
colonized by church, synagogue, and state.
* * Powerfully argues that the Bible needs to be rescued from its
abuse by the religious and political right
* Considers the history of revolutionary readings of the Bible,
from Gerrard Winstanley to the present
* Urges a role for the Bible in a new "worldly left": an alliance
between the religious and secular left that can promote more
progressive readings of the text
* Concludes by offering a "political myth" from the Bible that
condemns oppression, imagines a better society and celebrates the
biblical themes of opposition and chaos.
Introduction.
1. The New Secularism.
2. The Worldly Left: Towards a Politics of Alliance.
3. Bad Conscience: Battles Over the Bible.
4. (Ab)using the Text: Conflicts in Politics and Science.
5. Making All Things New: The Revolutionary Legacy of the
Bible.
6. Rescuing the Bible.
Conclusion.
Notes.
References.
Index of Subjects.
Index of Biblical References
(Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, June
2009)
"Rescuing the Bible is deeply thoughtful and provocative, and it
deserves to be widely read and
discussed by both scholars and layfolk, believers and nonbelievers,
on the left and the right."
(Biblical Interpretation, April 2010)
"There is an important focus here on how the bible can be read
with an appropriate theological suspicion which will seek to
discern how it can become life-giving while not ignoring its
oppressive potential." (European Journal of Theology, April
2009)
"I have dreamed of a project like this, a project of our time that would offer a manifesto to those of us who refuse to allow the Bible to be co-opted and controlled by right-wing and reactionary forces."
Gerald West, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal
"Roland Boer presents a lively, thoughtful, and compelling call for an alliance of the secular and religious left to take back the Bible from the religious and political right. In a brilliant analysis of both the current political landscape and the development and use of the Bible, he illuminates the liberative effects and potential at the core of the Bible."
Richard Horsley, University of Massachusetts
