Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Scripture and Resistance (Theology in the Age of Empire)

Resistance against unjust (wicked) cultures and imperial powers is at the heart of scripture. In many cases, the resistance is waged against external systems or the misappropriation of scriptural texts and traditions. In some cases, however, scripture resists oppressive cultures and powers that it also requires, certifies and protects. At other times, and in different settings, the minders of scripture speak against the abusive cultures and power systems that they inherited and whose benefits they milk. Scripture and Resistance contains reflections by authors from East, West, South, and North - on resistance and the Christian scriptures regarding a rainbow of concerns: the colonial legacies of the Bible; the people (especially native and indigenous people) who were subjugated and minoritized for the sake of the Bible; the courage for resistance among ordinary and normal people, and the opportunities that arise from their realities and struggles; the imperializing tendencies that lurk behind so-called traditional biblical scholarship; the strategies of and energies in post- and de-colonial criticisms; the Bible as a profitable product, and a site of struggle; and the multiple views or perspectives in the Bible about empire and resistance. In other words, the contributors, as a collective, affirm that the Bible contains (pun intended) resistance. Review In a collection of engaging and provocative essays, authors from diverse locations from the Global South explore the different ways of rereading and resisting the biblical text written under the umbrella of empire.--Gale A. Yee This book invites the reader to embark on a journey of re-discovery, and also by implication points to interpretations yet undiscovered.-- "Modern Believing" While the biblical scriptures have so often been marshalled to justify forms of dispossession, colonialism, and imperialism, these same scriptures continue to provide the inspiration for resistance to, if not the overthrow of, such oppression. The insights expertly gathered in Scripture and Resistance, from many parts of the globe that have experienced colonial dispossession in the not too distant past, indicate clearly that the Bible is not always a solace to the peddlers of empire.--Roland Boer, Dalian University of Technology Scripture and Resistance is a very fine collection of essays, not least on account of the impressive international line-up of scholars associated with it. And with the consistent focus of the essays on this world (not the otherworldly) and on our fraught time (not text-constructed ancient-world moments) and the varied forms of violence, conflicts, and creative engagements appertaining thereto, the collection is compelling and sorely needed as part of critical discourse and politics.--Vincent L. Wimbush, director, Institute for Signifying Scriptures Scripture and Resistance--the second title from Lexington Books' Theology in the Age of Empire series--brings together yet another collection of radical engagements with, and resistance to, empire from internationally acclaimed authors. Whereas in the first volume, Religion and Power, contributors attempted to discern and disturb the collaboration of religion and empire, Jione Havea, in this volume, has again masterfully woven together several strands of global voices that seek not only to reread scripture as a site of struggle, but also to resist any scriptural traces of, and textual alliance with, empire. The works in this volume are both challenging and prophetic, and it is highly recommended for resistant and discerning readers in academic, ecclesial, and public settings alike.--Nāsili Vaka'uta, Trinity Methodist Theological College In this provocative collection of essays, interpreters of diverse backgrounds and perspectives explore how the Bible has been used mainly to support-- but sometimes to subvert-- empire. Although voices of resistance were submerged in biblical texts, many of