How can Scripture address the crucial justice issues of our time? In this book Mark Brett offers a careful reading of biblical texts that speak to such pressing public issues as the legacies of coloni
How can Scripture address the crucial justice issues of our time? In this book Mark Brett offers a careful reading of biblical texts that speak to such pressing public issues as the legacies of colonialism, the demands of asylum seekers, the challenges of climate change, and the shaping of redemptive economies.
Brett argues that the Hebrew Bible can be read as a series of reflections on political trauma and healing — the long saga of successive ancient empires violently asserting their sovereignty over Israel and of the Israelites forced to live out new pathways toward restoration. Brett retrieves the prophetic voice of Scripture and applies it to our contemporary world, addressing current justice issues in a relevant, constructive, compelling manner.
— Tim Gorringe in Theology
"A deeply rewarding contribution to Christian ethics which deserves wide circulation among all those (theology students, ministers, lay people prepared to make the effort) who want to understand what the significance of being Christian in a post-Christian world might be, and who want to see how it might be possible to fashion a world shaped to the divine purposes as these are revealed to us in Scripture."
Kyle Trowbridge in Reading Religion
"This is a serious and ambitious work. I recommend it for seminarians, church groups, pastors, and others who are looking for an interdisciplinary work that gives us a tangible example of how Christian and biblical resources can continue to speak to the issues of the world."
Walter Brueggemann
— Columbia Theological Seminary
"Mark Brett addresses himself to the tricky, complex work of restorative justice that is to be accomplished through dialogic engagement. He brings to this task immense learning and personal engagement; the realities of colonial history and the prospect of postcolonial well-being permeate his study. This work is nothing less than a tour de force."
M. Daniel Carroll R.
— Wheaton College
"In impressive interdisciplinary fashion, Brett argues that the Christian Scripture can constructively engage today's postcolonial and ecological realities. The Priestly tradition and other like-minded imaginaries, he contends, reflect an anti-imperial perspective among the diverse voices within the Hebrew Bible and provide faith communities with the theological tools for humble participation in the public square. Some may not agree with aspects of Brett's biblical reconstruction, but none can ignore his weighty call to deal responsibly with Christendom's colonial legacy and to offer a different way forward. A remarkable work!"
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Mark G. Brett is professor of Old Testament at the University of Divinity, Whitley College. He is also the author of Decolonizing God: The Bible in theTides of Empire and Genesis: Procreation and the Politics of Identity.
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