The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of LoveIn the history of the Western World, the Bible has been a perpetual source of inspiration and guidance for countless Christians. However, this Bible has also left a trail of pain. It is undeniable that the Bible is not always used for good. Sometimes the Bible can seem overtly evil. Sometimes its texts are terrible. Bishop John Shelby Spong boldly approaches those texts that have been used through history to justify the denigration or persecution of others while carrying with them the implied and imposed authority of the claim that they were the "Word of God." As he exposes and challenges what he calls the "terrible texts of the Bible", laying bare the evil done by these texts in the name of God, he also seeks to redeem these texts, hoping to recover their ultimate depth and purpose. Spong looks specifically at texts used to justify homophobia, anti-Semitism, treating women as second-class humans, corporal punishment, and environmental degradation, but he also delivers a new picture of how Christians can use the Bible today. As Spong battles against the way the Bible has been used throughout history, he provides a new framework, introducing people to a proper way to engage this holy book of the Judeo-Christian tradition. |
Contents
3 | |
15 | |
THE BIBLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT | 27 |
THE BIBLE AND WOMEN | 69 |
Sexism in Christian History | 79 |
The Woman as the Source of Evil | 87 |
Menstruation and the Male Fear of Blood | 95 |
Recasting the Negativity | 101 |
THE BIBLE AND ANTISEMITISM | 181 |
Searching for the Origins of Christian AntiSemitism | 183 |
AntiSemitism in the Gospels | 193 |
The Role of Judas Iscariot in the Rise of AntiSemitism | 199 |
The Circumstances That Brought Judas | 205 |
THE BIBLE AND CERTAINTY | 211 |
Creedal Development in the Christian Church | 219 |
Since I Have the Truth No One Comes | 231 |
THE BIBLE AND HOMOSEXUALITY | 111 |
The Holiness Code from the Book of Leviticus | 121 |
The Story of Sodom | 127 |
The Homophobia of Paul | 135 |
THE BIBLE AND CHILDREN | 143 |
Violence Is Always Violent Whether the | 151 |
Searching for the Source of the Human Need to Suffer | 161 |
Moving Beyond the Demeaning God | 175 |
My Vision of an Interfaith Future | 239 |
READING SCRIPTURE AS EPIC HISTORY | 245 |
The Hebrew Scriptures Come into Being | 247 |
Jesus and the Jewish Epic | 277 |
Notes | 299 |
Bibliography | 305 |
Scripture Index | 311 |
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The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God ... John Shelby Spong No preview available - 2005 |