Disarming Scripture

Cherry-Picking Liberals, Violence-Loving Conservatives, and Why We All Need to Learn to Read the Bible Like Jesus Did

by Derek Flood

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Pub Date Oct 30 2014 | Archive Date May 05 2015

Metanoia Books

Christian | Religion & Spirituality

Description

A GOD OF LOVE AND GENOCIDE? For many Christians the problem of violence of Scripture can result in a crisis of faith—especially when we see how such passages have been used throughout history to justify horrific bloodshed in God's name.

Moving beyond typical conservative and liberal approaches, which seek to either defend or whitewash over violence in the Bible, Disarming Scripture takes a surprising yet compelling approach: Learning to read the Bible like Jesus did.

Along the way the book deals with some very big issues, ranging from passages commanding genocide and infanticide in the Old Testament to passages in the New Testament that have been used to justify slavery, child abuse, and state violence. The take-away is an approach to Scripture that not only sees questioning as an acceptable part of a healthy faith, but as an absolutely essential part of it.

Advance Praise

"A perceptive and honest book about the vexed question of violence in the Bible. Taking with great seriousness the dynamism of the biblical tradition and the interpretive process, the distinctive contribution of Disarming Scripture is an exploration of the way in which the biblical text itself interprets texts of violence. This is a fine contribution to our common work."

Walter Brueggemann,

Emeritus professor, Columbia Theological Seminary,
and author of The Prophetic Imagination

"Jesus is the savior of everything—including the Bible! That’s what I kept thinking while reading this brilliant book. There have been a number of excellent books in recent years on how Christians should read the Bible, but Disarming Scripture is the very best. Derek has done us an immeasurable service in showing us how to read the Bible like Jesus did."

Brian Zahnd,

Pastor of Word of Life Church,
and author of A Farewell to Mars

"This book is a breath of fresh air! Disarming Scripture is a marvelous resource for those troubled by how the Bible has been used to justify violence and to harm others. Engaging, informative, compelling, and desperately needed. Highly recommended!"

Eric A. Seibert,
Professor of Old Testament, Messiah College,

and author of The Violence of Scripture

"Having been Derek’s friend and a believer in his work for several years now, I expected this book to be good. But it is even better than expected. You need Derek Flood. You need his intelligence. You need his faithfulness. You need his courage. You need his message in this book. So do I."

Brian D. McLaren,

Speaker, pastor, activist, and author of
We Make the Road By Walking
(from the foreword)

"A perceptive and honest book about the vexed question of violence in the Bible. Taking with great seriousness the dynamism of the biblical tradition and the interpretive process, the distinctive...