The Savage Text: The Use and Abuse of the Bible

223 Pages·2008·1.35 MB·English

by  Adrian Thatcher

The Savage Text
The Savage Text: The Use and Abuse of the Bible. Adrian Thatcher
© 2008 Adrian Thatcher. ISBN: 978-1-405-17016-1
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True Religion Graham Ward
Inventing Popular Culture John Storey
The Idea of Latin America Walter D. Mignolo
Myths for the Masses Hanno Hardt
The Rhetoric of RHETORIC Wayne C. Booth
When Faiths Collide Martin E. Marty
The Future of War Christopher Coker
The Future of Environmental Criticism Lawrence Buell
The Future of Society William Outhwaite
Provoking Democracy Caroline Levine
The Idea of English Ethnicity Robert Young
Rescuing the Bible Roland Boer
Living with Theory Vincent B. Leitch
Our Victorian Education Dinah Birch
Uses of Literature Rita Felski
Religion and the Human Future David E. Klemm and William Schweiker
The State of the Novel: Britain and Beyond Dominic Head
In Defense of Reading: Teaching Literature in the Twenty-First Century
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The Savage Text Adrian Thatcher
Forthcoming
Right and Wrong in Islam Ebrahim Moosa
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Islam Unbound Bruce Lawrence
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The Savage Text
The Use and Abuse of the Bible
Adrian Thatcher
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
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This edition first published 2008
© 2008 Adrian Thatcher
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thatcher, Adrian.
The savage text : the use and abuse of the Bible / Adrian Thatcher.
p. cm.—(Blackwell manifestos)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4051-7016-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4051-7017-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Bible—Use. 2. Bible—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Hate in the Bible. 4. Hate—Biblical teaching.
5. Hate—Religious aspects—Christianity. 6. Discrimination—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title.
BS538.3.T43 2008
220.608—dc22
2008004419
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Set in 11.5/13.5pt Bembo
by SPi Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India
Printed in Singapore by C.O.S. Printers Pte Ltd
1 2008
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for
Caroline Major
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Part I What Is “The Savage Text”? 1
1 The “Savage Text”? 3
The Bible as an Idol? 3
The Manifesto of “The Savage Text” 9
The Argument of the Book 12
2 “Vile Affections”: The Bible and Homosexuality 15
Morality or Ideology? 15
A Guidebook for Sexual Behavior? 24
A Man Needs a Woman? 28
When is Exegesis Homophobic? 34
Part II The Savage Text at Work 37
3 “Cursed Be Canaan!”: The Bible, Racism, and Slavery 39
The Bible and Racism 39
The Bible and Slavery 47
Reading the Bible after Slavery 50
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Contents
4 “The Great Day of Wrath”: The Bible and the End 57
“Man of War” or “Prince of Peace”? 58
“Rapture” or Rupture? 64
5 “Take Now Thy Son”: The Bible and Children 78
Jesus and Children 78
Putting Jesus First 93
6 “Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live”: The Bible,
Jews, and Women 95
The Bible and Anti-Semitism 96
The Bible and Misogyny 100
Learning from the Legacy? 106
Part III Beyond the Text: Faith in the Triune God 111
7 Faith in the Book or Faith in God? 113
The Scripture Principle 114
Hooker and the Middle Way 124
“Lost Christianities” and New “Heresies” 132
8 On Not Being a “People of the Book” 137
The Personalization of the Book 138
“Dis-solving” the Problem of Authority 145
Some Principles for a Peaceful Reading of the Bible 152
Conclusion 167
Glossary 170
Notes 180
Bibliography 197
Index of Scriptural Citations 206
General Index 212
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Acknowledgments
This is a work that has been nearly 45 years in the making. In my first
term at Regent’s Park College, Oxford (1962), I heard lectures which
offered escape from the fundamentalism which, as a teenager, had
brought me the gift of faith, but presented it in a bubble of exclusiv-
ism, biblical literalism, and pseudo-certainty. Among the Baptists and
Anglicans with whom I have made my spiritual home in the inter-
vening years I have been dismayed at the growing influence of literal
interpretations of the Bible which, despite their popularity among
some sections of Christian people, frequently harms them, sacrifices
the credibility of Christian faith among potential converts, and spreads
damaging effects well beyond the churches. The savage use of the
Bible in relation to sexual minorities in recent decades has galvanized
me to suggest in this book a different way of receiving and proclaim-
ing the words and works of God, of which the Bible speaks.
Acknowledgments along the way are too numerous to mention, so
I shall confine them to the period covered by the writing of the book.
I cherish the long discussions about the project with Michael Lawler
in Omaha, Nebraska, and the strong encouragement he gave me.
I thank Andrew Linzey (Oxford) for his positive and encouraging
endorsement of the book at the proposal stage. I thank my colleagues
at Exeter for sharing with me their interest, support, erudition, aca-
demic integrity, and friendship. They create an atmosphere where
theological research and creativity thrive. In particular I thank
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Acknowledgments
Francesca Stavrakopoulou for reading and commenting perspicuously
on the chapters where I tangle with the Hebrew Bible, and Tim
Gorringe who read the entire manuscript and gave me valuable advice.
I thank Michael Northcott (Edinburgh) for reading large chunks of
text on the apocalypse and giving me helpful guidance.
Once again I thank Caroline Major for her hawk-eyed proof-
reading and indexing of my work. This is the sixth book on which we
have worked together. She has been tireless in encouraging me
through all of these projects. Caroline has a special place in my life. To
her this work is dedicated.
A.T.
January 2008
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