1st Edition

Secularism and Biblical Studies

By Roland Boer Copyright 2010
    224 Pages
    by Routledge

    224 Pages
    by Routledge

    What is secular biblical criticism? 'Secularism and Biblical Studies' presents a selection of essays that examine the nature of secular biblical studies and its hermeneutical principles. The essays outline and analyse debates within biblical studies over the issue of secularism and explore the interplay of atheism, agnosticism and faith in the interpretation of the Bible. The book argues for a hermeneutics of suspicion and a wider engagement with cultural, literary and anthropological disciplines. Examining biblical hermeneutics from a range of perspectives - from Europe, Israel and the USA - 'Secularism and Biblical Studies' offers a provocative and challenging approach that will be of interest to all students and scholars of the Bible.

    Roland Boer: Introduction: Secularism and the BiblePART A: INITIAL ENGAGEMENT AT THE FORUM1. Michael V. Fox: Scholarship and Faith in Bible Study2. Jacques Berlinerblau: The Unspeakable in Biblical ScholarshipPART B: THE MANIFESTO DEBATE3. Roland Boer: A Manifesto for Biblical Stdies4. Hanna Stenstrom: Boer's Manifesto: Part of the Solution or Part ofthe Problem? Some Reflections from a Swedish Perspective5. Niels Peter Lemche: Guns do not kill, people do!6. Mark G. Brett: Theological Secularity: A Response to Roland Boer7. Todd Penner: Is Boer Among the Prophets? Transforming the Legacy ofMarxian CritiquePART C: THE END OF BIBLICAL STUDIES?8. Hector Avalos: The End of Biblical Studies as a Moral Obligation9. Joseph A. Marchal: Responsibilities to the Publics of BiblicalStudies and Critical Rhetorical Engagements for a Safer World10. Heike Omerzu: A German Landscape: Currents and Credits of NewTestament Studies in Germany During the Past Decades11. Philip Chia: Private or Public? The Challenge of Public Theologyto Biblical StudiesPART D: THE PARADOXES OF SECULARISM12. Ward Blanton: Neither Religious nor Secular: On Saving the Criticin Biblical-Criticism13. Edgar W. Conrad: From Jefferson's Bible to Judge Moore's TenCommandments Monument: Secularizing the Bible in the USA14. Athalya Brenner: From Ruth to Foreign Workers in ContemporaryIsrael: A Case Study in the Interaction of Religion, Politics and theEconomy15. Yairah Amit: The Samaritans - Biblical Considerations in the Solution of a Political Problem16. Philip Davies: The Biblical Roots of Secularism

    Biography

    Roland Boer is Associate Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at The University of Newcastle, Australia