Synopses & Reviews
On the margins of the biblical canon and on the boundaries of what are traditionally called 'mainstream' Christian communities there have been throughout history writings and movements which have been at odds with the received wisdom and the consensus of establishment opinion. If one listens carefully, these dissident voices are reflected in the Bible itself-whether in the radical calls for social change from the Hebrew Bible prophets, with Jesus the apocalyptic prophet who also demanded social and economic justice for his oppressed people, or perhaps from the apocalyptic tradition's millenarian visions.
The use of the Bible has been fertile ground throughout Christian history for prophetic calls for radical change within society as a whole and the church in particular. The essays contained in this volume examine aspects of this radical tradition, its doctrine, hermeneutics, pedagogy, and social action. They offer a sustained development of the theme of the Bible and its reception and appropriation in the context of radical practices, and an exposition of the imaginative possibilities of radical engagement with the Bible in inclusive social contexts.
Part 1 treats New Testament texts directly-the Lukan writings, Paul and the Book of Revelation; Part 2 explores some examples of reception history and of radical appropriation of the Bible in history and literature; Part 3 addresses contemporary issues in liberation theology and public theology.
This book is a Festschrift in honour of Professor Christopher Rowland, the Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture in the University of Oxford.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Action is the life of all : Approaching the work of Christopher Rowland,
Zoe Bennett and David B. GowlerPart I: The Bible and Radicalism
1. The limits of Radicalism: A dialogical response to liberation in Luke 13:10-17, David B. Gowler
2. Peter Olivi on the community of the first Christians at Jerusalem, Peter Garnsey
3. From capital to community: Discipleship as defection in Jesus parable about a manager of injustice (Luke 16:1-13), Ched Myers
4. The language of grace: Valentinian reflection on New Testament imagery, Judith Kovacs
5. Radical religion and the ethical dilemmas of apocalyptic millenarianism, John J. Collins
6. Hidden identities and the arriving new world: The experience of reading the Book of Revelation, Paolo Nogueira
Part II: Reception History: The appropriation of the biblical text in the radical tradition
7. Still at the marginsa: Gospel women and their afterlives
8. Winstanley, Hobbes, and the sin of the world, Denys Turner
9. The human form divine : Radicalism and orthodoxy in William Blake, Rowan Williams
10. A modern millenarian prophet s Bible, Jane Shaw
Part III: Radical Christian voices today
11. Every time I feel the spirit : African American Christology for a pluralistic world, Brad Braxton
12. The futures of Liberation Theology, Ivan Petrella
13. Does God tell us how to builda
14. Seeking the welfare of the city : Public theology as radical action, Andrew Bradstock
15. Sex and the sins of the fathers: Fertility religion versus human rights, Marilyn McCord Adams
16. I have writ, I have acted, I have peace, Christopher Rowland
Christopher Rowland A biographical note
Bibliography of the major works of Christopher Rowland