Scripture and Social Justice

The essays gathered here provide a panoramic view of current thinking on biblical texts that play important roles in contemporary struggles for social justice – either as inspiration or impediment. Here, from the hands of an ecumenical array of leading biblical scholars, are fresh and compelling resources for thinking biblically about what justice is and what it demands. Individual essays treat key debates, themes, and texts, locating each within its historical and cultural settings while also linking them to the most pressing justice concerns of the twenty-first century. The volume aims to challenge academic and ecclesiastical complacency and highlight key avenues for future scholarship and action.

“This volume is a witness not only to Donahue's enduring legacy to the field of biblical studies but also to the importance of scripture in the task of approaching social justice today. Each chapter serves to remind the reader of the fundamentally political nature of the Bible and the enormous potential that critical and thoughtful biblical study continues to offer to the immediacy and urgency of the most trenchant social issues of our day. From abortion, same-sex marriage, colonialism and empire to racism, slavery, and mass incarceration - these chapters demonstrate that rereading scripture from a new perspective or with a different lens can often serve to reframe how we think about a contemporary social problem in profound ways.”

This volume is a witness not only to Donahue’s enduring legacy to the field of biblical studies but also to the importance of scripture in the task of approaching social justice today. Each chapter serves to remind the reader of the fundamentally political nature of the Bible and the enormous potential that critical and thoughtful biblical study continues to offer to the immediacy and urgency of the most trenchant social issues of our day. From abortion, same-sex marriage, colonialism and empire to racism, slavery, and mass incarceration – these chapters demonstrate that rereading scripture from a new perspective or with a different lens can often serve to reframe how we think about a contemporary social problem in profound ways. -- Rebecca Todd Peters, Elon University
This volume on scripture and social justice is a tribute to the lifetime of work in this area by John R. Donahue, and a treasure trove of insightful essays for any interested in the relationship of the Bible to Christian moral life.  Led by Donahue's own remarkable article on the Bible and Catholic social teachings, a cast of many of the most distinguished scholars working in this area offers essays organized into selections from the Hebrew Scriptures and from Early Christianity.  The result is a volume that should be on the shelf of every scholar or church leader who believes that the biblical witness is more than ancient history but is a contemporary resource for the moral life of the modern church. -- Bruce Birch, Wesley Theological Seminary

Anathea E. Portier-Young is associate professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School and author of the acclaimed Apocalypse against Empire: Theologies of Resistance in Early Judaism.Gregory E. Sterling is Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean and Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament at Yale Divinity School. He is the editor of the Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series and the Studia Philonica Annual.

The essays gathered here provide a panoramic view of current thinking on biblical texts that play important roles in contemporary struggles for social justice - either as inspiration or impediment. Here, from the hands of an ecumenical array of leading biblical scholars, are fresh and compelling resources for thinking biblically about what justice is and what it demands. Individual essays treat key debates, themes, and texts, locating each within its historical and cultural settings while also linking them to the most pressing justice concerns of the twenty-first century. The volume aims to challenge academic and ecclesiastical complacency and highlight key avenues for future scholarship and action.

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