Reading the Bible from the Margins

by Miguel A. de La Torre

Overview

This introduction to reading and understanding the Bible focuses on perspectives that are often ignored. Here, emphasis is placed on how issues involving race, class, and gender influence our understanding of the Bible. The author shows how "standard" readings of the Bible are not always acceptable to people or groups on the "margins." The poor and those who are targets of discrimination because of their ethnic group or gender may have quite different insights and understandings of biblical texts that can be of value to all readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781570754104
Publisher:	Orbis Books
Publication date:	03/28/2002
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

	Preface	xi
	Introduction	1
	Liberating the Bible	5
	The Bible in the Real World	8
	Reading through Others' Eyes	10
1	Learning to Read: The Importance of Words	14
	Defining Terms	15
	Imposing Twenty-First-Century Meanings on Ancient Texts	17
	Defining Racism	20
	The Factor of Language	24
	A Han Reading	26
	Multiple Consciousness	27
	The Center-Margin Dichotomy	31
2	Reading the Bible from the Center	36
	A Privileged Reading	38
	A Biblical Paradigm for Justifying Privilege	41
	Pitfalls in Raising Consciousness	48
	Words of Concern	49
	Searching for the Abundant Life	51
3	Unmasking the Biblical Justification of Racism and Classism	55
	Justifying Racism	56
	Beyond the Black-and-White Dichotomy	58
	African Americans	59
	Amerindians	64
	Asians	66
	Jews	68
	Justifying Classism	70
	Classism from the Margins	76
4	Unmasking the Biblical Justification of Sexism	82
	Justifying Patriarchy	83
	Sexism from the Margins	91
	Feminism among Women of Color	92
	Justifying Homophobia	96
	Homophobia from the Margins	100
	The Hermeneutical Circle	102
5	Who Do You Say I Am?	104
	The Economically Marginalized Christ	108
	A Hispanic Christ	112
	An Amerindian Christ	116
	An Asian American Christ	119
	A Black Christ	121
	A Female Christ	123
	A Gay Christ	130
	Perceiving the Character of Divinity	132
	God Sides with Today's Crucified People	133
	God Is Victorious	135
6	Jesus Saves	136
	The Rich Young Ruler, the Sinning Tax Collector, and the Begging Blind Man	139
	More Than Just Climbing Sycamore Trees	142
	I Once Was Blind	143
	Of Sheep and Goats	144
	Communal Essence of Justice	146
	Are You Saved?	148
7	Can't We All Just Get Along?	151
	The Dysfunctional Family	152
	Forgive and Forget?	153
	Power to Direct the Discourse	154
	Power to Name	155
	Power Not to See a Need to Repent	155
	Power to Become the "Real" Victim	156
	Cheap Forgiveness	158
	What the Center Can Learn about the Bible	160
	Exodus: God the Liberator	160
	Amos: God the Seeker of Justice	161
	The Gospels: God the Doer	165
	Acts and the Letters from Paul: God the Subverter	167
	The Bible in the Twenty-First Century	170
	Notes	173
	Bibliography	181
	General Index	185
	Scripture Index	194