The Savage Text: The Use and Abuse of the Bible

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

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