Colonialism and the Bible - (Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies in Religion and Theology) by Tat-Siong Benny Liew & Fernando F Segovia (Paperback)

About the Book

This volume addresses the problematic relationship between colonialism and the Bible. It does so from the perspective of the Global South, calling upon voices from Africa and the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Book Synopsis

This volume addresses the problematic relationship between colonialism and the Bible. It does so from the perspective of the Global South, calling upon voices from Africa and the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The contributors address the present state of the problematic relationship in their respective geopolitical and geographical contexts. In so doing, they provide sharp analyses of the past, the present, and the future: historical contexts and trajectories, contemporary legacies and junctures, and future projects and strategies. Taken together, the essays provide a rich and expansive comparative framework across the globe.

Review Quotes

The emanation of the contributions from very different socio-political settings ensures a great variety of approaches. The project also demonstrates clearly the usefulness and adaptability of the late Michael Prior's work on the Palestinian question and his unquestionable influence on all the authors and editors of the book.

Biblical scholars and theologians from the so-called Third World have been researching the way the Bible has been (mis)understood and (mis)used in and outside the Churches during the Western colonial enterprise, but this volume is the first to investigate the issue thoroughly and comprehensively from the global perspective. Future studies of the mutual implication between the Bible and colonialism in Africa and the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean will benefit immensely from this landmark overview.

In this timely volume of largely socio-cultural critical essays, and in the tradition of liberationist, postcolonial, and decolonizing discourses and movements, scholars who represent the Global South tease out the multifaceted, ambiguous, and complex intersections between colonialism and the Christian Bible.

This engaging and eminently readable volume goes a long way to clarify the complicated story of the Bible's involvement both in colonization and emancipation. It is a must-read for anyone grappling with old and new empires. The essays provide a valuable primer on colonial/postcolonial discourse analysis.

About the Author

Tat-siong Benny Liew is Class of 1956 Professor in New Testament Studies at the College of the Holy Cross.
Fernando F. Segovia is Oberlin Graduate Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Vanderbilt University.