Rescuing the Bible

What does the future hold for the Bible? In this provocative and powerfully argued Manifesto, Roland Boer voices his fear that, unless action is taken, the Bible will become the sole preserve of the conservative political and religious groups who have appropriated this sacred text for their own ends. But it hasn’t always been that way. Boer also traces the Bible’s long history as a source of inspiration for radical and revolutionary movements and then issues a rallying call for contemporary radicals and revolutionaries to maintain and uphold that tradition. Only then, he argues, can the Bible be rescued from its most systematic abusers: the church, the synagogue and the state.

Preface. Introduction. 1. The New Secularism. 2. The Worldly Left: Towards a Politics of Alliance. 3. Bad Conscience: Battles Over the Bible. 4. (Ab)using the Text: Conflicts in Politics and Science. 5. Making All Things New: The Revolutionary Legacy of the Bible. 6. Rescuing the Bible. Conclusion. Notes. References. Index of Subjects. Index of Biblical References

Roland Boer is Reader in the Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies at Monash University in Australia. He has written seven books on biblical, political and philosophical subjects.

"This is a welcome addition to Blackwell′s new Manifestos series." ( Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, June 2009) "Rescuing the Bible is deeply thoughtful and provocative, and it deserves to be widely read and discussed by both scholars and layfolk, believers and nonbelievers, on the left and the right.” ( Biblical Interpretation , April 2010) "There is an important focus here on how the bible can be read with an appropriate theological suspicion which will seek to discern how it can become life–giving while not ignoring its oppressive potential." ( European Journal of Theology , April 2009)