The Bible in Politics: How to Read the Bible Politically, 2nd ed.

by Richard Bauckham

Publishers:

SPCK; Westminster John Knox

, 2011

Overview

The political interpretation of the Bible presents many pitfalls for the unwary. It is all too easy to read our own prejudices into the text—and much harder to move intelligently, without anachronism, between the political societies of biblical times and the very different societies of today.

This is why Richard Bauckham’s The Bible in Politics has been so enduring. It teaches the reader how to read the Bible politically, helping to relate biblical teaching to current issues. This more nuanced reading leads to a disciplined, informed, imaginative, and politically fruitful understanding of the Bible’s social relevance.

The new edition of this book contains a substantial new introduction dealing with such pressing contemporary concerns as globalization and climate change, making this book essential reading for a new generation of Christians who want to be effective instruments of God’s will today—both locally and globally.

In the Logos edition of The Bible in Politics, you get easy access to Scripture texts and to a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Hovering over Scripture references links you instantly to the verse you’re looking for, and with passage guides, word studies, and a wealth of other tools from Logos, you can delve into God’s Word like never before!

Key Features

• Introductions to the first and second editions
• General index and an index of biblical references

Product Details

• Title: The Bible in Politics: How to Read the Bible Politically
• Author: Richard Bauckham
• Edition: 2nd
• Publisher: SPCK
• Publication Date: 2010
• Pages: 192

About Richard Bauckham

Richard Bauckham is a professor emeritus at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Prior to that, he was professor of New Testament studies and Bishop Wardlaw Professor at St Andrews. Bauckham has published widely in theology and biblical studies.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Third, the New Testament gives a quite new emphasis to freedom as voluntary service.” (Page 111)

“Bible is God’s message in, to and through very particular historical situations. Its universality must be found in and through its particularity, not by peeling its particularity away until only a hard core of universality remains. So the appropriate method seems to be that of appreciating the biblical material first of all in its own culturally specific uniqueness, and then seeing it as a ‘paradigm’ (as Chris Wright suggests²) or an ‘analogy’ (as André Dumas suggests³) for our own time.” (Page 12)

“Second, the implications of freedom in Christ certainly affected the social life of the Church, the new people of God liberated by the new Exodus.” (Page 110)

“Is it not possible that with our arbitrary nationalism we have affronted God and practised idolatry?” (Page 58)

“danger of manipulating the text to support our preconceived attitudes and projects” (Page 18)

Product Details

• Title: The Bible in Politics: How to Read the Bible Politically
• Author: Richard Bauckham
• Edition: Second edition
• Publishers: SPCK, Westminster John Knox
• Print Publication Date: 2011
• Logos Release Date: 2011
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible › Hermeneutics; Bible and politics; Christianity and politics › Biblical teaching
• ISBNs: 9780664237080, 0664237088
• Resource ID: LLS:BBLPOLITICS2ED
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:06:41Z

About Richard Bauckham

Richard Bauckham (1946– ) was professor of New Testament studies at St Mary's College, University of St Andrews. He retired in 2007 from this position in order to concentrate on research and writing. He currently is the senior scholar at Ridley Hall in Cambridge and visiting professor at St. Mellitus College.

Bauckham earned a PhD at the University of Cambridge and was a fellow of St John's College. He taught theology for one year at the University of Leeds and for 15 years at the University of Manchester before teaching at the University of St Andrews. He is a fellow of the British Academy and a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Bauckham is known for his commentary on Jude and 2 Peter in the Word Biblical Commentary and his book Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church.