The Bible in the Ashes of Social Chaos: An Introduction to Problematic Texts
Ebook
Daily we witness the spectacle of a country in chaos. Mass shootings, partisan gridlock, the growing wealth divide, gross economic inequities, crumbling institutions, and widespread sexism, racism, and xenophobia reflect a country in serious peril. Cynicism, narcissism, fear, and nihilism hide behind the veneer of success, happiness, and materialism that deludes us about our dire condition. Both America and its dominant religion are in decline and more people are raising serious questions about God, the church, and its sacred text for the role they play in past and present realities unfolding around us. This is especially true in the African American community where there are grassroots movements and emerging leaders questioning traditional beliefs of the Black church. Today, millennials and Gen Z youth question problematic things said in the Bible and why a book with moral contradictions continues to be authoritative. There is a real need to grapple with the Bible's relevance in the ashes of social chaos. More importantly, there is a need to expand our moral imagination in new ways that can revitalize faith. In The Bible in the Ashes of Social Chaos, Brogdon invites readers to wade into these biblical, theological, and philosophical issues in a way that holds the sacred nature of the biblical text and questioning rooted in faith in a healthy tension. This book will resonate with people in various places in their intellectual and faith journey.
“This is a gem of a book! Brogdon wears his scholarship lightly, using a conversational tone to speak clearly and directly about how to interpret Scripture. He addresses common questions about how to understand the Bible and answers them with intellectual honesty and deep faith. This book deserves a place in every Bible study, confirmation class, and pastor’s library.”
—Shannon Craigo-Snell, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
“The Bible in the Ashes of Social Chaos is an invaluable gift to both the Christian church and the everyday, armchair reader of the word. As a New Testament scholar and experienced minister, Brogdon asks tough questions about the biblical text and its interpretation, provides constructive answers, dispels traditional and destructive myths about the Bible, and exposes the oppressive nature of the church’s interpretation of certain texts in the Bible. I highly recommend it.”
—Darvin A. Adams I, itinerant pastor in the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church
- Title: The Bible in the Ashes of Social Chaos: An Introduction to Problematic Texts
- Authors: Lewis Brogdon, Chris Caldwell, Beau Brown
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666749908, 9781666749885, 1666749885, 9781666749892, 1666749893, 1666749907
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666749908
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-07-20T10:44:43Z
Lewis Brogdon is an associate professor of Black church studies and the director of the Institute for Black Church Studies at the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky in Louisville. He is the author of several books, such as A Companion to Philemon, The Spirituality of Black Preaching, The New Pentecostal Message? An Introduction to the Prosperity Movement, and Hope on the Brink: Understanding the Emergence of Nihilism in Black America, and numerous articles and book chapters.