Redeeming Violent Verses: A Guide for Using Troublesome Texts in Church and Ministry
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
“One the greatest challenges the church faces today,” writes Jerome F. D. Creach, “is to interpret and explain passages in the Bible that seem to promote or encourage violence” (Violence in Scripture, 1). In the past fifteen years, a number of books have been published to help people make sense of God’s violent behavior in the Bible. Yet very little has been written about how to use these (and other) violent texts constructively in church. This leaves religious practitioners—pastors, priests, Sunday school teachers, worship ministers, lay leaders, and others—at a real disadvantage. What should they do with stories that sanction genocide or praise individuals for killing others? How can they use these violent texts in sermons, liturgies, Christian educations classes, and elsewhere without promoting the violent ideologies they contain?
In Redeeming Violent Verses, Eric Seibert addresses these questions by focusing on a wide range of practical ways to use violent biblical texts responsibly in the church and beyond. With chapters devoted to using violent verses when preaching sermons, teaching Sunday school, and leading worship, this book is filled with guidelines and specific practices designed to help ministers use violent verses responsibly. Seibert includes numerous examples to illustrate specific ways these verses could be used in ministry settings and pays special attention to dealing with passages that portray God behaving violently. Rather than ignoring these passages or being intimidated by them, Redeeming Violent Verses tackles troublesome texts head-on. It charts a bold path forward, one that opens up new possibilities for ministers by equipping them to use these texts in life-giving and spiritually edifying ways. Religious practitioners of all stripes will find this book immensely helpful, and readers will benefit greatly from the many strategies and suggestions offered here.
This is a Logos Reader Edition. Learn more.
- Focuses on a wide range of practical ways to use violent biblical texts.
- Shows guidelines designed to help ministers use violent verses responsibly.
- Includes numerous examples to illustrate specific ways these verses could be used in ministry.
Redeeming Violent Verses is grounded in excellent scholarship, but the author’s practical good sense and deep pastoral commitment make the book eminently suited for use in real-world settings. In this lucidly written and well-thought-out study, Eric Seibert has done a notable service to churches. I hope it reaches the widest possible audience.
—Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History, Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University, and author of Laying Down the Sword: Why We Can’t Ignore the Bible's Violent Verses
I’ve read my fair share of books and articles addressing the violence of the Old Testament, and, as a pastor and educator, I have to say that I have never encountered anything nearly as practically helpful as Redeeming Violent Verses. I am confident that anyone who is disturbed by the violent texts of the Old Testament will benefit from this very readable work. But if you are a person whom God has called to use the Bible to influence others, in any capacity, whether adults or children, I implore you to deeply digest this bold and insightful work!
—Gregory A. Boyd, pastor and author of The Crucifixion of the Warrior God: Interpreting the Old Testament’s Violent Portraits of God in Light of the Cross
- Title: Redeeming Violent Verses: A Guide for Using Troublesome Texts in Church and Ministry
- Author: Eric A. Seibert
- Publisher: Westminster John Knox
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Pages: 165
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- ISBNs: 9780664264680, 0664264689
- Resource ID: LLS:RDMNGVLNTMNSTRY
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-01-23T20:42:29Z