Violence and the Bible Collection (2 vols.)

The Violence and the Bible Collection skillfully and intelligently analyzes several important issues concerning violence and the Bible. Comprising the two volumes are over twenty scholarly essays by renowned Bible experts on a variety of pertinent topics. Both volumes offer the reader new insight into the violence present in, stemming from, and relating to the Bible.

Violence in the New Testament examines a generally untouched topic. Though the editors’ focus is on violence in the NT, the volume situates itself within religious experience, religious ritual, and religious expression. Moreover, though the focus is on violence in the New Testament, the volumes seeks to redress what the editors see as a serious gap in this scholarship of Biblical violence by insisting that the foundational documents of Christianity must be scrutinized for their violent content and effects. Sanctified Violence broadens the scope by including analysis on violence in both Testaments. Here, the effects of violence in the Bible are seen in light of white supremacy, the internet, the Columbine massacre, the Rwandan genocide, and more. Special attention is given to the cultural reception of the Bible in popular media.