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Scripture and Violence

Philip and the Qur'an Summary of the volume Topics covered in this introductory essay What is "violence"?Does it make sense to talk about "religious violence"?What do the Bible and Qur'an have to do with violence?What role do passages from the Bible and the Qur'an play in motivating or justifying violence?What is involved in interpreting and applying scriptural texts today?How do religious communities actually engage with texts?Why do people think, say, or imply that those who consider certain scriptures "sacred" might be more inclined to violence - or less inclined to violence - than others?Other contributions to the volume Notes Works cited Reading and debating the Qur’an with ISIS Interviewees Initial jihadi impulses and the Qur'an Openness to a different reading of the Qur'an Desire to shape history Conclusion Works cited “And God said”: do biblical commands to conquer land make people more violent, or less?Violent applications of the biblical conquest story in history Alternative understandings of divine conquest commands Divine and human authorization for violence in the Hebrew Bible To fight or not to fight?The need for direct divine consultation Warfare and the "spirit of the Lord"Possible applications of these scriptural dynamics Classical rabbinic approaches Implications for contemporary assumptions concerning scripture and violence Conclusion Notes Works cited Invoking the Qur’an in a Muslim debate over suicide attacks Modern discourse: suicide attacks or martyrdom operations?Modern constructions of "suicide" attacks as martyrdom Modern constructions of "suicide" attacks as suicide Conclusion Notes Works cited Texts and violence in modern Israel: interpreting Pinchas The poster: "and the plague was stopped"Talmudic context: "and Pinchas prayed"Pinchas in the Babylonian Talmud Pinchas in the Palestinian Talmud Pinchas in the Taimuds: miracles, prayer, and protest The letter: unformed and void Conclusion Notes Works cited Why saying “only some Muslims are violent” is no better than saying “all Muslims are violent”Hunter's fanatics Sir Syed's loyal Muslims Re-reading claims about scripture and violence Notes Works cited Left behind? The New Testament and American evangelical Christian support for war The book of Revelation predicts nuclear warfare Left Behind and rapture theology American politics and the book of Revelation Concluding reflections Notes Works cited “There never was and never will be”: violence and interpretive erasure in the Jewish tradition A text of violence Is violence always a part of redemption?The text in question Rabbinic erasure of a violent text Burning the texts of Jews The theology of erasure: a whole offering for the sake of God Conclusion Notes Works cited Reading scripture reverentially but not univocally: why words in themselves are not dangerous Outline of the argument Reading scripture canonically and responsively Scripture and violence: concluding reflections Notes Works cited Wrestling with scripture and avoiding violence in the university classroom Fragile identities and pedagogical concerns Two one-sided approaches to scriptures Closed-off religious readings Closed-off historical-critical readings Toward a differential and dialogical hermeneutics Where do you read from?Introducing different reading strategies Organizing Scriptural Reasoning activities Conclusion Notes Works cited

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