THE POTENTIAL USE AND ABUSE OF THE BIBLE
1. Introduction
The Bible as Christian believes is the inspired word of God, infallible and relevant at all times in every context both in the past and in the contemporary world. But in regard to justice, peace and overcoming violence, ‘how far the Bible can be used to support or to condemn the war, violence and injustice which are ever prevailing in the society’ is a big question. The Bible is “just a raw power”[1] which means it can be used to both support and suppressed every prevailing situation depending on how one interprets it. Since the topic is too vast to include all subjects, in this paper, attempt will be made to draw some possible perilous misinterpretation of some biblical texts in regard to justice, peace and violence from the Hebrew Bible as well as the Christian Testament simultaneously. And in conclusion, the writer will suggest some ways of reading the Bible to maintain peace and justice in the society.
2. Definitions
2.1 Justice
Justice
is the practice of what is right and just. It specifies what is right, not only
as measured by a code of law, but also by what makes for right relationships as
well as harmony and peace[2]
The
concept of justice in the Bible goes beyond the law courts to everyday life.
The Bible speaks of doing justice
(Ps. 82:3; Prov. 21:3), whereas people mostly speak of getting justice. Doing
justice is to maintain what is right or to set what is right. Justice is done
when honorable relations are maintained between husbands and wives, parents and
children employees, government and citizens, and man and God.[3]
2.2 Peace
Peace
is a state of tranquility as a freedom from civil disturbance; a state of
security or order within a community provided for by law or custom; freedom
from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions; harmony in personal
relations. It can also be understand as a state or period of mutual concord
between governments; a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who
have been at war or in a state of enmity.[4]
The
Hebrew term for peace šālôm is
derived from the verb “to complete, make sound.” This verb is often used to
express the finish of major buildings (e.g. the temple 1 Kings 7:51; 2 Chr.
5:1; or wall of Jerusalem, Neh. 6:15). In the Bible “peace” is quintessentially
the absence of war. The term is also used of a desired state of permanent šālôm
.[5]
In NT, the term for peace eirḗnē is only somewhat more limited in its
range of meaning than šālôm, thus equivalent to the use of “well-being”
or “welfare.” Paul frequently enjoins “peace” in opening greetings (Rom. 1:7; 1
Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; cf. 1 Pet. 1:2). “Peace” can also refer to an
attribute of a relationship with God (Acts 10:36; Rom. 5:1; 8:6; 15:13; Phil.
4:7; cf. Eph. 6:15). The Greek terms also include the absence of, or contrast
with, war and interpersonal violence (Matt. 5:9; Luke 14:32; Rom. 12:18; Jas.
3:18).[6]
Peace is a state of wholeness and
security, embracing both the physical and spiritual dimensions and relating
not only to individual, but also to the entire community and the relationship
among persons.
2.3 Violence
Violence
is an exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse, or an instance of
violent treatment or procedure.[7]
The
Hebrew concept of violence (from Heb. ḥāmās,
“treat or act violently”) concerns ethical, physical wrong, extreme wickedness,
malicious witness; institutional injustice; injurious language, violent
mechanisms. It designates innocent
suffering, with human subjects and object, resulting from greed or hatred, but
not natural catastrophes. Another
term, gāzal, means “to take by force; steal; tear away” or “robbery; a
thing plundered or spoiled; extorting justice.” Greek words include bɩ́ā, “hostile
force”; biastḗs, “a violent
person”; and biázō, “to enter
violently” or “to destroy, murder.”[8]
3. Potential abuse
of the Bible
3.1 Holy
war/crusades
By
this topic Holy war, I intend to deal with the theme which is regarded by many
to be most troublesome and offensive one in the Bible, which is the theme of war and its relationship to peace.
How are we to interpret passages which tell of God commanding a people to wage
wars of extermination against their enemies? Very often people raise the
question of how can a God of love sanctify the horrible institution of war. For
example, one may look on the following texts:
The
Lord is man of war; the Lord is his
name. [Exodus
15:3, English Standard Version]
They
completely destroyed everything in
it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and
donkeys.
[Joshua 6:21, New Living Translation]
He
(Joshua) completely destroyed everyone in the land, leaving no survivors, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had
commanded. [Joshua
10:40, New Living Translation]
And
the Israelites took all the plunder and livestock of the ravaged towns for
themselves. But they killed all the
people, leaving no survivors. [Joshua 11:14, New Living
Translation].
There
are three basic issues that arise in looking these kinds of texts literally.
They are:[9]
a. Is it
just a war or genocide?
b. Is Old
Testament God different from the New Testament God?
c. Should
we disown Old Testament conception of Holy war or should we embrace it? How
should we embrace it?
To
respond these issues, one has to consider the absolute power of Yahweh, who know how to make war and possesses the power to destroy His enemy;
and He proves himself to be the God who rules
unlimited power[10].
This physical war and battle in the Old Testament also signify the spiritual
battle of the New Testament. While the Old Testament teaching cannot be totally
ignored, most often it should be read and interpret
metaphorically, where the physical war in OT signify the spiritual war in
NT. The spiritual warfare and its armor are clearly described in Ephesians
6:10-20.
3.1.1 Yahweh’s
War: Response to Israel conquest of Canaan.
There
are three criteria according to Aquina (as mentioned by Havilah Dharamraj) to
justify war in Israel conquest of Canaan. They are (a) proper authority, (b)
just cause and (c) right intention.
By
proper authority, he supports the position
from Psalm 81:4, which enjoins those in authority to deliver the needy out of the hand of the sinner, further he extrapolates the warrant of Romans
13:4, where the government may rightfully wield the sword against internal
threats against the common good, to external threats. On contrary, “it is not
the business of a private individual to declare war, because he can seek for
redress of his rights from the tribunal of his superior.”[11]
Right cause has to
do with recovery of that which has been wrongly taken, and punishment of evil.
For example, Ammon declares war against Israel claiming Amorite territory that
Israel has held for 300 years. In response, Jephthah rehearses the history of
that holding, and ends with an appeal for justice: “I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong my waging war
againstme. Let the LORD, the Judge decide the dispute this day between the
Israelite and the Ammonites” (Judges 11:27). Here, YHWH is called to adjudicate an
imminent war; implicitly, victory and defeat are to be the outcome of the legal
process.[12]
On
the other hand, YHWH makes clear to Israel: It
is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to
take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these
nations, the Lord you God will drive them out before you (Deuteronomy 9:5).
Here HIS verdict goes against the
Canaanites, and the guilty are shown to be so by defeat.[13]
Right Intention means
“war must be undertaken with the intention
of establishing peace.”[14]
There are several examples in the OT like, in Num. 20:16-17, Israelite asked
permission to pass through Kadesh, at the edge of Edomite territory. But Edom
argumentatively negates passage despite of repeated requests. We see other
encounters, like Amalek in Exo. 17:8; Arad king of Canaanite in Num. 21:1-3
etc. Overall, it seem reasonable to read Israel’s international policy as
bearing towards the peaceable. Their deity reminds them repeatedly “to be very
careful. Do not provoke them to war
(Deut. 2:4-5, 9, 19).” Negotiation appears to be the first option; military
engagement is in self-defense, in spite of capability to “harass” Deut. 2:9,
19.[15]
Havilah
Dharamraj concluded that the war on Iraq by US (Bush) was based on a questionable sense of just authority,
an untenable sense of just cause and
suspect right intention. She further
suggests grasping from our subscription to the code of non-violence Jesus lays
out in the Gospels. We are to turn to the other check which exhorts
non-resistance, and beyond that, a heaping of coals on the enemies head, for
personal practice.[16]
3.2 Biblical
concept of Slavery and contemporary abuse in slavery
The
Bible acknowledges existence of slavery. There are several references in the
Bible which talk about slavery. But let me pick few which they slave owners/
masters misinterpreted and abuse their slaves. The following verse can be
examined:
Servants,
be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and
trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ.
(Ephesian 6:5, King James Version)
Urge
bondslaves to be subject to their own
masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, (Titus 2:9, New
American Standard Bible)
Citing
these kind verses, they (slaves’ owner) asked who could question the word of
God when it said the slaves to obey their earthy master with fear and trembling
or tell them to be submissive to their master and to give satisfaction in every
respect.
On
the other hand, in other part of the Bible, in both the Testaments give
instruction to slave holders regarding slavery. Deuteronomy 15:12-15 instructed the Israelites to release their
servants after six years, sending them away with enough food so that they would
be amply supplied until their needs could be met by some other means. This
humanitarian act recognized that God created each person with dignity and
worth. In Leviticus 25:39-46,
instruction are given that if someone because of poor sell himself to be
slaves, he/she should be treated as a hired worker and not to rule them
ruthlessly. Ephesians 6:9 instructs
the master to treat their slaves without threatening them or any favoritism
because no one is important (less important) than anyone else but all are equal
before God.
While
Paul mentions the preference of freedom
over slavery, he doesn't place a great deal of importance on the issue (1
Corinthians 7:21-23). To Paul, spiritual status is much more important than
social standing. He gladly identifies himself as a slave of Christ (Romans
1:1), and the purpose of his entire letter to Philemon is to restore Philemon's
relationship to his runaway slave, Onesimus, whom Philemon was to receive "both as a fellow man and as a brother
in the Lord" (Philemon 1:16 NIV).[17]
It
is clear that the slavery mentioned in the Bible was quite different from the
slavery practiced during the last several hundred years. The slavery of the Bible
was more akin to contract enslavement than modern-day slavery. The Bible's
punishment for kidnapping someone and keeping or selling him was death—in other
words, involuntary slavery was a capital offense (Exodus 21:16). The systematic
kidnapping and enslaving of countless Africans in the fifteenth to nineteenth
centuries was absolutely unbiblical. Paul specifically mentions "slave
traders" and calls them lawless,
rebellious, ungodly, unholy, and profane (1 Timothy 1:8-10). [18]
Abraham Lincoln
offered the most constructive religious perspective, "My concern is not whether God is on our side, my greatest concern
is to be on God's side." Therefore, while we need someone’s help
sometimes, we need to see things and
others from others’ perspectives and God’s perspective. In India, many
people, women and children are facing the problem of inhuman treatment,
subordinate by their superiors in both domestically and socially, unrecognized
to others on the surface. Therefore, the Christian in generally and pastors and
ministers in particular should give a proper guidance to tackle this problem by
interpreting the Bible wisely and
cautiously to suit the context.
3.3 Misconception
of “Light of the World” by Colonialist
The
use of the Bible by the colonialist as a tool to bring enlightenment to the
ignorant people was/is one of the great debate especially to the Indian
Christians. At the same time, the Bible is being used by the missionaries and
natives as a tool for liberations at various levels and turning points and
inspired Indian Christians to join with the nationalistic movements for freedom
and equality. The often used of scriptural text by the colonialist could be:
“You
are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.” (Matthew
5:14, New Revised Standard Version)
In
pretext of bringing light to the dark world, and obeying the great commission
of the Lord Jesus Christ, apart from bringing gospel (which is not to be
neglected) the ignorant people were often exploited, socially, politically,
economically and culturally.
3.4 Abuse to women
Women
in the society today are facing different form of abuses from domestic violence,
mistreatment and social discrimination. While these women are expected to be
protected and safeguarded from all those abuses and subordination, especially
within the Christian community, they are often further abused and suppressed by
citing Scripture and misinterpreting them. Some of the issues are discussed
below:
3.4.1 Subordination
of women in Patriarchal system
Patriarchy
is a social system in which men dominate, subjugate and exploit women. Women
are habitually disadvantaged in many areas of social life. The concept of
patriarchy stresses the interconnectedness of different aspects of gender
inequality. Theories of patriarchy analyze the division of interests between
most men and most women produced by the social structuring of gender relations.
Gender is a relationship of power and inequality, not merely of difference.[19]
Many
often people regard women inferior to men by citing examples from the Bible. It
may not be wrong to say that the Bible especially the Old Testament is more of
patriarchal. Women are often treated as a mere sex object. We have seen as an
example from Lot who offer his daughter to be sexually exploited just to save
his male guests. This is something intolerable to the present context.
Looking
from the New Testament perspectives, special attention should be paid to women.
Jesus who is the creator of all universe treated women indifferently, but even
to the extent of treating better to them by understanding their suffering they
are facing. Hardly, Jesus rebukes women the Bible. Women and man are different
(not same) in many ways, but they are equal in every way.
3.4.2 Sexual abuse
of Women
Sexual
harassment/abuse to women is not a strange news anymore particularly in India.
It is everywhere from home, to public conveyance like, buses, metro, trains and
taxi etc. and most of them are suppressed by either self or with fear of
threatening to their lives. In the light of this, while the Scripture is the
main source to tackle this problem, there are simultaneously, possibilities of
further exploitation and deteriorating the situation. Some of them can be
discussed briefly as:
3.4.2.1 Image of
Sexual abuse in the Book of Hosea
The
images of sexual violence in the second chapter of Hosea are troublesome, and
made doubly so by obvious sensitivity of the poet. When speaking of his wife
Hosea says –
or
I will strip her naked
and expose her as in the day she was born,
and make her like a wilderness,
and turn her into a parched land and kill
her with thirst (Hosea 2:3 NRSV)
I will strip her naked in public, while her lovers look on.
No one will be able to rescue her again from my hands. (Hosea 2:9b – 10 New Living Translations)
This is the image of the sexual abuse of a woman and the use of this image is indeed ‘risky’ in associating the sexual abuse of a woman with the intended actions of God. The most dangerous part of the use of this image is that it can be and has been read to say that God condones, or even encourages, sexual abuse against women if they ‘deserve it’. With such a reading, men can find justification or abusing their wives/partners, especially if they feel that the wife has transgressed. Even more insidiously, such a reading can tell a woman that she is deserving of such treatment. As this also is supposedly a model of YHWH's treatment of Israel, the message that abuse, especially sexual abuse, of women is acceptable under certain "appropriate" circumstances is reinforced. Given that so many people, especially so many men, like this message and so are constitutionally disposed to read Hosea this way, it is understandable that many women, particularly abused women, are dubious about the value of the Book of Hosea.[20]
3.4.3 Abuse of women’s
role in the church
Women
is often considered as a weaker sex and consequently, given less privilege in
the church’s ministry for the leadership role. The orthodox male leaders in the
church often quote 1Timothy 2:11, 12, 14, 15; 1 Cor. 14:35; 7:39 and alike
where women are instructed to be submissive to husband, not permitted to speak
in the church.
The
Bible presents a number of women as agents of divine, infallible revelation. As
such, they had God standing behind them and their words carried His full
authority. The following sections of the Bible came to us through women: - [21]
Through Hagar
(Genesis 16:7-13; 21:17-18): God appeared to her and entrusted her
with an important predictions – she would bear a child, God would make a great
nation of him, her descendents would be innumerable…etc..
Through Rebekah
(Gen. 25:23) : Rebekah inquired of the Lord the reason of the moving
she felt in her womb; and the revelation God gave her turned out to be of great
significance, both historically and theologically. “The older will serve the
younger” (Rom 9:11-12). Moses and Paul must have considered this woman to be a
dependable instrument of revelation.
Through the wife
of Monoah, while her husband was not with her (Judges 13:3 – 5, 7): God
sovereignly broke into this situation by appearing to a woman and revealed His
deliverance of Israel from the Philistines which turned to be a national
significance of God’s people.
Judges 5:1-31
authored by Deborah: A female judge and prophet showed her
spiritual leadership in Israel by conducting the people in worship to God for
victory in battle.
1 Samuel 2:1-10
authored by Hannah: The woman with uncommon boldness,
rebuking proud, exalting god for his merciful acts and demonstrating the spirit
of prophecy by uttering a prediction concerning the worldwide context of
Christ’s coming kingdom.
Proverb 31:1-31
authored by the mother of King Lemuel: This woman
considered herself competent to “teach” her royal son by what wholesome rules
he should govern his people.
Luke 1:41-45
authored by Elizabeth: This woman’s word are described as the
result of her being “filled with the Holy Spirit”, (v. 41) who inspired her to
prophesy that the child Mary was carrying would be Messiah.
Luke 1:46-55
authored by the Virgin Mary: Mary also saw into the future and
prophesied what would be impossible for her to know without supernatural
revelation: that from then on, all generation would count her blessed (v. 48).
Matthew 28:7, 10
through Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James: Both
the angel of the Lord and Jesus Himself revealed to these two women the same
facts and entrusted them the essentially the same resurrection message. The two
women were then commissioned by to announce this fundamental gospel event to
Hid disciples.
Each
of these biblical passages, transmitted through women, falls under the general classification of a prophecy of Scripture.
But, while admitting the spiritual authority of the female prophets and authors
of scripture, some have suggested that women are not described in the Bible as
having been given religious authority of an institutional character. Some have
tried to prove that the authority of Old Testament prophetess was somehow
lesser of different from that of the male prophets for example by claiming that
Miriam did not speak to the people publicly as Moses and Aaron. Some even
suggested that God’s striking of Miriam with leprosy was proof that she had
gone outside of her appointed role as a woman in assuming a place of leadership
in Israel. [22]
Despite
all such theories and suggestion, we can come to the conclusion, as mentioned
earlier that the Bible is just a “raw power”, we cannot hold an absolute claim
by citing one or two reference. For example, Micah 6:4 says God sent Miriam to lead and there is not a least hint in
scripture that she took this upon herself. Women hold no less ability to do
what men do in the ministry.
3.5 Parental Abuse
to Children: Wrong implementation of the fifth Commandment
At
present, the tragedy of child abuse has become more and more a part of public
discussion and concern. Child abuse of any sort takes place in a context in
which individuals and institution have various roles. There are abusers; and
there are victims; but there are also other person and institutions involved,
both in providing a context in which the abuse can take place, and in providing
a context in which the victim can find respite, acceptance, and healing. One
such institution is the church. The church however can be perceived as
perpetuating the context in which the abuse is, if not accepted, then hidden
and not addressed. This is aggravated by the use of religious texts and
particularly in scripture to justify the maintenance of the existing state of
affair in the family.[23]
One
problematic passage of scripture is that from the Ten Commandments: “Honor your father and your mother that your
days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you” (Exodus
20:12). For the child of a healthy family, this verse is not offensive. But for
a child from an abusive family, and particularly form the victim of incest,
this verse is a major stumbling block to continuing in the faith.
Taking
advantage of such scriptural references, many children are being abused within
the Christian families. Some of the prevalent issues I observe in this regard
are summarized as follow:
i.
Many children are force to decide their
career against their wishes and interests by their parents who face many
problems that even culminates to suicide.
ii.
Many people are facing forced marriages
which create unhealthy family and divorce rate is more prevalent than earlier,
and even up to the extent of murdering one’s spouse.
iii.
There are thousands of people (esp. girls)
in India who are sexually abused and harassment of any kind from their own
parent.
While
some other verses in the scripture like Proverbs 19:26, “He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son
who causes shame and brings reproach,” and Deuteronomy 27:16, “Cursed be he who dishonors his father and
mother. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen’” provide excellent principles
and add value to respecting and honoring parent, both the parties (parent and
children) should be aware of the extreme
implementation of it.
3.6 New Testament
teaching to be subject to governing authorities (Rom. 13)
Romans
13 demands submission to the authority because all authority comes from God and
established by God. The greatest example is shown by Lord Jesus who in
submission to the authority. He himself told Pilate the power/authority is
given by God the father. Therefore, to the best of our ability, we should be
submissive to the authority.
Here, there is a great possibility of imposing certain authority which is not actually suit with the situation by the people who are in authority and which is not actually the text mean to say. This could be a force labor, sexual abuse, ill-treatment, social class etc. Therefore, we should also be careful and alert of what they (authorities) doing. Submission to the authority to the extent of sacrificing our faith and violating other right is not acceptable.
3.7 New Testament
teaching to oppose the governing authorities (Rev. 13)
Revelation
13 speaks of the authority of this world which is different from Rom. 13. It is
believe that the beast refers to Anti-Christ which will come at the end of this
world. According to my own understanding and from what I heard from several
preachers, this event will happen after the rapture. Then the beast will hold
an absolute power for three and an half years (or forty two months Rev. 13:5).
Verse 8 says all the inhabitants of the earth whose name have not been written
in the book of life will worship the beast and everyone will be enforced to
worship him and will provide a code no 666 for those who worship him. But
blessed is the one who oppose this authority and be killed for the sake of
Christ will be saved.
Even
though the exact description of the beast have not been emerged so far, there
are several figures in the recent past, who claim to be Christ and demand to
worship him. And there is still a high possibility of anyone who have the same
claim and demand to deviate the believers as Jesus himself warned in the
gospel. Therefore, awareness should be made to the believers by the pastors.
4. Reflection and
evaluation
The
subject of justice, peace and overcoming violence in the contemporary world is
one of the biggest challenges. Peace and justice depend on how we interpret the
scripture and apply it on self rather than interpret them for other.
We
have a tendency to read the Scripture for other many often than we read for
ourselves. For those who hold power, and rulers and king should take a
responsibility to create just society within his/her capacity for they are the
instrument of justice (Ps. 72:1), as exemplified by David (2 Sam. 8:15) and
Josiah (Jer. 22:15-16).
The prophet Micah declared, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Mic. 6:8). During those days, justice was often perverted through bribery and favoritism or partiality (Deut. 1:17; Prov. 17:23). But God’s rewards come to those who practice justice in all their dealings with others. In the words of the prophet Amos, “Let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24)[24]
5. Conclusion
From
the discussion, we can come to the conclusion that while the Bible is the word
of God, infallible, and worth studying, one have to remember that every
particular text is written in a specific context and for the particular group
of people. While it is an undeniable fact that Bible was written through
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it
cannot be interpreted literally to apply to a particular context at present.
Since
Bible is just a “raw power”, drawing
positive values out of the Bible depend on how one interprets it. And as it is
written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it should be read and
interpreted with the help of the Holy Spirit. If the Bible is read with a judgmental attitude, one will find only
things related to condemn or judge other. But if it is read with an open mind and heart, one will gain many things which
will add value to our lives.
And
the scripture instructed us to look not to our interests, but also to the
interest of others (Philippians 2:4), it would be good to read the Bible in the
interest of others so that its interpretation will not hamper one or uphold
others. Therefore, reading the Bible in
the interest of other may be one of the best ways of reading the Bible to
maintain peace and justice in the society.
Bibliography
Berlinerblau,
Jacques, Thumpin' It: The Use and Abuse
of the Bible in Today's Presidential Politics Louisville: West Minster John
Knox, 2008.
Christopher,
Daniel L. Smith “Peace” Eerdmans
Dictionary of the Bible, edited by David Noel Freedman. Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.
Dharamraj,
Havilah ‘Just war theory: A moral restraint on violence through wars’ in Violence and Peace: Creating a culture of
peace in the contemporary context of violence, edited by Fox, Framton F. Pune:
CMS, UBS and Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2010
Duggan,
Cheryl A. Kirk “Violence” Eerdmans
Dictionary of the Bible, edited by David Noel Freedman. Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.
Hayford,
Jack W. Hayford’s Bible Handbook. London:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995.
Keene,
Frederick W. “Anger and Pain in Hosea” in Continuum.
St Xavier College Chicago, vol. III no. 3 1994.
Keil,
C.F. and Delitzsch, F., Commentary on the
Old Testament, Massachusetts: Henrickson Publishers, Vol. 1.
Mish,
Frederick C. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Eleventh ed. Springfield,
Mass. Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003.
Stott,
Marshall S. ‘Honor thy father and mother: Scriptural resources for victims of
incest and parental abuse,’ The Journal
of Pastoral Care, Summer 1988, Vol. XLII, No. 2
Walby,
Sylvia “Patriarchy” The Blackwell
Dictionary of Modern Social Thought, edited by Outhwaite, William. Oxford:
Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
Winston,
George and Winston, Dora Recovering
Biblical Ministry by Women: An Exegetical Response to Traditional and Feminism.
Novpres: Xulon Press 1996.
http://www.compellingtruth.org/Bible-slavery.html
[1]
Jacques Berlinerblau, Thumpin' It: The
Use and Abuse of the Bible in Today's Presidential Politics (Louisville:
West Minster John Knox, 2008), 2.
[2] Jack
W. Hayford, Hayford’s Bible Handbook, (London:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995)
[3] Ibid.
[4]
Frederick C. Mish, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Eleventh ed. Springfield,
Mass. : Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003 [Libronix Digital Library System]
[5] Daniel
L. Smith Christopher, “Peace” Eerdmans
Dictionary of the Bible, edited by David Noel Freedman (Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), 1021.
[6] Daniel
L. Smith Christopher….1022
[7]
Frederick C. Mish, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
[8]Cheryl
A. Kirk Duggan, “Violence” Eerdmans
Dictionary of the Bible, edited by David Noel Freedman (Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), 1357.
[9]
Handout by Chuba Ao in the class.
[10] C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament,
(Massachusetts: Henrickson Publishers, Vol. 1, reprinted from T&T. Clark,
Edinburgh, 1866-91), 354.
[11] Havilah Dharamraj, ‘Just war theory: A
moral restraint on violence through wars’ in Violence and Peace: Creating a culture of peace in the contemporary
context of violence, edited by Framton F. Fox, (Pune: CMS, UBS and
Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2010), 71.
[12] Havilah Dharamraj……78.
[13] Havilah Dharamraj……79
[14] Ibid.
[15] Havilah Dharamraj……81.
[16] Havilah Dharamraj……94.
[19] Sylvia
Walby, “Patriarchy” The Blackwell
Dictionary of Modern Social Thought, edited by William Outhwaite, (Oxford:
Blackwell Publishing, 2006), 462
[20] Frederick
W. Keene, “Anger and Pain in Hosea” in Continuum
(St Xavier College Chicago) vol. III no. 3 1994, page 205.
[21] George Winston and Dora Winston, Recovering Biblical Ministry by Women: An
Exegetical Response to Traditional and Feminism, (Novpres: 1996 Xulon
Press), 142-143
[22] George Winston and Dora Winston, Recovering Biblical Ministry by Women……….150
[23]
Marshall S. Stott, ‘Honor thy father and mother: Scriptural resources for
victims of incest and parental abuse,’ The
Journal of Pastoral Care, Summer 1988, Vol. XLII, No. 2. 139.
[24]Jack W.
Hayford, Hayford's Bible Handbook. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers,
1995).
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