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Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Contact: Robyn Gorell
248-855-6777
rgorell@marxlayne.com
NEW BOOK EXPLORES RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANCIENT BIBLICAL LAWS AND CONTEMPORARY CONTROVERSIES IN CHURCHES
"Ancient Laws and Contemporary Controversies: The Need for Inclusive Biblical Interpretation," a book by Cheryl B. Anderson, associate professor of Old Testament at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, was recently released. Published by Oxford University Press, it also is available from Amazon.
Anderson contends that biblical laws, such as one requiring unmarried women to marry their rapist, or those accepting slavery, reflect a privileged male perspective and not necessarily those of everyone in faith communities. She argues that traditional Christian practices and biblical interpretations still exclude voices of women and certain others, including homosexuals and different racial/ethnic groups. She maintains that contemporary controversies in churches - such as homosexuality and the ordination of women - result from these groups expressing their own realities and perspectives on faith.
According to Anderson, inclusive biblical viewpoints are consistent with Christian tradition. She bases her conclusions on the Bible (Old and New Testaments) and Protestant reformers (Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Wesley), and parallels them with the U.S. Constitution.
She explains, "We should approach the Bible as we do the Constitution. When they referred to "We the People," our nation's founding fathers didn't have the poor, women or people of color in mind, but they were included through later revisions. We cannot amend the Bible, but let's consider more helpful traditions within it and the contexts and perspectives of the marginalized."
Rosemary Radford Ruether, a theologian, comments, "The book opens up biblical law from the perspective of women, gays, the poor, indigenous and colonized people and wrestles with issues of biblical authority in that context... a key work for those concerned with the role of the bible in promoting inclusive justice."
Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann writes, "The subtlety of the argument makes this an important voice in an interpretive enterprise now increasingly persuasive among us."
Anderson earned her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, M.Div. from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and J.D. from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. She practiced law in Washington for 10 years.
Anderson also is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.
Her academic publications include the book, "Women, Ideology, and Violence: Critical Theory and the Construction of Gender in the Book of the Covenant and the Deuteronomic Law," and numerous articles.
Visit www.cherylbanderson.com
