Struggles for Shalom: Peace and Violence Across the Testaments

by Laura Brenneman (Editor), Brad D Schantz (Editor), Ben C Ollenburger (Foreword by)

Overview

Struggles for Shalom is a collection of essays by biblical scholars about peace, justice, and violence in ancient Jewish and Christian texts, written to honor the life work of Mennonite scholars Perry B. Yoder and Willard M. Swartley. In this volume, twenty-three authors--colleagues, former students, friends, and others influenced by Yoder's and Swartley's scholarship--add to the honorees' work in appreciation for their shared focus on biblical texts' lessons of peace. Specific texts and topics include Eccl 3:1-9 and time for war, Ezek 14:12-23 and God's retribution, Luke 22:31-61 and Peter's sword, the temple cleansing episodes in John 2 and Mark 11, sectarianism and violence in manuscripts from the Dead Sea, violence in creation in the Hebrew Bible, Chronicles as utopian literature, peace and violence in Paul's writings, and globalization in biblical studies. This collection is diverse and ambitious. For church and academy, and for anyone curious about what Scripture has to say about peace and violence, this book delivers focused study of peace and violence across the Testaments. Contributors: Wilma Ann Bailey Jo-Ann A. Brant Laura L. Brenneman Jacob W. Elias Reta Halteman Finger Michael J. Gorman Nancy R. Heisey Paul Keim Christopher Marshall Safwat Marzouk Douglas B. Miller Ben C. Ollenburger Dorothy M. Peters David Rensberger Andrea Dalton Saner Brad D. Schantz Mary H. Schertz Steven Schweitzer Willard M. Swartley Jackie Wyse-Rhodes Joshua Yoder Perry B. Yoder Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld Paul Yokota Gordon Zerbe

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620326220
Publisher:	Pickwick Publications
Publication date:	04/23/2014
Series:	Studies in Peace and Scripture: Institute of Mennonite Studi , #12
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Laura L. Brenneman (PhD, Durham University, UK) is a visiting lecturer at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and New Testament editor of Studies in Peace and Scripture. Also a graduate of the Eastern Mennonite University Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (Harrisonburg, VA), she works at the intersection of biblical studies and peace studies; her dissertation (Cascadia, forthcoming) is about 1 Corinthians 5 and church discipline.


Brad D. Schantz is also a former student of Perry Yoder and Willard Swartley at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and is currently a PhD candidate in the Hebrew Bible program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Table of Contents

Illustrations x

Series Preface xi

Foreword Ben C. Ollenburger xv

Acknowledgments Laura L. Brenneman xix

Abbreviations xx

1 Peace and Violence across the Testaments Laura L. Brenneman 1

Part 1 Peace and Violence in the Hebrew Bible

2 Mennonite Peace Theology and Ethics: Biblical or Canonical? Perry B. Yoder 13

3 Creation and Violence Ben C. Ollenburger 26

4 "YHWH Is a Warrior" Reevaluated (Exodus 15:3) Andrea Dalton Saner 36

5 Violence Added: A Study of Insertions of Violence into English Translations of the Hebrew Bible Wilma Ann Bailey 47

6 No Other Gods: Allegiance and Identity in the Nation State Paul Keim 56

7 The Paradoxical Monstrification of Egypt in the Book of Ezekiel: Violence in the Name of Purity Safwat Marzouk 67

8 "These Three Men": Another Look at Ezekiel 14:12-23 Brad D. Schantz 79

9 Should We Take Time for War? Moral Indeterminacy in Qohelet's Poem Douglas B. Miller 88

10 The Concept of Shalom in the Book of Chronicles Steven Schweitzer 103

11 Sex, Knowledge, and Evil: Violence and Peace in the Book of the Watchers Jackie Wyse-Rhodes 114

12 The Sword in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Sixteenth-Century Anabaptism Dorothy M. Peters 125

Part 2 Peace and Violence in the New Testament

13 Peace and Violence in the New Testament: Definition and Methodology Willard M. Swartley 141

14 "Righteousness and Peace Will Kiss": The Peaceableness of the "Super-righteous" Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld 155

15 Jesus, the Peaceable Messiah: The Theology of Matthew in Light of Messianic Interpretation of Scriptures Paul Yokota 168

16 Jesus's Action in the Temple David Rensberger 179

17 Swords and Prayer: Luke 22:31-62 - Mary H. Schertz 191

18 Restoring the Concepts of Friendship and Reciprocity to Christian Discourse Jo-Ann A. Brant 205

19 The Political is Personal: Anabaptist-Mennonite Appropriation of the Book of Acts in the Sixteenth and Twentieth Centuries Joshua Yoder 216

20 "Be(a)ware of the Dogs, Evildoers and Butchery": Text and Theory in the Discourse on Peace and Violence in Paul Gordon Zerbe 228

21 "Not Peace But a Sword": Class Conflict in Paul's Corinthian Churches Reta Halteman Finger 243

22 "Making Every Effort": Peacemaking and Ecclesiology in Ephesians 4:1-6 Christopher Marshall 256

23 Paul, Peace, and Apocalyptic Jacob W. Elias 267

24 Shalom in the Book of Revelation: God, Church, Judgment, New Creation Michael J. Gorman 279

25 Peace and Scripture: Mennonite Perspectives from the Global South Nancy R. Heisey 291

Bibliography 305

List of Contributors 331

Ancient Document Index 337

Subject Index 363

Author Index 371

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"For Mennonites academics who think, study, and advocate for peace, the world has become much more complicated in the past half-century. This volume reflects the many ways in which some of the best contemporary Mennonite and related biblical scholarship addresses the issues of peace and violence in and through the biblical texts."
—John Kampen, Van Bogard Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Methodist Theological School, Ohio

"What a valuable conversation about the message of the Bible with regard to peace, justice, violence, the nature of God, and the character of human ethics! From assessments of the state of biblical scholarship on peace and violence to fresh treatments of 'problem' passages in the Bible, this collection offers a rich feast not to be missed."
—Loren L. Johns, Professor of New Testament, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

"Struggles for Shalom is a most welcome contribution to critically engaged biblical scholarship. Perhaps the most fitting tribute to the legacies of Perry Yoder and Willard Swartley is that these authors, led by Laura Brenneman and Brad Schantz, extend biblical, theological, and ethical conversations about violence and peace to new generations of global citizens, inside and beyond Mennonite traditions. This valuable collection is ideal for use in churches, classrooms, and anywhere else justice is sought."
—Davina C. Lopez, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida

Editorial Reviews

"For Mennonites academics who think, study, and advocate for peace, the world has become much more complicated in the past half-century. This volume reflects the many ways in which some of the best contemporary Mennonite and related biblical scholarship addresses the issues of peace and violence in and through the biblical texts."
—John Kampen, Van Bogard Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Methodist Theological School, Ohio

"What a valuable conversation about the message of the Bible with regard to peace, justice, violence, the nature of God, and the character of human ethics! From assessments of the state of biblical scholarship on peace and violence to fresh treatments of 'problem' passages in the Bible, this collection offers a rich feast not to be missed."
—Loren L. Johns, Professor of New Testament, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

"Struggles for Shalom is a most welcome contribution to critically engaged biblical scholarship. Perhaps the most fitting tribute to the legacies of Perry Yoder and Willard Swartley is that these authors, led by Laura Brenneman and Brad Schantz, extend biblical, theological, and ethical conversations about violence and peace to new generations of global citizens, inside and beyond Mennonite traditions. This valuable collection is ideal for use in churches, classrooms, and anywhere else justice is sought."
—Davina C. Lopez, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida

From the Publisher