Abstract
The Prophets Speak on Forced Migration
edited by Mark J. Boda, Frank Ritchel Ames, John Ahn, and Mark Leuchter
Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2015. 238 pp. $34.95. ISBN 978-1-62837-051-5.
In this collection of essays dealing with the prophetic material in the Hebrew Bible, scholars explore the motifs, effects, and role of forced migration in prophetic literature. Contributors focus on the study of geographical displacement, social identity ethics, trauma studies, theological diversification, hermeneutical strategies in relation to the memory, and the effects of various exilic conditions in order to open new avenues of study into the history of Israelite religion and early Judaism.
Women and Exilic Identity in the Hebrew Bible
edited by Martien Halvorson-Taylor and Katherine E. Southwood
The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies. London: Bloomsbury, 2017. 400 pp. $114.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-5676-6842-4.
Notions of women in the Bible have had an incalculable impact on Western cultures, influencing perspectives on marriage, kinship, legal practice, political status, and general attitudes. This volume is drawn from three separate strands to address and analyze this phenomenon. The first examines how women were conceptualized and represented during the exilic period. The second focuses on methodological possibilities and drawbacks connected to investigating women and exile. The third reviews current prominent literature on the topic, with responses from authors. The contributions show a range of the best scholarship on women and foreign identities, with important consequences for how the foreign/known is perceived, and what that has meant for women through the centuries.
Exile: A Conversation with N. T. Wright
edited by James M. Scott
Grand Rapids: IVP Academic, 2017. 336 pp. $40.00. ISBN 978-0-8308-5183-6.
Few New Testament scholars of recent decades have set the pitch for academic discussion and debate in their field like N. T. Wright. His signature contention, that Israel’s continuing exile was a pivotal issue in the emergence of Christianity, has found a central place in contemporary New Testament scholarship. This, according to Wright, is the controlling narrative that shaped the thinking of Jesus and Paul. While many find this a compelling key to understanding the New Testament, critical responses also abound. This book engages a variety of scholars in conversation with Wright’s thesis, and Wright offers a lively response to his interlocutors.
Migrants and Citizens: Justice and Responsibility in the Ethics of Immigration
by Tisha M. Rajendra; foreword by Daniel G. Groody, CSC
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017. 179 pp. $25.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-6882-4.
In all the noisy rhetoric currently surrounding immigration, one important question is rarely asked: What ethical responsibilities do immigrants and citizens have to each other? In this book, Tisha Rajendra reframes the confused and often heated debate over immigration around the world, proposes a new definition of justice based on responsibility to relationships, and develops a Christian ethic to address this vexing social problem.
Saved by Faith and Hospitality
by Joshua W. Jipp; foreword by Christine D. Pohl
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017. 220 pp. $20.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-7505-1.
Too few Christians today understand hospitality to strangers and the marginalized as an essential part of the church’s identity. In this book Joshua Jipp argues that God’s relationship to God’s people is fundamentally an act of hospitality to strangers, and that divine and human hospitality together are thus at the very heart of Christian faith. Jipp interprets major biblical texts related to the practice of hospitality to strangers, considering especially how these texts portray Christ as the divine host who extends God’s welcome to all people. He invites readers to consider how God’s hospitality sets the pattern for human hospitality, offering suggestions on how the practice of welcoming strangers can guide the church in its engagement with current social challenges—immigration, incarceration, racism, and more.
The Refugee Crisis and Religion: Secularism, Security and Hospitality in Question
edited by Luca Mavelli and Erin Wilson
Critical Perspectives on Religion in International Politics. London: Rowman & Littlefield International, 2017. 316 pp. $39.95. ISBN 978-1-7834-8895-7.
The current refugee crisis sweeping Europe and much of the world closely intersects with largely neglected questions of religion. Moving beyond discussions of religious differences, what can we learn about the interaction between religion and migration? Do faith-based organizations play a role within the refugee regime? How do religious traditions and perspectives challenge and inform current practices and policies towards refugees? This volume gathers together expertise from academics and practitioners, as well as migrant voices, in order to investigate these interconnections. It shows that reconsidering our understanding and approaches to both could generate creative alternative responses to the growing global migration crisis.
Latino Protestants in America: Growing and Diverse
by Mark T. Mulder, Aida I. Ramos, and Gerardo Martí
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. 218 pp. $38.00. ISBN 978-1-4422-5654-5.
Latino Protestantism is growing rapidly in the United States. Researchers estimate that by 2030 half of all Latinos in America will be Protestant. This remarkable growth is not just about numbers. The rise of Latino Protestants will impact the changing nature of American politics, economics, and religion. This volume takes readers inside the numbers to highlight the many reasons Latino Protestants are growing as well as the diversity of this group. It offers a nuanced picture of Latino Protestants in America, from worship practices to political engagement. The narrative helps readers move beyond misconceptions about Latino religion and offers a window into the diverse ways that religion plays out in real life.
Strangers in This World: Multireligious Reflections on Immigration
edited by Hussam S. Timani, Allen G. Jorgenson, and Alexander Y. Hwang
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2015. 318 pp. $44.00. ISBN 978-1-4514-7297-4.
This collection brings together an international consortium of scholars to reflect on the religious, political, anthropological, and social realities of immigration through the prism of historical and theological resources, insights, and practices across an array of religious traditions. The volume, reflecting the diversity of religious cultures, is nevertheless unified in arguing that immigration is an important aspect of the major religions and is found at their core. The contributors unfold this important dimension of the religious traditions and explore the ways that the theme of immigration connects to vital points of theological reflection and practice in Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Native American religious traditions.
Migrating Faith: Pentecostalism in the United States and Mexico in the Twentieth Century
by Daniel Ramírez
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015. 306 pp. $32.50. ISBN 978-1-4696-2406-8.
This history of twentieth-century Pentecostalism in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands begins in Los Angeles in 1906 with the eruption of the Azusa Street Revival. Many scholars view the revival as having catalyzed the spread of Pentecostalism and consider the U.S.-Mexico borderlands as one of the most important fountainheads of a religious movement that has thrived not only in North America but worldwide. Ramírez argues that, because of the distance separating the transnational migratory circuits from domineering arbiters of religious and aesthetic orthodoxy in both the U.S. and Mexico, the region was fertile ground for the religious innovation by which working-class Pentecostals expanded and changed traditional options for practicing the faith. Giving special attention to individuals’ and families’ firsthand accounts and tracing how a vibrant religious music culture tied transnational communities together, Ramírez illuminates the interplay of migration, mobility, and musicality in Pentecostalism’s global boom.
The Spirit Over the Earth: Pneumatology in the Majority World
edited by Gene L. Green, Stephen T. Pardue, K. K. Yeo
Majority World Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016. 201 pp. $20.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-7273-9.
Though the global center of Christianity has been shifting south and east over the past few decades, very few theological resources have dealt with the seismic changes afoot. The Majority World Theology series seeks to remedy that lack by gathering well-regarded Christian thinkers from around the world to discuss the significance of Christian teaching in their respective contexts. The contributors to this volume reflect deeply on the role of the Holy Spirit in both the church and the world in dialogue with their respective contexts and cultures. Taking African, Asian, and Latin American cultural contexts into account gives rise to fresh questions and insights regarding the Spirit’s work as witnessed in the world and demonstrates how the theological heritage of the West is not adequate alone to address the theological necessities of communities worldwide.
Womanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse
edited by Gay L. Byron and Vanessa Lovelace
Semeia Studies, 85. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2016. 387 pp. $49.95. ISBN 978-1-62837-152-9.
In this collection scholars from the U.S.A.,the Caribbean, and India engage in cross-generational and cross-cultural readings of the Bible and other sacred sources. Each article addresses contemporary topics, including the #BlackLivesMatter movement, domestic violence, and human trafficking, while at the same time uncovering the complicated portrayals of children, women, and other marginalized persons in biblical narratives. Contributors employ gender and feminist criticism, social-scientific methods, postcolonial and psychoanalytical theory, and hip-hop culture to reveal the inherently intersectional dynamics of race, gender, and class at work in womanist thought and analysis.