Writing/Reading the Bible in Postcolonial Perspective

Abstract

Abstract Examining the legacies of European imperialism, this essay traces how the Bible reflects strong affinities with empire and provides ongoing justifications for empire and concentrations of power, including the evolution of the Bible from its production in empires of antiquity and the Bible’s supportive role in the development of modern imperialism. The essay also engages the ambiguities of the Bible as anti-imperial tool. Set within an examination of postcolonial studies as a revolutionary and revisionary discourse, this essay presses for a more vigorous postcolonializing of the Bible in biblical studies. A description of the contemporary features and manifestation of empire forms the context within which further exploration of postcolonial biblical critical work can take place. Following an assessment of previous work in the field, the challenges of intersectional work with queer studies, terrorism studies, technology, and ecological studies are laid out as future tasks.

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