A Commentary Designed to Help You #ReExamine Scripture
Christianity Today Book Award—Biblical Studies Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Finalist
In a first-of-its-kind volume, The New Testament in Color offers biblical commentary that is:
•Multiethnic •Diverse •Contextual •Informative •Reflective •Prophetic •Inspiring
** SCROLL Comments for Examples by Contributors to "New Testament in Color" **
Read a conversation with the editors of The New Testament in Color
INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS
Historically, Bible commentaries have focused on the particular concerns of a limited segment of the church, all too often missing fresh questions and perspectives that are fruitful for biblical interpretation. Listening to scholars from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities offers us an opportunity to explore the Bible from a wider angle, a better vantage point.
The New Testament in Color is a one-volume commentary on the New Testament written by a multiethnic team of scholars holding orthodox Christian beliefs. Each scholar brings exegetical expertise coupled with a unique interpretive lens to illuminate the ways social location and biblical interpretation work together. Theologically orthodox and multiethnically contextual, The New Testament in Color fills a gap in biblical understanding for both the academy and the church. Who we are and where God placed us—it's all useful for better understanding his Word.
CLICK>>> then scroll for the full text/articles of these sample introductory quotes
"Does a lack of ethnic diversity matter? Isn’t biblical interpretation simply a matter of translating verbs and nouns, linking together ideas as they come together into sentences, paragraphs, narratives, or letters? I was told that the only thing we needed to be good interpreters was proper understanding of the historical context alongside requisite grammatical, text-critical, and linguistic expertise..." Esau D. McCaulley
"Biblical interpretation is a Christian practice, a spiritual discipline. It does not take place in a vacuum but both expresses and shapes our identity. Moreover, that identity is not just a matter of individual choice; we are all part of a body with a cultural context and a cultural history." Michael J. Gorman
"We have a host of experiences, questions, hopes, dreams, and traumas that we bring to the Bible-reading process. As much as we might try to picture it otherwise, biblical interpretation is not just a science. It is an art. The art of biblical interpretation implies an artist, a person, not a machine, doing the interpretation." Esau D. McCaulley
"God’s covenantal and incarnational nature as God in Christ is revealed in particularity and contextuality. Jesus Christ, God’s eternal son, came in the flesh and in the fullness of our humanity for the work of redemption through his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus came among “with particulars,” which includes his maleness, Jewishness, social location in first-century Palestine, and embodied historical concreteness.3 God’s work of redemption is culturally and ethnically specific and socially located, as well as universal and cosmic in scope." Janet H. Ok
"If one understands theology as ultimately a meeting with the living God in the context of a people who seek to worship and know this God on the basis of Scripture and the traditions of the church, there is little that is actually theological. What one often discovers is a hunger to know more about our particular race. Of course, this is a good thing, especially for those of us who are trying to forge an identity in a new land. Nevertheless, anthropology cannot be engaged at the cost of theology." Oswaldo Padilla
"Like much missionary effort past and present, the Scriptures were mediated by missionaries—ones who were socially and culturally bound to their own languages, histories, and cultural practices. As Indigenous followers of Jesus today seek to interpret the Bible for themselves and their communities, readers recognize that this is an act of intercultural interpretation and dialogue." T. Christopher Hoklotubbe (Choctaw) & H. Daniel Zacharias (Cree-Anishinaabl)
REVIEWS
"Reading the New Testament, intentionally, through one's ethnic point of view (African American, Asian American, Hispanic, or Native American) does not violate an objective, traditional reading of Scripture. Rather, reading the Bible in and out of one's location exposes the bias of the (formerly so-called) 'objective' reading as a Euro-white reading and, at the same time, offers to the traditional readings fresh perspectives. Over and over. I thought the essays were worth the price of this book, but I was wrong. The commentaries interact with the essays in a manner that makes this book a required desk companion for anyone who wants to hear all the Word of God has to offer. A must-have for all Bible teachers and pastors."
"In my own theological education, I was pressured to suppress my ethnic perspective and experiences, to conform to some sort of disembodied neutrality. Since then I have come to learn that my background, culture, and reading lens can actually enhance my ability to understand Scripture. I am thrilled to recommend The New Testament in Color because this 'library-in-a-book' reflects the beautiful mosaic of a many-colored hermeneutic. I wish someone had handed this book to me twenty-five years ago, and I hope many will read it now."
"Rooted in a confessional commitment to the trustworthiness of Scripture, this book draws together a diverse group of theologically minded scholars. Together they explore the multiple interpretive possibilities that emerge when Christians read across and within racial and ethnic difference. Here the promise is that God's Word will be more faithfully understood when the colorful tapestry of God's creation of multiple cultures and peoples is embraced. In these ways, this book joins a vital chorus of minoritized biblical scholars who invite readers to ponder the Bible and its readers in rich multiplicity."
"While it is not uncommon to encounter socially located interpretations grounded in a hermeneutic of suspicion, this work speaks from one of trust in the biblical text and a commitment to the central tenets of the Christian faith. It also moves beyond theories about these interpretations (although it does provide those discussions) to commentary on every New Testament book. This volume is a constructive contribution to debates about fundamental matters of interpretation from an impressive set of scholars of diverse ethnicities."
"The contributors of The New Testament in Color are experts not only in the biblical subject matter but also in identifying and sharing the gifts their social location brings to the hermeneutical task. The scope of this one-volume commentary provides a nearly kaleidoscopic vision of richly varied perspectives together with solid exegesis of the texts. The editors and authors have done the church and academy a great service, shaping a resource that promises to be a boon for seminary reading lists, a go-to in church and university libraries, and a must-have on every pastor's desk."
"The American evangelical church has desperately needed this book, The New Testament in Color. For those of us who value the power and authority of God's Word while aware of the diverse experiences and realities that shape our own culturally unique stories, we have longed for this book. This text reminds us that God is a transcendent God who speaks through a transcendent source, but that God is also God with us, immanent in the Word and also in our lives."
"McCaulley, Ok, Padilla, Peeler, and the volume's contributors have broken new ground with The New Testament in Color. Its essays and commentary, written by scholars of the New Testament from across racial, ethnic, and gender identities, emerge from critical, socially located methods and insights that are also informed by the writers' ecclesial perspectives and experiences. The result is an important one-volume commentary on the New Testament that speaks from and reaches out to both academic and ecclesial communities."
"The New Testament in Color is a book I long hoped would eventually be written and is in many ways overdue. The editors have done a superb job of gathering scholars from diverse ethnic backgrounds who interpret the biblical text adeptly using the familiar critical tools of exegesis, and who also demonstrate how reading from their particular social location provides theological insight germane to all of God's people. They show how the New Testament addresses a range of issues important to today's readers, including topics of restorative justice, immigration and hospitality, racial bias and violence, the priority of families and ecclesial communities, and so much more. Not to be missed are the excellent introductory essays, which trace the ethnic histories of peoples of color and their practice of reading the Bible with a hermeneutic of trust. Exegetically precise, theologically orthodox, and prophetically challenging, this book—in a word—preaches!"
"The New Testament in Color is informative, prophetic, reflective, and inspiring. The authors, drawn from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, are self-aware of their social location and write with a hermeneutic of trust in Scripture. This volume makes an extraordinary contribution to New Testament studies and sets the standard for future commentaries."
"This is the book I've been searching for throughout my teaching career. There is academic excellence here, coupled with a prophetic call to hear God's Word through the rich diversity of the authors' cultural, ethnic, and racial perspectives and wisdom. There is pastoral sensitivity to the varied experiences of readers, from the emotional and psychological toll of racialized oppression to the exhortation to humility directed toward White Christians (like me). Professors, students, and all participants in the body of Christ will find The New Testament in Color to be a valuable, instructive, and challenging resource for understanding the Bible, the church, and Christian discipleship."
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Dennis R. Edwards
Seminary Dean and Vice President of Church Relations
North Park Theological Seminary
Please give us an example of a scripture passage that radiates the "color" of your interpretive perspective.
Your Translation of the Biblical Text: "...no longer as an enslaved person, but better – as an especially beloved brother to me and even more to you, both physically and spiritually. So then, since you have me as a partner, welcome him just as you would welcome me" (Philemon 16–17)
Your Interpretation/Explanation (showcase how this may be different from "standard" thinking):
Before I offer my explanation of Philemon 16-17, I must point out that for me, reading from one’s social location cannot be reduced to a one-to-one comparison of passages where a “standard” translation and interpretation is put up against a particularly “located” one. We cannot create, for example, two columns with one headed "standard" and the other "African American." The process of reading from one's social location is more nuanced than that and involves paying attention to one's frame of reference and particular perspectives. Consequently, questions emerge such as: How do we view God? How do we see ourselves? How do we understand culture? Do we relate to the powerful and privileged in a biblical account or to those on the bottom of society? There are many factors that influence our reading of the Bible in general. Therefore, we often end up comparing our theological views alongside our translations and interpretations of passages.
The apostle Paul’s admonition to Philemon in vv. 16-17 does a few things that challenge traditional understandings of the letter:
Reading Philemon as an African American descendant of enslaved people is counter to the way scholars have long read the letter. Scholars have used the letter to justify slavery, and Philemon was particularly instrumental for Christians in the USA to support the Fugitive Slave Act. Rather than reading Philemon as a liberative text, it was read to dominate African Americans, and it has largely been African American scholars who have challenged the traditional reading of Philemon and brought a more liberative reading that gives a measure of dignity to Onesimus.
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peace,
Dennis R. Edwards
www.revdrdre.com
#reexamine scripture
Danny Zacharias
Professor of New Testament Studies and Associate Dean, Acadia Divinity College; Adjunct Faculty, NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community.
Please give us an example of a scripture passage that radiates the "color" of your interpretive perspective.
Your Sample Biblical Location: The Great Commission, Matt 28:18-20
Your Translation of the Biblical Text: “Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” (CEB)
Your Interpretation/Explanation (showcase how this may be different from "standard" thinking):
In my commentary on Matthew, I was asked to engage the text from my social location. I am Indigenous person, with my maternal ancestors residing in Manitoba for countless generations. And while I was privileged to not experience racism, my mother and her siblings did, as did my grandparents. This stemmed from the colonial, racist, and assimilationist policies of Canada, and also arose from the teachings of the church. It comes from what I argue is a perversion of the teachings of Creator. One Indigenous approach to the text is to read in light of how a text was interpreted and applied through history. The final words of Jesus in Matthew have been a catalyst for missions throughout church history, right up to the present. But what kind of mission was inspired by this text? Reading from the location of those who heard the gospel not as good news but as bad news should help us critique its interpretation, and reimagine and re-engage the text for fresh moves of the Spirit in the present day. So much of Christian missions, inspired by this text, has been colonial. As Lakota theologian Richard Twiss stated, the gospel to Indigenous People was “God loves you, but he doesn’t really like you.” Your culture, your ancestors, your worldviews – all are demonic and pagan. This is part of the legacy of the Great Commission.
As I state in my commentary (pg. 88):
“the doctrine of discovery has malformed the Christian mind to see empty lands as needing to be filled by Christian peoples, and the peoples of those lands as empty and godless receptacles for the good news that colonists will provide. This understanding of mission is brought back to the reading of the Great Commission in Matthew and is present in modern missiology. Yet, while the church must fully repent of and learn from the myriads of bad practices and theologies that arose from the Great Commission, this one small portion of text cannot be the sole passage that forms the impulse to evangelism, and indeed it holds very little instruction as compared to Matthew 10. In Matthew it is the disciples (those first commissioned in Mt 10) who need to constantly hear and rehear the teachings of Jesus. Through the story, non-Israelites are the first worshipers of Jesus (Mt 2:1–12), display great faith (Mt 8:5–13), and can even confront Jesus with the complicated histories of his people and “sass” him (Mt 15:21–28). These are not paternalistic encounters exclusively focused on the salvation of one’s soul but exchanges between people that encompass a holistic and integrated salvation that involves listening to one another (Mt 15:24–28; 18:15–16).”
What we need is a new imagining of the great commission, one that seriously reckons with the past history and present circumstances of the church and the nations. The call is still there. The promise of his presence is still ever present.
Grace & Peace,
Danny Zacharias
Associate Dean
Professor of New Testament Studies
Director of Hayward Lectures
NAIITS, faculty member
https://linktr.ee/danny.zacharias
ACADIA DIVINITY COLLEGE
Website: acadiadiv.ca
Phone: 902.585.2210
Toll Free: 1.866.875.8975
Fax: 902.585.2233
Mail: 15 University Avenue
Courier: 38 Highland Avenue
Wolfville • NS B4P 2R6 • Canada
Acadia University is located in Mi'kma'ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq nation
#reexamine scripture
Daniel K. Eng
Associate Professor of New Testament Language and Literature
Western Seminary
Please give us an example of a scripture passage that radiates the "color" of your interpretive perspective.
Your Sample Biblical Location
James 1:1, “the twelve tribes of the dispersion” and 4:8, “draw near to God.”
Your Translation of the Biblical Text
“Dispersion” in 1:1 is the word diaspora, those descended from Israel who are outside their ancestral homeland. They are far away from Jerusalem and the temple, key components of their faith and ethnic identity. In the diaspora, they are minorities: both by ethnicity and by faith. For me as an ethnic minority in America, I understand the daily experience of being treated as a foreigner and being disadvantaged. For the hearers of James, their trials in 1:2 are likely related to their minoritized and marginalized status in the societies they called home. In fact, the hypothetical situation involving two men who enter their synagogue in 2:1-4 suggests that their social disadvantages compelled them to show favoritism to the rich for the sake of social mobility.
In 4:8, James encourages his minority hearers that they can still be close to God, despite their sin (4:1-4). For me, my bicultural experience often leaves me feeling like I do not belong. To the majority culture, I am often seen as a foreigner. When I go overseas to visit the people of my ancestors, I do not know the culture and language well enough to belong. Likewise, the hearers of James have a liminal existence, not fitting into their home societies nor among their Jewish brethren. They may be tempted to think that they are “bad Jews” for being far away from the temple and adapting the culture of those around them. James 4:8 resonates deeply for these diaspora Jews. Despite the stigma of being far away from the temple, James uses the imagery of distance to indicate God’s acceptance: draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Even in the midst of not belonging among earthly peoples, are included with the people of God.
Your Interpretation/Explanation
Some spiritualize the term diaspora and say that James is written to the church, both Jew and Gentile. But a key saying is 1:27, about caring for orphans and widows. These two groups make up two-thirds of a familiar Old Testament refrain that includes the foreigners (or sojourners, e.g., Ex 22:21-22; Deut 10:18; Zech 7:10; Mal 3:5). The fact that foreigners are omitted in James 1:27 indicates that the epistle’s hearers are themselves the foreigners, and also socially disadvantaged. So if we take the salutation at face value and consider the recipients of the letter as marginalized minorities, we can re-capture the poignancy and resounding nature of James’s words.
Daniel K. Eng, DMin, PhD
Associate Professor of New Testament Language and Literature
5511 SE Hawthorne Blvd | Portland, OR 97215
phone: 503.517.1822