THE LAND OF UNLIKENESS

That’s the claim made by Preaching Without Contempt: Overcoming Unintended Anti-Juadaism (2006), a short volume by Marilyn J. Salmon, NT prof at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Salmon stakes the claim, following recent Pauline scholarship, that the Gospels are inherently Jewish texts, that Jesus’ Judaism is at the core of his mission, and that a good deal of Christian hermeneutics, theologizing, and subsequent preaching has notoriously failed to recognize such.

It seems that this is an important issue with which the church should be eager to grapple. I am reminded of Richard Kearney’s small text, On Stories, in which he demonstrates how stories of immigrants, often no more than political propaganda and satirical etchings, throughout history have influenced catastrophic and dispicable behaviour by otherwise decent people. The effects of such actions are still felt within and without the Jewish community still today. Indeed, Kearney and Salmon devote whole chapters to theory after the Holocaust.

So, I propose that we read this book over the next couple months, and discuss no more than one chapter every 2-3 weeks. It’s a small volume, and written in an easy style. Although an accomplished exegete and theologian, she intends the book for parish clergy and laity, so the bulk of our energy and time can be reserved for the discussion. If you like this idea, comment below or email me (link on the about page). In order to give sufficient time to order the book and read chapter 1, we’ll begin on 24 September.

Cheers.

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