The New Testament around the World
Exploring Key Texts from Different Contexts
About
As the church continues to expand and strengthen in non-Western contexts, it is increasingly important for students of the New Testament to be aware of how our global brothers and sisters exegete and apply Scripture. Even when we share a grammatical-historical approach with others, our interpretation of biblical texts is invariably affected by social location and cultural context, which influence the questions we ask of the text and how we apply it. Western readers can become aware of how our culture influences our interpretation by learning from others from different perspectives, including those whose experience may match the original audience more closely than our own.
This volume, ideal as a supplemental textbook for courses in the New Testament, brings together distinguished scholars from around the world with perspectives we might not typically encounter and includes some minority voices focused on life within the United States as well. Each contributor writes on a biblical book or group of books, and together they cover the whole New Testament. These authors expose students and pastors in the West to new questions and ways of reading familiar texts. The result is an eye-opening, spiritually enriching experience that will supplement and strengthen our own biblical interpretation.
Introduction
Part 1: Gospels and Acts
1. The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats as a Summons to Total Discipleship: Matthew 25:31-46 in Conversation with Integral Orthodoxy Bernardo Cho, Brazil
2. Seeing the Divine Beauty on the Way to the Cross: Reading the Transfiguration in Mark from a Russian Perspective Viktor Roudkovski, Russia
3. Power and Exorcism in Luke: An Indonesian Reading Dany Christopher, Indonesia
4. "For God So Loved Hong Kong / Hongkongers": A Literary and Territoriality Reading of John 3:16-21 Josaphat Tam, Hong Kong, China
5. Empowering Place and Expanding Eden: A Batak Reading of the Theology of the Land in the Book of Acts Chakrita M. Saulina, Indonesia
Part 2: Pauline Epistles
6. Reading Romans in the Midst of Empire: Chinese Readers Grappling with Romans 13:1-7 Sze-kar Wan, China
7. Spoilage of Jang-Yu-Yu-Seo: Paul's Response through 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Jin Hwan Lee, South Korea
8. Sin, Pollution, and Cleansing in 2 Corinthians 7:1: An African Perspective J. Ayodeji Adewuya, Nigeria
9. Redefining Identity: A Kenyan Rereading of Galatians 3:1-14 Elizabeth (Liz) W. Mburu, Kenya
10. Galatians as the Basis for Resisting American Evangelicalism's "Works of the Law": A Word for Ethnic Minorities Miguel G. Echevarría, USA, Latin American
11. Grace at Work: Reading Ephesians 2:11-22 with the Filipino Diaspora Gabriel J. Catanus, USA, Filipino American
12. Philippians and a Spirituality of Joy: A Colombian Reading Davinson Kevin Bohorquez, Colombia
13. Colossians and Philemon: An Egyptian Coptic Perspective Fady Mekhael, Egypt
14. Paul's Dokimazō in 1 Thessalonians 2:4 in Light of Ancient Greece Dokimasia of Orators: Implications for Ministers of the Gospel in the Twenty-First Century Gift Mtukwa, Zimbabwe
15. The Pastoral Epistles and Training the Younger Generation on Ancient Crete Lyn M. Kidson, Australia
Part 3: Hebrews through Revelation
16. Christ Intercedes or Judges? An Examination of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church's Rendering and Interpretation of Entynchanō in Hebrews 7:25 Abeneazer G. Urga, Ethiopia
17. Patience in the Light of the Lord's Coming (James 5:7-11): A Latin American Reading Nelson Morales, Guatemala
18. Reading 1 Peter among the Elect Resident Aliens in Sri Lanka David A. deSilva, Sri Lanka
19. 1 Peter and African American Experience Dennis R. Edwards, USA, African American
20. An Appeal to Holiness in 2 Peter and Jude: Reading from an Indian Perspective Lanuwabang Jamir, India
21. Being the Church in Post-aparthaid South Africa: Theological Perspectives from 1 John Caroline Seed, South Africa
22. Reading Revelation among the People Living with the Symbolic Emperor System Masanobu Endo, Japan
Appendix: Pew Research Data: Religious Landscapes of the Countries Represented
Indexes
Endorsements
"Kovalishyn takes us around the world in twenty-two chapters by twenty-two Bible interpreters. This work demonstrates how one's cultural and geographical location affects interpretation. Familiar texts are discussed from unfamiliar perspectives, yielding new insights and deeper understandings for Western readers. These samples of 'situated exegesis' will be of interest to a broad audience, from pastors to students to scholars of hermeneutics. Highly recommended."
Karen H. Jobes, Professor Emerita of New Testament and Greek Exegesis, Wheaton College
"None of us reads the Bible neutrally. Whether we recognize it or not, we read and interpret the Bible from our own culture, experiences, and personal perspective. That is a bad thing if we assume we know everything but a good thing if we are willing to read Scripture with others and learn from each other's vantage points. These global readings are a gift of learning for those who want to better understand culturally diverse interpretations of the New Testament."
Nijay K. Gupta, Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary
"The excellent scholarly essays in this important book, covering aspects of the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation, demonstrate the significance of contextual scriptural interpretation. Each chapter makes an important contribution, and the book as a whole is part of a seismic shift in the field of New Testament studies. I hope this volume is widely read by scholars and students alike."
Michael J. Gorman, Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology, St. Mary's Seminary & University
"This a book I've been waiting for. In it, we listen to and learn from scholars across the majority world. Each author offers a close reading of a New Testament text in its context, alongside an exploration of their own cultural and social locations. The insights arising from this intersection are both fresh and compelling. I highly recommend this as a textbook for courses on the Bible."
Jeannine K. Brown, David Price Professor of Biblical and Theological Foundations, Bethel Seminary
"I wish I were still teaching full-time so that I could use this as my main supplemental textbook in my New Testament introduction and survey courses. Many works have tried to show how crucial it is to read the Bible through the eyes of other cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities besides white American ones, but few have succeeded as well as Mariam Kovalishyn and her cadre of authors. Highly recommended!"
Craig L. Blomberg, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Denver Seminary
"This book truly is just as much a reformation as it is a revolution. It is not just new; in many ways it is a return to original hermeneutics. Modernist, white, Western ways of interpreting Scripture, which have held sway for much of church history, are not the only, or even the primary, ways of understanding the Bible. Our brothers and sisters from around the world provide cultural lenses that are much more similar to those of first-century readers. This is not a relativistic reading of the Bible; it is a more authentic one. This is an invaluable polycentric resource that forms a bridge between the ancient world and our modern global one."
Allen Yeh, vice president of academic affairs and academic dean, International Theological Seminary
The Author
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Mariam Kamell Kovalishyn
Mariam Kamell Kovalishyn (PhD, St. Andrews University) is associate professor of New Testament at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her main scholarly focus is the Catholic Epistles, particularly James, as well as general historical and literary...
Continue reading about Mariam Kamell Kovalishyn