Mary Ann Tolbert

Teaching the Bible Coming to terms with the interpretive revolution- "Although the field of biblical studies is bursting with new methods and fresh interpretations, there has been surprisingly little discussion of what these changes mean for the actual task of teaching the Bible. Happily, this volume takes significant first steps in addressing the shifts in classroom pedagogy that the new day in biblical studies urgently demands." Norman K. Gottwald Author of The Hebrew Bible: A Brief Socio-Literary Introduction "An absolutely indispensable compendium of resources for charting the changes in the discipline of biblical studies, for exposing the operations of power in past and present interpretations and uses of the Bible, and for discovering a variety of postmodernist and postcolonial pedagogies in the reading and teaching of the Bible in a radically pluralistic age." Abraham Smith Perkins School of Theology, S.M.U. "A superb collection of essays on a topic centrally important to theological education and biblical studies. It is an invaluable contribution to the new emancipatory paradigm emerging in biblical studies. Highly accessible, a must reading for anyone in the field." Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Krister Stendahl Professor of Divinity Harvard University Divinity School "Teaching the Bible engages the problem and opportunity of theological education in the twenty-first century head on. In a tightly crafted series of provocative essays, the work clearly defines the postmodern, postcolonial, culturally enriched challenges facing the academy today. For any student or scholar who wants to engage the postmodern challenge as an innovative opportunity rather than a debilitating crisis, Teaching the Bible is required reading." Brian K. Blount President, Union Theological Seminary-PSCE Fernando F. Segovia is Oberlin Graduate Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the Vanderbilt University Divinity School. He is author, with Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, of Hispanic Latino Theology: Challenge and Promise (Fortress Press, 1996). Mary Ann Tolbert is George H. Atkinson Professor of Biblical Studies at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. She is author of Sowing the Gospel: Mark's World in Literary-Historical Perspective (Fortress Press, 1996). Biblical Studies / Hermeneutics Fortress Press FortressPress.com

Mary Ann Tolbert, George H. Atkinson Professor of Biblical Studies at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, offers one of the freshest interpretations of Mark's Gospel I have ever had the privilege to read. . . . It marks a milestone in the recent history of Markan research (Jack Dean Kingsbury).

Are some readings of the Bible more objective than others? More privileged? More true? How does one's own life situation shape one's reading of the text? What will acknowledgment of the validity of a variety of perspectives mean for historical-critical methods of interpretation? The present dizzying pluralism of locations - not only of ethnicity, class, and gender, but also of social and religious standpoints - presents a daunting challenge to older, mainstream interpretive schemes. In this landmark project, Segovia, Tolbert, and their fifteen other contributors have begun to measure the impact of social location on the theory and practice of biblical interpretation. This volume, and the international one to follow, signals the critical legitimation of reading strategies that supplement or modify or even in some ways dethrone the historical-critical paradigm that has dominated academic biblical studies for 200 years. It will provide immediate and enduring guidance to scholars and students sorting through the complex epistemological, social, historical, and religious questions that issue from this paradigm shift.

Are some readings of the Bible more objective than others? More privileged? More true? How does one's own life situation shape one's reading of the text? What will acknowledgment of the validity of a variety of perspectives mean for historical-critical methods of interpretation? The present dizzying pluralism of locations - not only of ethnicity, class, and gender, but also of social and religious standpoints - presents a daunting challenge to older, mainstream interpretive schemes. In this landmark project, Segovia, Tolbert, and their fifteen other contributors have begun to measure the impact of social location on the theory and practice of biblical interpretation. This volume, and the international one to follow, signals the critical legitimation of reading strategies that supplement or modify or even in some ways dethrone the historical-critical paradigm that has dominated academic biblical studies for 200 years. It will provide immediate and enduring guidance to scholars and students sorting through the complex epistemological, social, historical, and religious questions that issue from this paradigm shift.