Acknowledgments ix
Part I What Is The Savage Text? 1
1 The Savage Text? 3
The Bible as an Idol? 3
The Manifesto of The Savage Text 9
The Argument of the Book 12
2 Vile Affections: The Bible and Homosexuality 15
Morality or Ideology? 15
A Guidebook for Sexual Behavior? 24
A Man Needs a Woman? 28
When is Exegesis Homophobic? 34
Part II The Savage Text at Work 37
3 Cursed Be Canaan!: The Bible, Racism, and Slavery 39
The Bible and Racism 39
The Bible and Slavery 47
Reading the Bible after Slavery 50
4 The Great Day of Wrath: The Bible and the End 57
Man of War or Prince of Peace? 58
Rapture or Rupture? 64
5 Take Now Thy Son: The Bible and Children 78
Jesus and Children 78
Putting Jesus First 93
6 Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live: The Bible, Jews, and Women 95
The Bible and Anti-Semitism 96
The Bible and Misogyny 100
Learning from the Legacy? 106
Part III Beyond the Text: Faith in the Triune God 111
7 Faith in the Book or Faith in God? 113
The Scripture Principle 114
Hooker and the Middle Way 124
Lost Christianities and New Heresies 132
8 On Not Being a People of the Book 137
The Personalization of the Book 138
Dis-solving the Problem of Authority 145
Some Principles for a Peaceful Reading of the Bible 152
Conclusion 167
Glossary 170
Notes 180
Bibliography 197
Index of Scriptural Citations 206
General Index 212