Forbidden Fruit and Fig Leaves: Reading the Bible with the Shamed by Judith Rossall

Abstract

Reviewed by: Forbidden Fruit and Fig Leaves: Reading the Bible with the Shamed by Judith Rossall Reed Lessing judith rossall, Forbidden Fruit and Fig Leaves: Reading the Bible with the Shamed (London: SCM, 2020). Pp. v + 216. Paper $35. Rossall, a tutor in church history and preaching at the Queen’s Foundation in Birmingham, UK, presents a biblical and pastoral approach for people who exist in deep-seated shame. The problem, R. argues, is that the church has plenty to say about guilt but is frequently silent about shame. God cares, however, about both the damage done by us and the damage done to us. “Read the Bible carefully and it says as much about shame as it does about guilt” (p. vii). Throughout this book the author maintains that Christian theology says too much about the sinner and not enough about those wounded by sin, which frequently leads to shame. What is shame? Shame distorts how we see ourselves and how we think God sees us. “Shame involves a form of knowledge that sees accurately but judges harshly, and knowledge that consists in unforgiving scrutiny” (p. 10). People whose lives are darkened by shame often use most of their emotional energy to fight their shameful thoughts. At the heart of shame is the feeling of worthlessness that brings with it depression, blame, and/or aggression against others. Shame, in and of itself, is shaming—it is a vicious circle. To unpack these ideas biblically as well as offer solutions, R. combines a close reading of texts (both biblical and ancient Roman) with social and psychological sensitivity. She reaches back into the world of the Bible and forward into twenty-first century application. R. consistently pays attention to the Bible’s historical, literary, and rhetorical nuances, while also combining pastoral sensitivity. Rossall’s exegesis of Job 42:6 is outstanding. She notes how most English versions (e.g., RSV, NASB, ESV) have Job despising himself and repenting in dust and ashes. The problem with this translation, though, is that it attributes to Job the very response his friends urge upon him throughout the book and that he has been resisting with all his might. Further, in Job 42:7 God announces divine anger against the “friends” while commending Job for speaking rightly. [End Page 325] What is going on? R. points out that contextually the Hebrew verb mā’as—normally rendered “despise/reject/retract”—is better understood as “dissolving/melting.” Job is expressing his complete awe and wonder after seeing God. R. then translates the second line of Job 42:6 as, “I turn away concerning the dust and ashes.” According to this reading, Job is overwhelmed by God’s revelation and changes his mind about dust and ashes. He is moving beyond misery and shame. Rossall doesn’t argue that all shame is bad. She points to Jer 6:15 and 8:12, where the problem with Judah’s leaders is that they were shameless—they didn’t know how to blush. There was nothing to keep their behavior in check. There is a shame, therefore, that keeps people practicing proper hygiene and not acting on every impulse. “Good shame reminds us that there is an appropriate way to be concerned about what others think of us, without being dominated by their opinions.” (p. 72) In what R. identifies as the heart of her book, she carefully unpacks the suffering, crucifixion, and death of Jesus who stood in the place of both the injured (the shamed) and the offender (the guilty). Shame is difficult for us, yet it was catastrophic in the days of Jesus. “Society had a much stronger sense that a person could be ‘put to shame’ by people” (p. 170). R. surveys ancient Roman literature and arrives at this conclusion—the heart of crucifixion was its utter and unspeakable shame. What is more, the group of men in a position to honor Christ (the disciples and Jewish leaders) betrayed, denied, judged, condemned, and treated him with contempt—thus piling up the shame. R. then clarifies the Pauline hymn in Phil 2:5–11, stating, “Humble service, putting others first, accepting even the humiliation of the cross...