What Does the Bible Say? A Critical Conversation with Popular Culture in a Biblically Illiterate World ed. by Mary Ann Beavis and Hyeran Kim-cragg

Abstract

Reviewed by: What Does the Bible Say? A Critical Conversation with Popular Culture in a Biblically Illiterate World ed. by Mary Ann Beavis and Hyeran Kim-cragg Gordon H. Matties mary ann beavis and hyeran kim-cragg, What Does the Bible Say? A Critical Conversation with Popular Culture in a Biblically Illiterate World ( Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2017). Pp. xvi + 186. Paper $25. "The Bible says," a popular expression in some circles, needs elucidation. Professors in universities and seminaries lament biblical illiteracy. For better or worse, movies and television shape religious and theological understandings. This book aims, therefore, to offer a critical perspective on a variety of contested theological and ethical topics, along with contemporary film. The authors bring their expertise to the conversation, with Mary Ann Beavis as biblical scholar and HyeRan Kim-Cragg as practical theologian. They write to teach and to warn. [End Page 721] The authors are concerned that growing biblical illiteracy is giving way to "dangerous" and "harmful" interpretations that foster "Fundamentalism or Anti-Semitism or … facile rejection of Christianity." In offering their perspective on "what the Bible actually says," the authors contest "how the Bible is being used, abused, and misused to oppress, exclude, and judge," and offer "other ways of reading" (pp. xi-xii). The authors are writing primarily for "Christian faith communities today," some of whom were drawn into conversation in small groups (church groups, student groups, women's groups) who viewed and discussed the movies together with the authors (p. xiv). The authors are worried that "lack of knowledge" among people in those communities will become "a chain that constrains us, makes us docile, and leads us to a cynical (or overly rosy) view of the Bible or the world or both" (p. xii). The book is a resource for those wrestling with, or even curious about, some of the pervasive themes and issues of our time. The authors hope that "knowing what the Bible really says or does not say, helps us to slip out of the chains of misinformation, which may in turn liberate us to find new insights in order to live out the faithful life" (p. xii; italics original). They suggest that their approach is "counter-cultural" in its challenging "popular understandings and misperceptions as disseminated in … film, advertising, television, etc." (p. xiv). The authors wish to expose and challenge simplistic readings of biblical texts and to offer alternatives that are healthy and hopeful. The first two chapters deal with easily misunderstood theological topics. Chapter 1, "Creation and Apocalypse," brings seven biblical creation texts into conversation with one another and with Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke (1997). In chap. 2, the authors challenge popular notions of sin and salvation, particularly the concept of "original sin," while engaging with the film Jesus of Montreal (1989). Chapters 3 and 4 explore the critical issues of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism through explication of "Moses and Jesus" and "Jews and Christians" in the Bible. The movies Prince of Egypt (1998) and The Chosen (1981) are contemporary conversation partners. In chaps. 5, 6, and 7 B. and K.-C. turn to the themes "Heaven and Hell," "God and Satan," and "Christ and Antichrist." The authors challenge the binary articulations of those topics in some contemporary readings of the Bible. Their engagement with Heaven Is for Real (2014), Spiderman II (2004), and Agora (2012) shows how popular cultural productions reinforce misguided biblical interpretation. Chapter 8, "Gender and God," challenges the practice of male-oriented language for God and offers the movie Babette's Feast (1986) for constructive insight. In chap. 9, "Purity and Sex," the authors question the idea that the Bible offers clear teaching on sexual purity and suggest, instead, that notions of honor and shame better reflect the cultural assumptions of biblical texts. The movie The Virgin Suicides (1999) provides a dark and challenging dialogue partner. Chapter 10, a bookend to the two opening theologically oriented chapters, challenges theology that associates Jesus's crucifixion with an overly simplistic understanding of sacrifice and atonement, and offers thoughtful reflection on The Passion of the Christ (2004) and Chocolat (2000). Although the book provides nuanced exegesis, the authors could have reflected more on the...