I just finished my final examination as a Master of Divinity student on Monday at around noon. Tuesday, I made a futile attempt to organize all of my books in my library. However, this was very difficult for me to do. Why? Because of interdisciplinary studies and the scholarship of the 21st century. Where does John Howard Yoder’s The Politics Of Jesus belong? Does he belong in my Christian Peacemaking section? Theology? Biblical studies? Does Cain Hope Felder’s Stony The Road We Trod have to be placed in my work about Black Church Studies, or in my recently created Biblical Studies section? I could not decide where most of my books belonged, so I left some of the works in the status quo. It is so confusing, even for Reinhold Neibuhr’s Moral Man And Immoral Society, History? Ethics? Theology? Empire Studies? Nothing is as simple as it seems. Labels have very little meaning in a “postmodern” world. Or maybe, it is a good thing that scholars are beginning to converse with scholars from other fields. We can no longer sit on our little islands and think that religious studies has nothing to say to economics, or that international law has nothing to contribute to biblical studies. Our world is shrinking and this calls for more conversation if everyone is live interdependently and independently as a community as well as individuals.
SOME UPCOMING POSTS:
1. Only God Can Judge Me?- a sermon I wrote for Dr. Lozada’s Johannine Literature course
2. Honor the U.S. Constitution: Reading 1st Peter 2:17 while Living in a Democratic-Republic- A post looking at traditional understandings of 1st Peter 2:17 while engaging the historical context of the passage. [I owe this one to CJ from a while ago, but I have been working on it]
3. English Bible Translations and Empire- a series looking at the imperialist leanings of some English translations of the Bible that have real-life implications for those who are colonized. Starting with the New International Version. [I have been reflecting on this topic and my friend Adam has encouraged me to pursue it].
4. My Biases- Along with my friend Chad, I am posting some of my favorite things and ideological preferences such as politics, religion, and positions on various issues so I cannot be ever accused of trying to be neutral. [Thanks Chad for this idea].
5. An Anabaptist/Libertarian response to N.T. Wright's post on a stronger United Nations
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5 comments:
I would place Yoder's book on your Theological ethics shelf, "Stony the Road We trod" falls in several spots: ethics, political theology, biblical studies, and black church studies. I have it with my other reference works because of its interdisciplinary nature. The articles are thought-provoking. You need to acquire, if you have done so, "True to Our Native Land: An African American Commentary, and most definitely "African American and the Bible, Wimbush (ed)." Neibur's work could go with your cultural studies/ethics book.Perhaps you need just an "interdisciplary" or "cross-field" shelf. I know I do too.
You have some really interesting forthcoming posts. Do blog about them quickly before I lose patience.
Just kidding:)
By the way, Congratulations upon completing your finals! I know you probably feel released now!
Thanks CJ!
I do own True to Our Native Land. I have heard from the grapevine a sequel to it will be forthcoming on the Old Testament,which I cannot wait.
congrats friend. as for organizing your library, i know exactly what you're going through! for me it's close to impossible.
i look forward to your upcoming posts, especially about english bibles and empire. it's interesting that the early english bibles were counter-authority (wycliffe, tyndale, and others). translaters were typically tortured and killed.
You tell the truth, Mike! The first English Bible translators were martyred for the right to translate God's Word. But in today's day and age, where we are all almost free to translate the Bible into any language, these newer English translations seem to almost go back to the tradition of having the bible in one language and share alot of the ideas that lead to the murder of the first English martyrs!
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