Race and Rhyme: Rereading the New Testament

by Love Lazarus Sechrest

A leading womanist biblical scholar reads passages from the New Testament in dialogue with modern-day issues of racial justice.   The narratives and letters of the New Testament emerged from a particular set of historical contexts that differ from today’s, but they resonate with us because of how the issues they raise “rhyme” with subjects of contemporary relevance. Listening for these echoes of the present in the past, Love Sechrest utilizes her cultural experience and her perspective as a Black woman scholar to reassess passages in the New Testament that deal with intergroup conflict, ethnoracial tension, and power dynamics between dominant and minoritized groups.  After providing an overview of womanist biblical interpretation and related terminology, Sechrest utilizes an approach she calls “associative hermeneutics” to place select New Testament texts in dialogue with modern-day issues of racial justice. Topics Through these creative and illuminating connections, Sechrest offers a rich bounty of new insights from Scripture—drawing out matters of justice and human dignity that spoke to early Christians and can speak still to Christians willing to listen today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theology

414 pages, Hardcover

Published August 23, 2022

Reviews

[Jesse Nickel]

This is among the most engaging, challenging, and insightful works of New Testament scholarship I have ever read. Sechrest's application of what she calls "associative hermeneutics" to a selection of passages from the New Testament leads to fresh insight into the ways in which these texts may continue to speak powerfully into the contemporary context, and particularly into the challenges resulting from racial tension and group conflict. Sechrest demonstrates both a masterful grasp of the social and political environment of contemporary America, as well as insightful exegetical skill. For those who are interested in New Testament studies and/or biblical hermeneutics, and in particular how these overlap in considering how world of the New Testament "rhymes" with the world of today, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

[Steven Argue]

This is a brilliant, compelling, and needed piece! A must read for anyone leading Christian faith communities.

[Emily]

This book is dense and scholarly. The bibliography alone is staggeringly long. I loved Sechrest's approach to "rhyming" current day situations and scriptural texts. Plan to read this one slowly.

[Emmanuel]

Great perspective to expand our limited understanding and appreciation.