ABSTRACT
Today, questions surrounding scripture’s relation to violence are everywhere. One factor provoking these questions is the assumption that the root of a good deal of the violence and bloodshed in our present strife-riven world issues directly from specific “troubling portions” of sacred texts. This chapter challenges the assumption that a direct causal link exists between scriptural texts and violence. It shares Jenkins’ conviction — along with others who argue in a similar vein — that attending to the “dark passages” of scripture is a challenge that cannot be avoided. Many Christians seek an integrated, coherent faith that accords with reading scripture canonically — understanding a set of discrete and decidedly different texts as nonetheless constituting one unified whole. Furthermore, Christians could re-acquaint themselves with the depth and breadth of the Christian history of scriptural interpretation as an important resource for alternate and potentially fruitful ways of reading scripture.
