ABSTRACT
This chapter considers biblical stories about how wrongs get made right, stories about redemption and renewal. These stories typically entail an ironic reversal of expectations: an unlikely character turns out to be the hero, an unconventional kind of heroism saves the day, or suffering and destruction lead to miraculous restoration and recreation. The Bible frequently suggests that all people are prone to error and self-deception, so it makes sense that many of its stories depict characters being challenged to question their assumptions and consider alternative perspectives. The Bible often dramatizes such perspectival shifts by pairing redemptive miracles with destructive ones. The Bible has often been seen as powerfully allied with political and religious authorities. Taken together, these two aspects of the Bible's reception history mean that it has resonated in unique ways with both sides of various conflicts between radical protest and traditional authority.
