Description: The history of modern biblical interpretation is checkered with attempts to rethink and resituate readers theologically and ethically. At least two tendencies emerge in these remedial proposals, both of which animate this project: (1) many accounts privilege either divine action (theology) or human, ecclesial response (ethics); (2) few proposals have availed themselves of the potential hermeneutical resources of a more extensive biblical theology. This study offers a theological and ethical account of Christian readers of Scripture--one that brings together these two apparently...

Questions of identity continue to intrigue theologians in Africa, and African intellectuals often note communal emphases in African thought. This raises the question, How do ecclesiologies in Africa engage with identity concerns, and how do they envision the Christian identity? Stephanie Lowery argues in this book that theologians in Africa provide theological and biblical arguments regarding Christian identity that are relevant to individual Christians and ecclesiologies in all contexts. She also proposes the social identity approach as a tool that can both further articulate and advance...