Abstract:
This article explores the responsibility of Bible critics with regard to the role that the Bible
should play in our violent society. The crucial question that needs to be addressed is whether
the Bible, and especially the Old Testament, is part of the problem or part of the solution. The
Old Testament is clearly a violent book. How do we deal with this? Does the Old Testament
really have a positive contribution to make in a society riddled with violence? Some Bible
critics tend to shy away from these questions, but there are exceptions. For some, violence is
so endemic to the Bible that there is little to save. For others, the Bible has a very constructive
role to play in a society plagued by violence.
