Bible in Political Debate

Frances Flannery is Director at the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Terrorism and Peace, and Professor of Religion at James Madison University, USA.Rodney A. Werline is Professor of Religious Studies, Leman and Marie Barnhill Endowed Chair in Religious Studies, and Director, Barton College Center for Religious Studies at Barton College, USA.

Modern American politicians often refer to Scripture in speeches and in support of policy, and they are rarely fact-checked by the experts. In this accessible, vibrant collection of essays, nonpartisan Biblical scholars of many creeds, including nonbelievers, examine what the Bible really says about family values, women's rights, homosexuality, abortion and even how to deal with man-caused climate change, and present some surprising answers to the vital question of how and whether the Bible can be the basis of the secular nation's public policy.

• PrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroduction: The Bible and Political Debate: What Does it Really Say? – Frances Flannery, James Madison University, U.S.A. and Rodney Werline, Barton College, Wilson, North Carolina, U.S.A.Part I: The Bible in Contemporary Political Debate1. The Bible and Family Values (Marriage is Between One Man and One Woman) – Andrew Klumpp and Jack Levison, Southern Methodist University2. Diasporas "R" Us: Attitudes Toward Immigrants in the Bible – Hector Avalos3. Ending a Life that Has Not Begun – Abortion in the Bible, Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte, VU University, Amsterdam, Netherlands4. Senators, Snowballs, and Scripture: The Bible and Climate Change – Frances Flannery, James Madison University, U.S.A.5. Work, Poverty and Welfare, Rodney A. Werline, Barton College, Wilson, North Carolina, U.S.A.6. Culture Wars, the Bible, and Homosexuality – Jonathan L. Jackson7. The Bible and Divine Sanctioning of Governments – Colleen Shantz, University of Toronto, Canada8. Teaching Evolution vs Creationism – Daniel K. Falk, Pennsylvania State University, USAPart II: The Bible in Historical Political Debate9. Tracing the Use of the Bible in Colonial Land Claims in North America – Judith H. Newman, University of Toronto, Canada10. The Bible, Slavery, and Political Debate – Emerson B. Powery, Messiah College, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.11. Women, the Bible, and the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution – Christopher Rollston, George Washington University, U.S.A.Part III: Concluding Thoughts12. What is the Bible? – Kelley N. Coblentz Bautch13. Compromise as a Biblical Value – John Kutsko, Executive Director of the Society of Biblical Literature, U.S.A.