Joseph F. Mali - Böcker

The Christian Gospel and Its Jewish Roots goes against the tendency to interpret Scripture in ways that separate Christianity and Judaism. Through a redaction-critical analysis of the two sayings on the «new» and the «old» (Mark 2:21-22), the author argues that Mark does not leave his readers with a complete break between Jesus and his Jewish heritage. Rather, the Evangelist opens a ray of hope that the gospel and its Jewish soil are ultimately reconcilable, not fatally antagonistic. With thorough and incisive study, this work reaches the conclusion that standing at the literary center of the controversy series (Mark 2:1-3:6), the location of the two sayings on «new» and «old» (Mark 2:21-22) corresponds to their function of making a condensed statement for Mark, the Evangelist, of the meaning and impact of the whole conflict section.

In A Quiet Revolution: Some Social and Religious Perspectives on the Nigerian Crisis, Joseph F. Mali argues that contrary to popular belief, corruption and failed leadership are not at the heart of the Nigerian crisis. Corruption and misrule, though they have done a terrible harm to the Nigerian society, are in fact byproducts of something much more sinister in the same way that smoke is the byproduct of fire. The real trouble with Nigeria, Mali puts it bluntly, is a lifestyle of profound selfishness, which the people and their leaders have in common. The nation is still bleeding because of this evil. Unless Nigerians cure this «disease», Mali maintains, no system of government is likely to succeed in Nigeria. In vain do Nigerians seek political solutions as long as selfishness remains their credo! Since Nigeria’s problem is moral in nature, Mali insists, the remedy must also be ethical in character. Accordingly, he proposes «A Quiet Revolution» as a cure for Nigeria’s ailment. This revolution is not a silent coup to overthrow the Nigerian government. It is not «a French-styled rebellion in which the masses on the streets, and peasants in the country put an end to centuries of absolute monarchy». Rather, the «Quiet Revolution» is an interior change; an individual transformation. As long as this change has not taken place, Mali declares, it will be difficult to repair and restore Nigeria.