In Unsettling the Word, Heinrichs brings together a diverse group of scholars to provide a fresh interpretation of biblical texts read with a hermeneutic of decolonization. Structured as a commentary, with selections from Genesis to Revelation, this book stands as both a challenge to what may be considered traditional interpretations and is also an example of the creative interpretative possibilities of liberating readings. Like the various genres found in the Bible, Unsettling the Word also contains a range of genres, from poetry to short essays, from lyrical epistles to prayers and lamentations. This collection elucidates how the Bible has been a tool to uphold oppressive systems and the need to decolonize our interpretative approaches to and understanding of the Bible. To that end, each contributor takes seriously the challenge of exploring ways in which we can “affirm our ethical responsibility to live into the best of Scripture's streams of justice” (xi). Collectively, the book suggests that it is, in fact, a “hermeneutic of love” that makes a liberating reading of the biblical texts possible. By centering the contexts and voices of Indigenous, African American, and other often marginalized persons, the themes of justice and peace are at the fore.
Unsettling the Word provides examples of how to read the biblical texts from myriad different perspectives. This is accomplished by analyzing the power dynamics both within and outside of the text. For example, Steven Heinrichs' essay, “Lost and Found,” is a meditation on 2 Kings 22:10-11. The setting is Canada in a not too distant future, 2030. The 1764 Treaty of Niagara is read to the prime minister. Like the king in 2 Kings, the prime minister weeps upon hearing it. She declares, “It's time to redress the wrongs of the past. We have not honored our Treaty relationship. No wonder there's no harmony in our land” (80). Heinrichs imagines how acknowledgment, repentance, and reconciliation can create the possibility of a different future.
Another example is Sarah Travis' essay, “They Were All Captive.” It offers a reading of the book of Esther from the perspective of Queen Vashti. Travis writes, “The Jews celebrated in the streets, but I'm not sure what they were celebrating. Nobody won that day. They were all captive to a system beyond their control, yet none of them could see it” (97). This essay reads as a cautionary reflection on victories for the oppressed. These momentary triumphs are not the same as the demise of systems of oppression. Travis challenges the reader not to ignore networks of power and our own potential entanglement in such networks.
The power dynamics of biblical interpretation are also elucidated by these challenges to traditional readings of the texts. Mitzi J. Smith's essay, “Resisting the Great Co-Mission,” examines Matthew 28:16-20. She writes, “In the age of imperialism, a tragedy of the so-called Great Commission occurred—the collusion of Church and Crown. Together, the two—a great co-mission—went forth in God's name …” (184). Colonialism is only one outcome of this collusion. Smith highlights the contemporary implications for understanding such a text, concluding that the “intersectionality of religion, white nationalism, and neo-colonialism” have created another kind of co-mission (186). By exploring this continuity, Smith illumines the relationship between religion and empires, historical and contemporary, and how religion can be deployed as a tool to justify harm. Nevertheless, Smith reminds that the great commandment is not to go and teach, but it is that we love—ourselves and others.
Unsettling the Word is an excellent resource for both undergraduate and graduate classrooms. It is both accessible and provocative. This book provides numerous examples of a decolonizing approach to biblical interpretation. As such, biblical literature and methodology classes could benefit from the variety of interpretative methods utilized and the diverse interpretations the collection provides.
In the preface Hendricks poses this question concerning the Bible: “How do we read this book so that it is a force for justice and peace in the cause of the oppressed?” (xi). The book provides an answer—we must read the text with a hermeneutic of love. Unsettling the Word transforms numerous texts in the Bible from oppressive weapons to liberating tools and encourages us to read them again, more closely. Perhaps reading sacred texts thusly is the beginning of realizing a more just and peaceful world.
