One of the things I like about travelling is this: there is always a fair bit of waiting time - waiting time in the queue for check in, waiting time for boarding, and the flying time itself. And it is during these moments that I have some time to do some reading.
So, as my usual practice, I brought along a book for my recent trip to Singapore where I attended the Intentional Disciple Making Conference at Covenant Evangelical Free Church, Woodlands. During the waiting time at both Subang and Changi airports, and during the flights themselves, I managed to finish reading the book edited by Richard Horsley, In the Shadow of Empire: Reclaiming the Bible as a History of Faithful Resistance (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008).
The main argument of this compendium of 9 essays is that both the Old and New Testaments develop against the context of the empires - be it the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and finally the Romans. Each of these chapters describes how the biblical authors provide concrete meaning to the countercultural claims of both the Jews and the Christ believers that their God was the true King, the real Emperor.
Contributors include Norman Gottwald, Walter Brueggemann, Jon Berquist, John Dominic Crossan, Richard Horsley, Warren Carter, Brigitte Kahl, Neil Elliot, and Grey Carey.
Perhaps I should be making more trips - then I can do more reading!
