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| Volume 62 Number 2 April 2008 |
Who Is My Neighbor?Many years ago during my time as an undergraduate at Howard University, an urban institution in the heart of northwest Washington, D.C., a philosophy of religion professor posed these questions: “Why should we care about other human beings? What is it that grounds any interpersonal obligation that we feel for others?” These questions were particularly pertinent in light of the urban decay that surrounded our little oasis of higher learning. As a thoroughgoing agnostic, the professor quickly rebuffed the host of theological answers offered by the class, finding in none of them any real reason why persons should put aside the inherent drive for self-preservation in order to act in a selfless way on behalf of another. Why should we care about what happens to other human beings? What, if anything, draws us together and holds us together as a community? What keeps us from perpetually behaving in ways that elevate our own self-interest above that of others? Get access to this full issue and all of our back issues online by becoming a subscriber to Interpretation. |
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In This Issue LOVING ONE’S (ISRAELITE) NEIGHBOR: ELECTION AND COMMANDMENT IN LEVITICUS 19 • JOEL S. KAMINSKY This essay illuminates a number of nuances implicit in the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” by exploring its connection to Israel’s election theology as well as to the larger Priestly theology that forms much of the framework of the Torah. UNDER THE GAZE OF THE EMPIRE: WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? • EMERSON POWERY The New Testament appropriates Leviticus 19:18 in a variety of contexts.“Love your neighbor” is a central injunction for all followers of Jesus. The task is to determine who is the “neighbor.” BECOMING THE NEIGHBOR: VIRTUE THEORY AND THE PROBLEM OF NEIGHBOR IDENTITY • SAMUEL K. ROBERTS Ethical theories consistent with Christian moral sensibilities must assure each neighbor’s dignity and recognize his or her unique needs. While utilitarian ethics and duty-based ethics may fail to some degree in these respects, virtue ethics offers perspectives that echo more faithfully the parable of the Good Samaritan. WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? • NAIM ATEEK When examined in light of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the term “neighbor” raises questions of exclusivity and inclusivity, one’s understanding of God, and responsibility toward the “Other.” |
Between Text & Sermon Luke 10:25–37
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Major Book Reviews The Trial of Innocence: Adam, Eve, and the Yahwist The Ladder of Jacob: Ancient Interpretations of the Biblical Story of Jacob and his Children by James L. Kugel Opening the Sealed Book: Interpretations of the Book of Isaiah in Late Antiquity by Joseph Blenkinsopp Dating Acts: Between the Evangelists and the Apologists by Richard I. Pervo and Marcion and Luke-Acts: A Defining Struggle by Joseph B. Tyson Romans: A Commentary by Robert Jewett Hebrews: A Commentary by Luke Timothy Johnson
Read a selection of our major book reviews online >> Shorter Book Reviews |