Picking up the golden thread
GOD, JUSTICE, AND SOCIETY
Aspects of Law and Legality in the Bible
By Jonathan Burnside
Oxford University Press. 542 pages. £60.00 (h/b); £19.99 (p/b — available exclusively from the Jubilee Centre, http://www.jubilee-centre.org)
ISBN 978 0 199 779 413
Biblical law is more than a complex code of commands; it offers insight into the vocation of humanity and the purpose of God in the world.
In God, Justice, and Society, Jonathan Burnside, Reader in Biblical Law at the School of Law, University of Bristol, approaches the issues of law and legality in the Bible from his perspective as an academic lawyer and criminologist, with the primary purpose of educating lawyers. But, because he begins by investigating the basic theoretical legal propositions undergirding biblical law — its basis in covenant, interaction with ancient Near Eastern legal codes, nuanced representation of natural law, and vocation for all humanity — and argues throughout that biblical law cannot be separated from theology, his book speaks into current conversations in several disciplines. Burnside argues that his subject is too important for lawyers alone, as it touches on the vocation of all of humanity, as we are all called to seek justice because we are made in the image of a just God. Fittingly, he writes with a clear and engaging style that makes the book accessible to a wide range of readers and provides a holistic teaching website supporting the book: http://www.seekjustice.co.uk
Burnside digs deep into the biblical text. His exegesis is based on the conviction that biblical law tells a story that teaches how life should be lived. With appreciation for the rhetorical and literary features of the text, as well as its original setting in ancient Israel, he sheds new light on difficult biblical texts from the Sabbath year (Exodus 23.10-11) to lists of sexual offences (Leviticus 20, Deuteronomy 22). But, even though he is sensitive to the original application of biblical law in ancient Israel, he also brings the text to bear on legal issues facing contemporary culture, as he addresses humanity and the environment, people and land, social welfare, homicide and vengeance, theft and burglary, marriage and divorce, and sexual offences, explaining the biblical background for modern movements like the ‘Jubilee 2000’ and ‘Drop the Debt’ campaigns along the way.
By returning to biblical law, and particularly its theological significance, Burnside directs his reader’s gaze to a transcendent point of reference and vision of the good that can uphold a robust understanding of law. Without this, he warns, we will ‘find ourselves living in a maimed and diminished society, one in which our full humanity is not taken seriously’ (p.477). We have dropped the golden thread of biblical law, Burnside argues. Law, in its appeal to a source of order, must return to the source of all order: God, and his purpose. This theocentric focus enables Burnside to integrate law, ethics, and biblical studies into a captivating vision of life according to God’s loving direction.
Will Kynes,
Research Associate, Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics,
PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge
