Description
The Bible contains vivid depictions of violence—ranging from personal acts of harm to sweeping divine retribution on a cosmic scale. While some of these moments are immediately apparent, others are hidden in plain sight, subtly woven into the text.
What can we learn from these biblical “texts of terror” that depict all manner of violence? And how might they speak to us about the violent acts, words, and ideas that we encounter in our world today? Join biblical scholars Caroline Blyth and Emily Colgan as they reveal the enduring significance of biblical violence and the many ways that it can inform our own understandings of contemporary violence.
Topics We’ll Cover:
- Violence and power—is biblical violence always perpetrated by those in power? And does a lack of power make some people more vulnerable to violence?
- Violence and gender—is male violence treated differently than female violence in the biblical texts?
- Recognizing violence that’s hidden “in plain sight”—how can we learn to better identify the different forms of violence that are present in the biblical texts?
- The legacy of biblical violence—how have the Bible’s texts of terror impacted attitudes towards violence throughout history and up to the present day?
This Class Includes:
- Link to live class on February 17, 2025 at 8:00pm ET
- Live Q&A following the class
- Access to the class recording
- Downloadable class slides
Your Instructors:
Caroline Blyth (PhD University of Edinburgh) is a Scottish biblical scholar who’s made her second home in Aotearoa New Zealand. Before she dipped her toes into biblical studies, she gained a degree in psychology and worked as a mental health nurse. She taught biblical studies and religious studies at the University of Auckland for eleven years and then took (very!) early retirement from academic life. She now works as a freelance proofreader and editor. Caroline’s recent books include Rape Culture, Purity Culture, and Coercive Control in Teen Girl Bibles (2021) and Violence and the Bible for Normal People: A Guide to Biblical Texts of Terror (2025). She also loves working on various projects relating to biblical violence with her “partner in crime,” Emily Colgan.
Emily Colgan (PhD University of Auckland) is a Pākehā (white) biblical scholar from Aotearoa New Zealand. She works at Trinity Theological College as Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Biblical Studies (Hebrew Bible). Emily is interested in ecological and decolonial interpretations of the Bible, as well as depictions of gender and violence in biblical texts. She is the author of Jeremiah: An Earth Bible Commentary (forthcoming) and co-editor of The Routledge Companion to Eve (2023). In her spare time, Emily combines her regular research of the Bible and her fascination with true crime to co-host The Bloody Bible podcast with the utterly brilliant Caroline Blyth.
