by Robert Williamson, Jr
Rating: 5.0
Length: 179 pages; Reading Time: 6 Hours
Where is God most active in our society? In the Forgotten Books of the Bible, Robert Williamson, Jr., takes a look at five biblical books, often overlooked, to present a compelling case that “God is more active at the margins of society than at its center” (xv).
The Forgotten Books of the Bible: Recovering the Five Scrolls for Today is great reading for those wrestling with today’s divisive issues. Williamson is inviting us to have conversations in community, while he presents a powerful argument that these “Five Scrolls” are relevant and speak to issues important to the human condition overall, as well as our culture today: sexuality, immigration, protest, death, and ethnic nationalism. In a brief 179 pages, Williamson challenges us to have biblical conversations even when we disagree in our interpretations, not to convince one another, but to understand one another. I would recommend some Christian maturity in the lives of those who read. Individuals who are easily swayed by differing doctrinal perspectives may be unable to successfully mine the riches of these pages.
In his Introduction, Williamson will immediately make many conservative evangelicals uncomfortable with his opening illustration which he describes as “the most beautiful lesson I have ever learned about the Bible . . .” (xiii). He then describes the relationship and challenges faced by Donny and Fred, a gay homeless couple, and the eventual marriage proposal from Donny, during a service at Mercy Community Church of Little Rock, which was founded by Williamson. As Williamson describes it, “Donny wept as he recited Ruth’s words of commitment to Naomi, used so often in wedding services but never with such profound resonance:
‘Wherever you go, I will go;
And where you stay, I will stay.
Your people will be my people,
and your God will be my God.
Wherever you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried. (Ruth 1:16--17).’”
Can a gay homeless couple understand that kind of love? Should a conservative evangelical Christian continue reading these pages? What does it really mean to love? Williamson confesses, “I have never understood the profundity of Ruth until that moment. I have never known what it meant to truly give up your life to love someone else” (xiv).
The gospel is scandalous. However, is it this scandalous, or is Williamson’s view simply another capitulation to our current societal ethos? The scandalous nature of God seems to be Williamson’s point, and though I’m sure that many evangelical readers would immediately desire to close the pages of this book, and would certainly disagree with Williamson’s understanding of the profundity of human love, I would encourage readers not stop reading. Williamson is an Old Testament scholar of the first order, a remarkable writer, and an excellent teacher who is able to distill scholarly studies into an easily readable and devout 179 pages. The reader may strongly disagree with some of his interpretations, but by entering into a conversation with these pages, you will also uncover some of the lost richness of “The Five Scrolls”: The Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther.
Williamson isn’t interested in convincing you to agree with his understanding of the text, noting, “My purpose here hasn’t been to convince you that my interpretation of these texts is the ‘right’ one or that you should reach the same conclusions about the relationship of the text and world that I have reached. Rather, I offer these readings of the Five Scrolls as a starting point for conversation” (173).
Robert Williamson, Jr., wants to restore reading of the “Five Scrolls,” to the central liturgical function they once held in Jewish life and community. Each of these books performed a function during the major Jewish holidays, and helped the nation orient community life through reflection on these texts. These are the stories of those on the margins, and a reminder to those at the center of the community, that God is looking over those who are considered the least by decree of the community.
Williamson’s reflections cause us to consider the significance of community, including how those outside the community, once brought into fellowship with community, can become grand instruments to reveal God’s scandalous mercy and grace. He challenges Christians to consider our relationships to systemic power, to explore the scandalous nature of Scripture, to recognize that even when He is hidden, God is dramatically at work in human affairs, using human initiative to achieve Godly purposes, while at the same time displaying the limitations of human effort and the glory of a God able to pursue His purposes in human history.
He leaves the reader with hope at the end of these pages, and aptly reminds us that whatever our life situation today, “because life moves in season, there is also no experience that will last forever” (130).