Book Review: The New Testament in Color

By Daniel Harris

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ne of the first books I read after graduating from seminary was Esau McCaulley’s Reading While Black. While I appreciate and grew incredibly in my faith and knowledge during my time in seminary, I, like many, felt like there were some gaping holes in my theological education. In particular, looking back on all of the books assigned for required reading, the authors were by and large white and male. We did occasionally have readings from the perspective of minorities. However, these readings were often supplemental texts to occasionally give us a nuanced perspective rather than to be really taken seriously as rigorous interpretations of Scripture themselves.

McCaulley’s Reading While Black was a breath of fresh air. Graduating seminary left me with a gaping question: Can I, as an ethnic minority, trust Scripture? McCaulley’s answer to that question was an unequivocal “Yes!” at least from an African American perspective. Don’t get me wrong, McCaulley’s “yes” to Scripture from an African American perspective is an important one. For an African American to come out and say we can trust Scripture, even though it has been used and abused to justify the slavery and violence towards Black bodies, is one we shouldn’t ignore. 

However, after reading McCaulley’s book, I was left with a question: So can I, specifically as an Asian American, trust Scripture? This is where the recent book The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary comes into play. 

In many ways The New Testament in Color serves as a sequel to McCaulley’s Reading While Black. The New Testament in Color is a single volume commentary on the New Testament that attempts to bring together a multitude of voices from a variety of different ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. 

What Sets This Commentary Apart?

There are a few things that set this commentary apart from others of this likeness. First, this commentary is primarily from a North American perspective. While it is important to hear voices from the Majority World, such voices fall outside the scope of this project. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed about this at first. However, I grew to appreciate the nuanced perspective from minorities in the North American context. Particularly, I found it enlightening to read how the particular kind of racialization minorities face in North America with its particular history of slavery and racism colors the way one might come to the biblical text. There are also a plethora of Majority World resources for people to find if that’s what they are looking for. 

Second, McCaulley is clear in the introduction that the project is written from a place of trust in the biblical text. McCaulley writes, “We believe that it is right to push back on the misuse of Scripture to justify evil, but we also believe that socially located biblical interpretation can engage in a hermeneutics of trust wherein we recognize that the God we encounter in biblical texts is in the end a friend, not and enemy.” Moreover, contributors to the project were required to ascribe to an orthodox theological framework in line with the historic Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. I really appreciated this in particular. I’ve read and encountered many works that try to do something similar to The New Testament in Color only to be disappointed in their treatment of the text. I’m of the opinion that a faithful, orthodox, and trusting reading of the text bears more fruit and is more hopeful and liberating than any attempt towards a hermeneutics of suspicion. 

Third, The New Testament in Color assumes no prior knowledge of multiethnic biblical interpretation. For readers wanting to dip their toes into the world of multiethnic biblical interpretation, this is a great place to start. You don’t have to have any prior knowledge of postcolonial theory, multilingualism, cultural anthropology, or any of these other terms that may be thrown around when discussing a work like this. The commentary provides useful articles to help people orient themselves around some of the contemporary issues surrounding multiethnic biblical interpretation. There are articles of African American, Asian American, Hispanic, Turtle Island (Native American), and majority culture interpretations of Scripture. There are also articles on gender in the New Testament, multilingualism, and more. These articles provide great jumping off points for people who might be reading a commentary like this for the first time. 

Treatment of the Biblical Texts

As for the commentary on the biblical text itself, each book is written from a different scholar representing a different ethnic minority. As such, you might find that the contributors seemingly contradict one another or are in disagreement. That is one of the beauties of a commentary like this. There were more than a few times I felt uncomfortable with what someone wrote. However, that’s par for the course in a volume like this. The hope is that these disagreements will spark discussion and bring people to greater understanding and empathy. 

In this commentary, you won’t find a dense verse by verse exegetical treatment of the text that parses the Greek terms and delves deep into the grammar and historical context. Of course, you will find that from time to time. However, this doesn’t mean that the commentary isn’t well researched or that the contributors aren’t capable of that kind of treatment of the text. Rather, the aim of this volume is to ask, “How would an African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, or Native American read the text?” 

I found Diane G. Chen’s treatment of Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son an excellent example of what I mean here. Chen is a Chinese American who comments on the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 through her experience as a Chinese American. In Chen’s commentary on the parable, she compares the father in the parable to a typical Chinese father: “A Chinese father would have given his son a sharp rebuke, horrified and indignant that he dared to even think about asking for such a thing [for his inheritance].” She then expertly describes the shame associated with the younger son: “In his shamelessness and shamefulness, he has practically disowned himself.” She then looks at the eldest son and how it reminds her of her Chinese experience: “The script of the parable, with the younger one gallivanting around in revelry, fits the Chinese stereotype quite well.”

While I’m not Chinese, Chen’s treatment of this particular parable was relatable as a Cambodian American. I’m all too familiar with the feelings of familial expectations and the shame that comes with not living up to those expectations. On top of that, I’m familiar with the comparison that often happens with siblings or cousins that may have achieved those expectations in ways more pleasing to the family. Sometimes in these situations I play the role of the prodigal son. Sometimes I play the role of the eldest. Regardless of which role I play, the shame in these situations is palpable. Yet, in this parable the story plays out differently than we might expect, the father runs towards his prodigal son and restores his honor.

The New Testament in Color is full of nuggets like this. It helps others to read the biblical text in ways they may have never thought to read it before. In the particular example of the prodigal son, Chen’s treatment of the text was a relatable one. Other examples are not as relatable, but that doesn’t mean that their reading of the text isn't valid or useful in coming to a deeper understanding of Scripture. 

Can I, as an Asian American, Trust Scripture? 

So then, can I, as an Asian American, trust Scripture? According to the wonderful contributors of The New Testament in Color, the answer to that question is “Yes!” Yet, not only I as an Asian American can trust Scripture, so too can African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and others. Unfortunately, due to long histories of colonialism, much of which has largely been an enterprise carried out by the church, Scripture has been used and abused to justify slavery, violence, racism, and misogyny. However, if we take seriously that the Bible is a book that was inspired by the Holy Spirit, we can trust that the same Holy Spirit is there when we read the text. As such, we can trust that scripture can reveal to us the God who became flesh and took on the particularities of what it meant to be a first century Jew. Because of this, Scripture will always be able to speak to our particular cultures, ethnicities, histories, and languages. 

I recommend The New Testament in Color to any ethnic minority who might feel like Scripture has nothing to say to them. I also recommend the book to anyone who might like to learn more about a racial and ethnic heritage that they might be unfamiliar with. The book encourages a faithful reading of Scripture that speaks to particular cultures in their time and place.

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Daniel Harris is of mixed Cambodian American heritage. He currently serves as campus minister of Charis Student Ministry, a collegiate ministry through American Baptist Churches of Indiana/Kentucky. He also serves as Content Writer for AACC. Daniel has his M.Div. from Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary in World Christianity and Christian Witness and his B.A. from Howard Payne University. He enjoys spending his time with his wife and three beautiful daughters.

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