The Universe Bends Toward Justice: Radical Reflections on the Bible, the Church, and the Body Politic [Paperback]

Obery M. Hendricks (Author), Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2011

In these passionate and wide-ranging essays Obery Hendricks offers a challenging engagement with spirituality, economics, politics, contemporary Christianity, and the abuses committed in its name. Among his themes: the gap between the spirituality of the church and the spirituality of Jesus; the ways in which contemporary versions of gospel music sensationalize today s churches into social and political irrelevance; how the economic principles and policies espoused by the religious right betray the most basic principles of the same biblical tradition they claim to hold dear; the domestication of Martin Luther King s message to foster a political complacency that dishonors King s sacrifices. He ends with a stinging rebuke of the religious right s idolatrous patriotism in a radical manifesto for those who would practice the politics of Jesus in the public sphere.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Obery Hendricks is one of the last few grand prophetic scholars in these dark and difficult times.  This book exemplifies his courageous and visionary vision.  Don't miss it."
 --Cornel West, Princeton University

Obery Hendricks has written a tour de force, exposing the American conservative movement for its ability to use Christian rhetoric to hide the most un Christian behavior.
--Gov. Howard Dean, former chair, Democratic National Committee

 Only a scholar with the intellectual versatility and depth of Obery Hendricks could create this provocative and passionate critique of philosophies, policies, and practices that masquerade as Christian and conservative, but which show no mercy and do great harm to the poor, the elderly, and the very young
--Barbara D. Savage, Univ. of Penn.

 Hendricks is unflinching in his criticism of conservative impulses in the church and in the government that prey on the most vulnerable.
--Melissa Harris-Perry, Tulane University; MSNBC commentator

The Universe Bends Toward Justice confirms that Obery M. Hendricks, Jr. is one of the greatest intellectuals and most exciting scholars in America today. His range and depth in this book are astonishing.
 --Michael Eric Dyson, Georgetown University

About the Author

Obery M. Hendricks, Jr. is one of today s most provocative and innovative commentators on the intersection of religion, politics and social policy. A former Wall St. investment executive and past president of Payne Theological Seminary (the oldest African American theology seminary in the U.S.) he is currently Professor of Biblical Interpretation at NY Theological Seminary and Visiting Scholar in Religion and African American Studies at Columbia. His books include The Politics of Jesus (Doubleday), and a novel, Living Water (HarperCollins).

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Orbis Books (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570759405
• ISBN-13: 978-1570759406
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Universe Bends Toward Justice, November 22, 2011

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november - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Universe Bends Toward Justice: Radical Reflections on the Bible, the Church, and the Body Politic (Paperback)

I cannot emphasize enough how informative and important this book is. Hendricks handles several different subject matters deftly, from supply-side economics to gospel music to the prophetic witness of Martin Luther King, Jr. Though the topics discussed are intellectually complex, the book remains eminently readable. Hendricks not only provides historical background and interdisciplinary analysis of Jesus' relevance to our times, but also calls the reader to action. What a fresh, enjoyable book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recognizing the Reality of Christ in Social Politics, December 21, 2011

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L. Lawrence "Budding Lit Critic" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Universe Bends Toward Justice: Radical Reflections on the Bible, the Church, and the Body Politic (Paperback)

Dr. Hendricks has blown the covers off our complacency once again. He is an academic scholar, so don't be threatened by his use of vernacular. Take your time and read this book! It is destined to make you rethink your position on today's "Gospel" music industry as well as (and more importantly) why our political construct in this "so called" United States of America, is so fractured by it's fundamental claim to Christian morality and Biblical principles. Dr. Hendricks is not arguing for or against any political party, but he is an apologist for Christ and what authentic Christian values call those of us who share a core belief in the Word of Christ and the fundamental teachings of the Bible to do in order to respond to our current social, economic and health crises all across this great nation! If for no other reason than to be edified by the brilliance of a strong, unapologetic, critical thinker, I emplore you to read and digest the majesty of this wonderful text!

5.0 out of 5 stars Something to Hope In, Something to Fight For, February 5, 2012

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Kevin L. Nenstiel "omnivore" (Kearney, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Universe Bends Toward Justice: Radical Reflections on the Bible, the Church, and the Body Politic (Paperback)

Obery Hendricks dedicates this book to applying the principles he wrote in his prior book, The Politics of Jesus, up to and including reproducing the final chapter from that book in this one. His thesis starts from the contention that Jesus came to preach not only personal morality, but a spirit of engagement with the powers of earth. With a particular emphasis on race and economics, Hendricks is sure to stir up high feelings and overdue debate.

In the first chapter, he addresses the ways Black religious music has changed, with the move from the activist "we" orientation in Spirituals to the soothing "I" orientation in Gospel music. He fears that the move away from public engagement in worship corresponds to apathy in the face of institutional injustice. This chapter presages the entire arc of this book, that Christianity requires spirited engagement, not wrapping ourselves in a cocoon of salvation.

Hendricks only ascends from there. His second chapter condemns top-down, hierarchical church tendencies, demanding we reread the Gospels from the perspective of the chronically disenfranchised and dispossessed. His third and fourth chapters dismantle the yoking of Christian ethics to economic principles that defy Christ's words. His fourth chapter describes the need to experience a God who lives in this life with us, instead of just awaiting us in the next.

Hendricks' positions are not without controversy. Though not mentioning Hendricks by name, DeYoung and Gilbert have attempted to dismantle his readings of the words "poor" and "oppressed" in Scripture. I can imagine certain readers decrying how he assails Conservatism's economic inequities without mentioning Liberalism's moral sponginess. And one very long passage includes so many economic stats that Jesus pauses in the narrative.

Moreover, though Hendricks describes the situation in African American churches, nearly everything he says applies beyond racial boundaries. White Evangelicalism and Hispanic Pentacostalism show the same lack of engagement Hendricks laments. And many church traditions, regardless of race and other constructed divisions, have lapsed in their moral imperative to demand God's kingdom justice in this world.

But these controversies are not incidental. Hendricks wants to reframe a discussion that has not included his read of Scripture. Christ, for Hendricks, came not only to save souls, though he did that too. Rather, he came to give us something to hope in, and fight for, in this life we've been given. Hendricks calls us to shake of generations of sleepiness and get back in the good fight. If it was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for us.