Review: The Widening of God's Mercy
How does one use the Bible in Christian Ethics
Hello friends, On Mondays, I typically do a book review. Today, I will review The Widening of God’s Mercy by Richard B. Hays and Christopher B. Hays, which was recently released.
This book has made waves in the theological world due to biblical scholar Richard Hays's reversal of position on human sexuality. In his seminal work on Scripture and ethics, The Moral Vision of the New Testament, Hays famously outlined a chapter-long biblical argument against same-sex relationships. The chapter would serve as a standard for those non-affirming scholars and pastors of various stripes. This was especially popular with many Side B Christians who vowed celibacy in response to a reading of Scripture.
However, in an event that rarely happens in our polarized, recalcitrant culture, a scholar changed his mind. In this book, Richard Hays and his son Christopher Hays offer a hermeneutic for reading Scripture “with the grain” that illustrates the posture of God’s mercy as ever-widening. Hays still contends that the text itself teaches against same-sex relationships. However, they claim that the direction of Scripture always grows toward inclusion. What the Bible states about a group of people at one point changes toward inclusion. One can think of the broadening of the story of Israel to include the Gentiles toward this point.
Here is an overview of the book and a chapter by chapter break down:
Overview of The Widening of God’s Mercy by Richard B. Hays and Christopher B. Hays
The Widening of God's Mercy: The Bible, the Church, and the Surprising Work of Divine Grace explores how the Bible reveals God's mercy and grace in ways that go beyond “traditional” Christian understandings. Richard B. Hays, a renowned New Testament scholar, and his son Christopher B. Hays, an equally renowned scholar in Hebrew Scripture, collaborate to offer a nuanced and scholarly reflection on the theme of divine mercy as expressed throughout the Bible.
The authors argue that God’s mercy is far more expansive than often acknowledged, encompassing people and situations that might be unexpected or even shocking within conventional frameworks of judgment. They engage biblical texts from the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament to demonstrate how divine grace extends to the marginalized, the sinful, and the Gentiles, underscoring a narrative of inclusivity and divine compassion that defies human limitations and boundaries.
The book engages deeply with theological questions about justice, grace, and the boundaries of God's mercy, making a case for rethinking certain doctrinal and pastoral positions in light of a more expansive vision of divine compassion.
Chapter-by-Chapter Breakdown
Chapter 1: The Surprising Scope of Divine Mercy
This introductory chapter sets the tone for the entire book, framing the discussion around the idea that God's mercy is often far broader than anticipated. The authors ask who can receive divine mercy and how biblical texts challenge human preconceptions. Richard and Christopher Hays highlight key examples from the Old and New Testaments that point toward an unexpected expansion in God's saving actions.
Chapter 2: Mercy in the Old Testament
This chapter focuses on examples of God's mercy revealed in the Old Testament/Hebrew Scripture. The authors discuss how God's covenant with Israel involves judgment and law and profound acts of forgiveness and inclusion. Examples include God’s mercy towards Israel despite their recurring disobedience and towards Gentile nations, like Nineveh in the story of Jonah. Christopher Hays particularly explores how the prophetic texts reveal an inclusive vision of God's compassion.
Chapter 3: The Gospels and the Mission of Jesus
Here, the focus shifts to the New Testament, especially the Gospels, where Richard Hays emphasizes Jesus' mission as a revelation of divine mercy. The authors explore how Jesus’ ministry subverted traditional boundaries, extending mercy to outcasts, sinners, and Gentiles. Stories like the Good Samaritan and Jesus’ encounters with tax collectors and prostitutes are central to this chapter, portraying Jesus’ radical embodiment of God’s mercy.
Chapter 4: Paul and the Expansion of God’s People
This chapter delves into the Apostle Paul’s theology, particularly concerning the inclusion of Gentiles into the people of God. Richard Hays examines Paul’s letters, especially Romans and Galatians, showing how Paul argues for a community that transcends ethnic and cultural boundaries because of God’s mercy. Paul’s vision of grace undermines legalistic boundaries and expands the definition of God's people.
Chapter 5: Judgment and Mercy in the Apocalyptic Imagination
In this chapter, both authors explore how biblical apocalyptic literature, often associated with divine judgment, reveals an underlying theme of mercy. They discuss how texts like Daniel, Revelation, and other apocalyptic writings tension divine justice and mercy. The authors suggest that even in texts where God's judgment is pronounced, mercy is often a surprising inclusion for those who seem beyond redemption.
Chapter 6: Divine Mercy and Human Boundaries
This chapter takes on the difficult question of human boundaries in the context of divine mercy. Richard and Christopher Hays reflect on how the church has historically established doctrinal, moral, or cultural boundaries for inclusion and exclusion. They argue that, in light of the Bible’s witness to divine mercy, the church may need to rethink some of its assumptions about who belongs within the community of faith.
Chapter 7: The Role of the Church in Widening Mercy
This concluding chapter calls on the church to live out the reality of God’s expansive mercy. The authors discuss practical implications for the church’s mission, liturgy, and outreach, emphasizing the need to reflect the radical inclusivity of God’s grace in how Christians treat others. They advocate for a church that welcomes those often marginalized or judged, extending God’s mercy in action and belief.
Epilogue: Final Reflections on Mercy and Grace
In the epilogue, Richard and Christopher Hays offer personal reflections on the book's writing journey and their theological conclusions about the importance of emphasizing God’s mercy in Christian theology and practice. They reiterate the need for Christians to embrace a broader understanding of grace and allow the Bible’s testimony of God’s mercy to challenge their assumptions and actions.
The Widening of God's Mercy challenges readers to consider the depth and breadth of God’s grace, urging a more inclusive and merciful approach to Christian life and thought. Through detailed biblical exegesis and theological reflection, Richard and Christopher Hays offer a fresh vision of God's expansive love that transcends human boundaries.
Final Considerations: What do we make of this text?
Fans of the argument in the chapter “homosexuality” in The Moral Vision of the New Testament will be disappointed by the conclusions. Still, they should recognize many of the methods used by the father-son duo. One of the most moving elements of the book is Richard Hays's lament over how his earlier work would be used to hurt and harm. Tragically, when it comes to Christian ethics, a large segment of believers believe that righteousness only comes through harming others who represent the sins they detest. This work does not offer a biblical argument for a biblical sexual relationship. Theologian Preston Sprinkle highlights this, among other frustrations with the book, in his thorough review.
The most compelling feature of this book lies almost exclusively in the hermeneutic of reading the Bible for Christian ethics. This element is a central interest of my work. Searching for a biblical account of a specific God-ordained relationship is impossible. The Bible does not bless a certain relationship finally in the way that we would want but rather offers a certain good of flourishing in the light of God’s grace possible in sexual relationships. Marriage between a cis-gendered, heterosexual couple can, of course, meet that good of flourishing and divine grace. Still, Hays wants us to recognize the priority of divine grace and not violent legalism. Pastors and Christians use Hays’s earlier work (beyond just The Moral Vision) because these same Christians have used the Bible for much longer. In this model, we only discover our goodness from another’s perceived “badness.” When viewed from the lens of grace, this toxic goodness falls away, and we can embrace holiness not as individual righteousness but as a community of grace shaped by the love of God.