Green, “Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction” (Reviewed by Dan Call)

Author: Deidre Nicole Green
Title: Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction
Maxwell Institute, 2020. 134 pages.

Reviewed by Dan Call, August 2020

How do you humble a people who think too highly of themselves?
How can a lonesome and traumatized Christian speak truth to power?
How might teachers elevate their craft to transformative levels, not by changing their content, but by recentering their methodology on giving voice to the oppressed?

In Deidre Nicole Green’s contribution to this series, we see another successful approach to “[exploring] the spiritual and intellectual force of the ideas appearing in the Latter-day Saints’ ‘keystone’ scripture.” Green is the first author in the Brief Theological Introductions to the Book of Mormon series whose previous work I was unfamiliar with, which made for a refreshing read. One of the central tenets of these books is that theology can be done well from multiple perspectives, and Green’s writing upholds this notion very well.

The book leans into the fact that both Jacob and his record occupy a liminal space in the Book of Mormon. Jacob was part of a lost generation, born in the wilderness, not native to a promised land in any sense. The record of Jacob takes a sharp turn from the abundantly doctrinal and prophetic writings of Nephi, opting instead to preach repentance to the already proud Nephites. Throughout most of the book, Green offers multiple illustrations of how Jacob’s teachings make the case for a socially oriented Christianity: through the call to witness suffering in the world, or to perpetually examine our relationships with others (ch. 2); an argument that inequality breeds sin, and that looking and listening carefully to those we are inclined to hate are Christian duties (ch. 3); tearing down the destructive myths of hyper-individualism and patriarchy-driven chastity (ch. 4); a simple but forceful unpacking of the detail-laden allegory of the Olive Tree (ch. 5).

When younger, I read this book (like most scripture) for the gems of thought, finding verses and individual stories that could teach me important principles. Green, however, does extraordinarily well at presenting Jacob as a unified text with an overarching theme and a teacher armed with a potent pedagogy.

This last point especially speaks to me. As a professional educator who has worked in a variety of learning spaces, as well as sometimes teaching to church groups who are looking for comforting and familiar lessons, I dedicate a large part of my time to improving my craft. With thrilling detail, Green demonstrates how Jacob centers voices often silenced or misrepresented by Judeo-Christian religious texts: women and children, othered ethnicities, and vocal heretics. We get a clear picture how this bold teaching method is actually an act of brave love with socially-transformative capabilities. That this ancient book contains models of master-level teaching is a pleasant surprise, and suggests another possibility that Mormonism has so much to offer to the academic community.

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