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Get a FREE excerpt from Kate’s new book Undoing Conquest.

Check out Kate’s new book
Undoing Conquest

As the Israel-Gaza war rages on, Undoing Conquest explores biblical violence in the Book of Joshua, unearthing ways the conquest story has deep roots in today’s conflicts—and shows how a new discovery can help faith communities deal with violence past and present. 

Archaeologists across Israel and Palestine uncovered a hidden history of ancient Israel not found in the Bible. This new history remains largely unknown, but these findings are too important to remain hidden—they can reshape Christian identity and enhance understandings of the Bible at this critical moment when many churches seek to deal with violent Christian pasts.

Undoing Conquest shows how this lost history of ancient Israel can help churches take responsibility for histories of violence and proposes practical ways to integrate this new history into the life of the church.

Discover how a lost history of ancient Israel provides a greater understanding of the Bible and can help churches deal with violent Christian pasts.

what folks are saying

  • “Not since Walter Wink has the church had an invitation and method for engaging the text like what Common offers.”

    —Patrick B. Reyes, dean, Auburn Theological Seminary

  • “Common’s book arrives at a propitious moment when an intractable conflict with scriptural roots cries out for new thinking . . . This is Feminist Practical Theology at its best and, God willing, just in the nick of time.”

    —Mary E. Hunt, co-director, Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER)

  • "Undoing Conquest provides a new liberating counter-interpretation from the perspective of an oppressed, yet innovative community. This book is an important read for anyone who is looking for a fresh theological reflection on the Book of Joshua and a justice-oriented praxis for the Christian church today.”

    —Mitri Raheb, founder and president, Dar al-Kalima University, Bethlehem, Palestine

  • “Undoing Conquest presents an accessible account of otherwise highly technical archaeological, scientific, and academic treatments of the world that would become ancient Israel. It will surely challenge readers' presuppositions and compel the kind of change that addresses countless societal problems in our world today.”

    –Brandon J. Simonson, Boston University School of Theology