Theology, History, and Biblical Interpretation

The Christian Bible serves as the sacred scripture of the Christian community. It is read regularly by many people around the world today, as it has been for centuries. But how should one interpret this text? This reader presents a variety of perspective on how to relate historical and theological considerations when approaching the Bible. It encourages students and scholars to ponder how historical and theological categories shape one's view of three crucial realities: the text of the Bible, the human subject who reads the text, and the nature of the exchange between the two in the practice of reading. As historical and theological categories are applied to these realities, are they mutually exclusive, or can they be combined in some way? This reader encourages students and scholars to explore these important questions by bringing together a selection of some of modernity's most influential discussions of the issues as well as some of the present day's most distinguished attempts to weigh in on the debate.

Auteur

Darren Sarisky is Tutor in Doctrine and Ministry at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford, and Associate of the Research Institute in Systematic Theology at King's College London, UK.

Contenu

Copyright Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Theology, History, and Biblical Interpretation 1

1 Spinoza, Benedict de. Theological-Political Treatise. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Chapter 7, "On the Interpretation of Scripture." 11

2 Strauss, David F. The Life of Jesus Critically Examined. London: SCM, 1973. Selections from Introduction, "Development of the Mythical Point of View in Relation to the Gospel Histories." 29

3 Kierkegaard, Søren. Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments. Vol. 1. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992. Chapter 1, "The Historical Point of View." 69

4 Troeltsch, Ernst. "On the Historical and Dogmatic Methods in Theology." In Religion in History, 11-32. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1991. 89

5 Barth, Karl. The Epistle to the Romans. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1968. Prefaces 1-6. 109

6 Bultmann, Rudolf. "The New Testament and Mythology." In The New Testament and Mythology and Other Basic Writings, edited by Schubert Ogden, 1-44. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984. 131

7 Pope Pius XII. Divino Afflante Spiritu: On Promoting Biblical Studies. Rome, 1943. 165

8 Ebeling, Gerhard. Selections from "The Significance of the Critical Historical Method for Church and
Theology in Protestantism." In Word and Faith, 17-61. London: SCM Press, 1963. 187

9 Lubac, Henri de. History and Spirit: The Understanding of Scripture According to Origen. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2007. Selections from the Conclusion. 219

10 Stendahl, Krister. Selections from "Biblical Theology, Contemporary." In The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, edited by George A. Buttrick. New York: Abingdon, 1962. 239

11 Childs, Brevard S. Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979. Chapter 3, "Canon and Criticism." 255

12 Steinmetz, David C. "The Superiority of Pre-Critical Exegesis." Theology Today 37 (1978): 27-38. 267

13 Luz, Ulrich. "Reflections on the Appropriate Interpretation of New Testament Texts." In Studies in Matthew, 265-289. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005. 279

14 Marion, Jean-Luc. God without Being: Hors-Texte. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. Chapter 5, "Of the Eucharistic Site of Theology." 303

15 Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. "The Ethics of Biblical Interpretation: Decentering Biblical Scholarship." Journal of Biblical Literature 107 (1988): 3-17. 321

16 Levenson, Jon D. "The Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, and Historical Criticism." In The Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, and Historical Criticism: Jews and Christians in Biblical Studies, 1-32. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993. 337

17 Plantinga, Alvin. "Two (or More) Kinds of Scripture Scholarship." Modern Theology 14 (1998): 243-278. 365

18 Ricoeur, Paul. "The Nuptial Metaphor." In Thinking Biblically: Exegetical and Hermeneutical Studies, edited by André LaCocque and Paul Ricoeur, 265-303. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. 403

19 Barr, James. The Concept of Biblical Theology: An Old Testament Perspective. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999. Chapter 12, "Evaluation, Commitment, Objectivity." 439

20 Webster, John. Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Chapter 1, "Revelation, Sanctification, and Inspiration." 459

Index 485