PHILOSOPHIC WARRANTS FOR SCRIPTURAL REASONING (original) (raw)
Related papers
Scriptural Reasoning: Its Anglican Origins, its Development, Practice and Significance
Journal of Anglican Studies, 2013
Scriptural Reasoning is the study and discussion of Tanakh, Bible and Qur'an together, usually by Jews, Christians and Muslims. On its Christian side it has had strong Anglican participation since it began in the mid-1990s. This article recounts its origins and development (including its spread beyond the academy and to many countries, including China); offers guidelines for its practice; discusses four key publications that offer Anglican theological understandings of it; summarizes its significance; and proposes that it be practised more widely in the Anglican Communion. The article concludes with meditative and prophetic postscripts.
www.SinoWesternStudies.com, No. 17, 2019
Attempts to Understand Scriptural Reasoning Dr. Aleksi Kuokkanen, (Univ. of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland) Abstract: The author has made some attempts to understand Scriptural Reasoning in this article, which includes the following. First, the author has asked the question about the theoretical basis for Scriptural Reasoning. Then he tries to explore SR from theory to practice. And he continues to study the integrity between theory and practice. And the social implications of Scriptural Reasoning has also studied before the author offers his final conclusion. Key Words: SR, theoretical basis, from theory to practice, integrity between theory and practice, social implications. Author: Dr. Aleksi Kuokkanen, Th.D. in Systematic Theology, Research fellow in University of Helsinki, Tel: +358-44-552-2989; Email: aleksi.kuokkanen@sley.fi
Revisiting the Revisionist-Postliberal Debate on Theological Method
Louvain Studies, 2006
The longevity of the revisionist-postliberal debate suggests that the key methodological issues raised by David Tracy and George Lindbeck have not been resolved. The present study aims to further the collaborative task of renewing theological method by revisiting the revisionist-postliberal discussion of three central questions: the locus of theology, the intelligibility of Christian faith, and the justification of Christian truth claims. The study argues that although the two models do have significant differences, they actually share more methodological common ground than is usually acknowledged. For example, both models agree that Christian tradition and human experience can be theological loci, but neither is able to establish a balanced dialectic between them. Both models furthermore acknowledge the significance of the existential impact of Christian claims to truth. Their main divergence concerns the locality of theology and its critical tasks. Is theology primarily a domestic affair, within and for the Churches, or does its mission include accountability to a broader public? George Lindbeck's major work, The Nature of Doctrine: Religion and Theology in a Postliberal Age, marked the emergence of a distinct "postliberal" model of theology that opposed the "revisionist" approach developed by theologians such as David Tracy. 1 Over the more than twenty years since this publication, scholars have observed that divisive friction between the revisionist and postliberal schools has impeded constructive debate. For example, in a 1987 article, Gary Comstock notes a "nasty tension" in two distinct camps separated by a "schism." 2 William
A Scriptural Pragmatism: How Scriptural Reasoners Read and Interpret Scripture
Theologische Literaturzeitung , 2019
As composed in 2019 for Theologische Literaturzeitung (later revised and expanded for my 2019 book, Religion without Violence: The Practice and Philosophy of Scriptural Reasoning). Here is the abstract for the original essay: "Deep calls to deep at the thunder of thy cataracts; all thy waves and thy billows have gone over me" (Ps. P2:7) As first developed in 1992, Scriptural Reasoning (SR) names a method for studying scriptures across the borders of any tradition. 12 Our prototype was a study of Abrahamic scriptures: the Tanakh, the New Testament, and the Qur'an studied side-by-side, so that students, adherents and observers of any one scriptural canon would feel welcomed to read and comment on verses of the other canons as well. 3 One of our goals was to find better methods for teaching religions through the study of scripture and for teaching scripture in a way that was enriched by both academic and traditional forms of commentary. Another goal was to find methods for peaceful encounter across religious traditions. 4 I often hear the term "Scriptural Reasoning" applied to this broader program. I use the term in both senses. "Formational SR" refers to the original practice, which remains a prototype and the single most effective exercise for introducing folks to the mindset presupposed by all the other forms and applications of SR. Formational SR. The elements of our original practice are quite simple. There is, prototypically, a table with 3-8 chairs placed around it. On the table are three small sets of verses, one from each of the three Abrahamic canons of scripture: the Tanakh (the Hebrew bible), the New Testament, and the Qur'an. The verses appear in translation so that all the participants can read them. Participants discuss the plain sense of different scriptural verses as if they shared equal facility in reading those words. They gradually turn to discussing what seems most challenging or surprising in those verses.
Scriptural reasoning: An expression of what it means to be a Faculty of Theology and Religion
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies
During 2017, the year of its centenary celebration, the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria finalised the process to change its name to the Faculty of Theology and Religion. This indicates an inclusivity and accommodative policy for all to study at the faculty. However, what does it mean to become a faculty of theology and religion at a public university in 21st century South Africa? The consequences and implications have not been thought through completely. This article does not pretend to identify all consequences of a name change but wants to contribute to the conversation by suggesting that the concept of scriptural reasoning might be one practice to be implemented as a consequence. Scriptural reasoning at a faculty of Theology and Religion, which is part of a public university in the South African context, attests to the way in which the faculty perceives its own identity. The relation between theology, religion and a public university is discussed, indicating the...
Scriptural Reasoning - texts or tents?
This article engages in a critique of the nature of the scriptural reasoning (SR) discourse by considering the writings of some of the chief players in the movement. This is important if we are to consider what is gained from the kinds of meetings taking place and perceive the ways in which SR hopes to impact on the public square. The article begins by briefly considering the place of SR in the debate about post-secular politics before delving more deeply into the 'return to scripture' that SR recommends and the nuanced descriptions, particularly those of Peter Ochs and Nicholas Adams, that have been offered to locate conceptually the discourse and its intended outcomes. What repeatedly emerges is an emphasis on the sense of friendship that is sustained, despite possible disagreements and the improvised or spontaneous nature of the triadic discussions that take place. It is not a scientific or grounded discourse, but sapientia: a wisdom that comes from the three faiths in conversation around their scriptures. The final parts of the article discuss the implications of this emphasis on sapientia. In particular, does it mean that the events or 'moments of meeting' are more significant than the scriptures themselves: the tent rather than the text? And, how do we pass on the insights of SR meetings or impact on the public square?
Should We Dispense with Sola Scriptura? Scripture, Tradition and Postmodern Theology
Dialog: A Journal of Theology
This essay deals with Kevin Vanhoozer’s warning that the central attention that sola scriptura had once enjoyed is being paid instead to a sola traditio principle in postmodern theology. It argues that the emphasis on tradition does not necessitate a dispensation with sola scriptura. It points to Martin Luther’s and Friedrich Scheliermacher’s understanding of the role of Scripture in faith, and to Hans-George Gadamer’s hermeneutic understanding of tradition, to show that the original content of sola scriptura proves its principal value for today’s interest in the tradition(s) of performance in the church. Sola scriptura both takes the text and its enactment into consideration and postulates that neither Scripture nor tradition alone work as a criterion for doing theology.
Scriptural Reasoning as a 'Classic': An Aesthetic Politics of Religions
Seeking to find a new way of meeting between Abrahamic traditions, Scriptural Reasoning has established a unique dynamic. This unique dynamic centres on meetings that are based on friendship rather than consensus, wisdom rather than propositional knowledge or binary thinking. Such virtues are not without problems. This article considers one problem: how the results of Scriptural Reasoning, and the insights gleaned from the meetings, can be passed on to the Abrahamic communities and the wider public. Addressing this problematic, the article focuses on the aesthetics of Scriptural Reasoning and its performance. Whereas one method of extending its influence is to widen the practice into the civic sphere and draw more people into the meetings, this article proposes another approach that suggests that the meetings of scholars or "representatives" around their texts constitute a "classic", which, through vicarious performance can affect the wider public. Further than this, the article outlines a kind of aesthetic politics of religions. Building upon the idea of aesthetic representation proposed in the political sphere by Frank Ankersmit, it is argued that interfaith movements such as Scriptural Reasoning might be presented as a form of political representation.