Is it enough to be thinking good thoughts? -- Thoughts on Origen's Hermeneutic (original) (raw)

Wisdom Christology: How Jesus Becomes God's Wisdom for Us

2011

Conclusion: Learning to Live in the Wisdom of Christ 173 Questions for Study and Reflection 191 Select Resources on Christ and Wisdom 197 Index of Scripture and Extrabiblical References 201 Index of Subjects and Names 213 ix Series Introduction BELIEVERS TODAy need high-quality literature that attracts them to good theology and builds them up in their faith. Currently, readers may find several sets of lengthy-and rather technicalbooks on Reformed theology, as well as some that are helpful and semipopular. Explorations in Biblical Theology takes a more midrange approach, seeking to offer readers the substantial content of the more lengthy books, while striving for the readability of the semipopular books. This series includes two types of books: (1) some treating biblical themes and (2) others treating the theology of specific biblical books. The volumes dealing with biblical themes seek to cover the whole range of Christian theology, from the doctrine of God to last things. Representative early offerings in the series focus on the empowering by the Holy Spirit, justification, the presence of God, preservation and apostasy, and substitutionary atonement. Examples of works dealing with the theology of specific biblical books are volumes on the theology of 1 and 2 Samuel, Psalms, and Isaiah in the Old Testament, and books on the theology of Mark, Romans, and James in the New Testament. Explorations in Biblical Theology is written for college seniors, seminarians, pastors, and thoughtful lay readers. These volumes are intended to be accessible and not obscured by excessive references to Hebrew, Greek, or theological jargon. Each book seeks to be solidly Reformed in orientation, because the writers love the Reformed faith. The various theological themes and biblical books are treated from the perspective of biblical theology. Writers either trace doctrines through And last but not least, to my editor, Robert Peterson, who for many years has been a teacher, a writing mentor, a friend, and most of all a faithful Christian brother.

Scripture and Origen's Theological Vision in his Commentary on the Gospel According to John

Abstract In Book IV of Peri Archon, Origen outlined his theory of biblical interpretation emphasizing the necessity of a spiritual understanding of the sacred text. In this text, he outlined a three-fold understanding of scripture using the metaphysics of the human person as an analogy. He claimed that scripture contained senses that corresponded to the body, soul, and spirit, of the human person. Both of these claims (i.e. the spiritual interpretation of scripture, and the tripartite division of scriptural senses) have received an abundance of attention from scholars in recent decades. This paper will place Peri Archon IV into dialogue with Book XIII of his Commentary on the Gospel According to John in order to elucidate his theory of biblical interpretation. In this text from his John Commentary, Origen makes two arguments while commenting on Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman (Cf. Jn. 4:13-26) that help us to better understand the principles of his exegetical theory. First, he explains how Jesus’ response to the Samaritan woman demonstrates scripture’s role in the Christian life of conversion. Second, he articulates a doctrine of God as a “spiritual” being that demands a spiritual understanding of scripture. This paper argues that Book XIII of Origen’s John Commentary places the hermeneutical principles found in Peri Archon IV into their proper context of Christian contemplation of God, a process of progressive encounter with God: the essential characteristic of Christian conversion in Origen’s theological vision.

Greek Patristic Texts on the Interpretation of Scripture

The following translations were prepared for use in teaching courses on patristic exegesis at Harvard Divinity School; they are rough drafts and anyone wishing to cite them is encouraged to check them against the Greek texts. Many of these translations were prepared in a seminar with the help of several students, who are to be thanked for their good work.

Christological Claims: A Textual Consideration of John's Gospel

The Christian message stands or falls with the concept and doctrine of Christ’s divinity. If one were to boil Christianity to its very basics the doctrine of Christology, the concept of Jesus’ divinity, would be found at its very center. It is the idea and doctrine that divides Christianity from other faith-based groups. The burden of proof then remains on the documents that hold the contents to prove this doctrine, the Greek New Testament (NT). Therefore, in order to validate Jesus’ divinity, a close examination must be done of the NT in order to flush out exactly where one can be certain of not only direct claims of Christ’s divinity but also what the NT authors claim about him. In this paper I will be taking a text critical approach towards the first chapter of John’s Gospel in regard to the bold title and assertion of Θεὸς as it is applied to Jesus and assess this title in 1:1 and 1:18; along with a short note on theological implication. This will be my main goal rather than assessing the origin of the understanding of Jesus as divine (although such details will be mentioned in passing), and will be employing a reasoned eclecticism method, of which is the current accepted view among textual critics.

Scripture: A Very Theological Proposal (review)

Toronto Journal of Theology, 2011

Angus Paddison's work builds upon a recent trend that seeks a ''theological (re)engagement of Scripture'' (1). One sees behind this effort the influence of ressourcement in Catholic theology and beyond, that is, the desire to reclaim scriptural exegesis as true ''theology'' or ''words about God.'' More acutely, one senses here the contemporary discontent among many Christians who are tired of the ills of modernity's influence on their churches. Paddison, in this context, promotes a scripturally informed theology inseparable from the life of the ekklesia as rooted in its liturgical traditions. Paddison's book includes five chapters. The first lays a solid foundation for the particular hermeneutical stance that is the volume's presupposition. Paddison argues convincingly that Scripture is a text sifted, composed, and embraced by the people of God, and therefore can be rightly interpreted only through that community's eyes of faith. This faith is enacted in the praxis of worship, since the Church is expressed in its fullness in the gathering of the people of God, the proclamation of the word, and the breaking of the bread. Even if the bias of historical criticism seeks to find meaning in the text by digging into its original socio-cultural context, such criticism is truly relevant for scriptural exegesis only as the Church is oriented towards the eschaton. The Church transcends time, even as it is embedded in specific times and cultures; thus its exegesis is nurtured by the signs of the times, while it keeps its focus on eternity. The locus of scriptural interpretation is the Church's prayer, but God's word is pivotal for other dimensions of the Christian life. Paddison underlines ethics and doctrine in particular. The second chapter reflects on how Scripture, Church, and Christian ethics mutually inform each other, since Scripture provides the Church's system of meaning or ''imaginary,'' and the disciples' becoming like Christ transforms their life choices and actions. Thus, Scripture is the logos or reasoning of Christian ethics, just as scriptural reasoning promotes a stance of patience in Christians, who wait for the world and each other to be transformed by God's grace. Patience is nowhere more necessary than in questions of doctrine. This is the focus of the third chapter. Not only is there no such thing as sola scriptura divorced from the Church's history of scriptural reasoning, but the heritage of rich interpretation is the Church's deposit of faith. Thus, Scripture's claims make sense only as informed by the Church's ongoing reflection on the words of God, just as theology divorced from its grounding in Scripture loses its relevance. Paddison's argument gains practical traction in the final chapters, which tackle two principle contemporary contexts in which scriptural hermeneutics takes concrete form: preaching and academic scholarship. If Scripture is the book of the Church, then the homily is the natural environment for its proclamation. Homiletics cannot be reduced to formulas or rhetorical techniques, for breaking open the word of God is a task of contemplation and a gift of the Holy Spirit. Above all, preachers must be men and women of prayer who guide their congregations' rich engagement with the word of God through attentive listening. Lastly, Paddison stresses the university's need for the existential voice of theology born out of a participatory engagement with Scripture. He criticizes the academy's dogmatism and the fragmentation of its scholarly disciplines, and argues that theology must witness to a holistic vision of the world and of our place in it. Accordingly, theology itself must be healed of its brokenness by being teleologically oriented in the service of true human flourishing. Paddison's work is highly recommended for students of ministry and theology, who many times are baffled by the fragmentation in their programs of formation. In its spirit, it