Book Review of The Concept of Biblical Theology (Barr) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Review of Understanding Biblical Theology
Recent years have witnessed an astounding growth of interest in biblical theology both on the popular and scholarly levels. New series, dictionaries, and monographs continue to be written and read. The explosion of published works has been in no sense monolithic, resulting in a multitude of definitions of, approaches to, and methods for biblical theology. Many find it difficult to get a grasp on what exactly is intended when an author describes her work as "biblical theology." Indeed, two writers can use the same term and mean very different things. One problem, particularly for beginning students, is that there has been no resource to use as an entry-point into the discussion. The authors of Understanding Biblical Theology have sought to fill the need for an introductory text by presenting a descriptive work that leads readers to encounter five approaches to the discipline.
Biblical Theology is a much talked-about enterprise pursued with little agreement on method or goal. Biblical Theology’s lack of definition is out of proportion to the potential importance of its findings both for the academy and the church. Rather than offering a new definition of Biblical Theology, this paper sketches a framework for such a definition by describing various theories and practices of “whole Bible” Biblical Theologies published since 2000. Using the categories developed in Understanding Biblical Theology (Zondervan, 2012), this paper categorizes a range of recent offerings by plotting them on a spectrum extending from more historical to more theological. Noting especially how each work settles issues of historical diversity versus theological unity, the descriptive versus prescriptive nature of the discipline, whether Biblical Theology is an academic or ecclesial discipline, and especially the kind and degree of unity/disunity between the Old and New Testaments, this paper will isolate the weaknesses of each work. Here a pervasive weakness surfaces, namely, the failure to consider the canon as a criterion for Biblical Theology. Upon isolating this and other shortcomings, the paper will conclude by arguing for a broader, more eclectic approach to Biblical Theology—one that balances both historical and theological concerns as a fitting way forward.
Review of Biblical Literature, 2019
Description: This book offers two things in particular: first, these are papers that have been commented on and re-worked in the context of a set of lively sessions from (International) SBL conferences from 2012 to 2014 (Amsterdam, St. Andrews, Vienna). Second, they offer an insight into the origins of the discipline as one which became conscious of itself in the early modern era and the turn to history and the analysis of texts, to offer something exegetical and synthetic. The fresh wind that the enterprise received in the latter part of the twentieth century is the focus of the second part of the volume, which describes the recent activity up to the present "state of the question" The third part takes a step further to anticipate the way forward for the discipline in an era where "canon"--but also "Scripture" and "theology"--seem to be alien terms, and where other ideologies are advanced in the name of neutrality. Biblical Theology will aim to be true to the evidence of the text: it will not always see clearly, but it will rely on the best of biblical criticism and theological discernment to help it. That is the spirit with which this present volume is imbued. Subjects: Methods, Theological Approaches, Biblical Theology
Book Review on The Concept of Biblical theology by James Bar
James Bar was Regius Professor of Hebrew Emeritus in the University of Oxford. He died in 2006. He is the author of Semantics of Biblical language (1961) and Biblical Words and their Meanings (1983). Barr is trying to bring together various approaches in the field of biblical theology and systematically derived his own position.
Book Review of A Historical Theology of the Hebrew Bible
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Seminary, 2019
In this study, Konrad Schmid offers a historical clarification of the concept of "theology." He then examines the theologies of the three constituent parts of the Hebrew Bible-the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings-before tracing how these theological concepts developed throughout the history of ancient Israel and early Judaism. Schmid not only explores the theology of the biblical books in isolation, but he also offers unifying principles and links between the distinct units that make up the Hebrew Bible. By focusing on both the theology of the whole Hebrew Bible as well as its individual pieces, A Historical Theology of the Hebrew Bible provides a comprehensive discussion of theological work within the Hebrew Bible.
AN EMPIRICALLY CORROBORATED BIBLICAL THEOLOGY APPROACH FOR THEOLOGICAL CONTRUCTION
The field of biblical theology is quite complex; for instance, there is disagreement and hence no "simple definition" on the meaning of the word "biblical." i Ebeling defines biblical theology as theology contained in the Bible as the theology of the Bible itself. ii For Murphy, biblical theology is 'a [theologian's] construal of biblical data according to biblical categories into a complex whole, based on some organizing principle (s) chosen by the interpreter, such as covenant, tradition history or something similar.' iii Murphy defines biblical theology based on the process of theological construction and makes a distinction between the theology contained in the Bible from interpreters' interpretations. In view of the existing spectrum of definitions for biblical theology, Childs points out perceptively that 'the real question is not whether to do biblical theology or not, but rather what kind of biblical theology does one have.' iv This paper understands theology as the study of God in the context of the human relationship with God and His creation. It is built on the premise that there is a practical character of theology
Invitation to Biblical Theology: Exploring the Shape, Storyline, and Themes of Scripture
Invitation to Biblical Theology, 2020
From the Back Cover: Invitation to Biblical Theology provides a thorough overview of biblical theology that is accessible for those new to the topic but substantial enough for advanced study. Defining biblical theology as the study of the whole Bible on its own terms, Jeremy Kimble and Ched Spellman begin with a brief history of the discipline followed by a survey of contemporary approaches. They then lay out their own approach, built on the framework of the canon, the covenants, and the Christ. Taking God's plan of redemption in Christ as the uniting theme of Scripture, Kimble and Spellman survey the grand storyline of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, showing how each division of the canon moves the overarching story forward. The following ten chapters survey central and recurring themes of Scripture including kingdom, worship, Messiah and atonement, God's glory, and mission. The authors conclude with reflections on how biblical theology can serve the church as well as the academy. For more details, see: https://www.chedspellman.com/2020/09/BiblicalTheology.html