Four Views on Moving Beyond the Bible to Theology - Edited by Gary T. Meadors (original) (raw)
Religious Studies Review, 2013
revision of former beliefs. However, good tethers are like strong belief systems: their formulations have been calculated to absorb a reasonable range of anticipated alternatives that warrant the reliability of the original set of beliefs. Yet during true peer disagreement, even experts (with equivalent skills and knowledge) would be less epistemically confident regarding the adequacy of their formulations, although this does not necessarily lead to the abandonment of beliefs. Kraft applies this process of epistemic adjudication observable in ordinary disagreement to religious disagreements, and argues that religious diversity compels one to draw from internal and external sources of knowledge to maintain justified belief while negotiating legitimate challenges. This book is a must read for especially epistemologists, analytic philosophers, and ecumenists interested in the dynamics underlying religious disagreements.
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.
Biblical Authority and Christian Praxis
This article develops a model of biblical authority for Christian praxis that takes fully into account its problematic dimensions. It argues that the Bible is to be understood as a means of grace which emerged out of a complex historical and interpretative process and that this process provides the model for how it can function authoritatively today. In particular it argues that five paradigmatic narratives emerge out of the process which decisively shaped Israel and the early churches understanding of God and God’s purposes in the world. Contemporary must engage in a creative response to our contexts shaped by the reinterpretation of these narratives
Reviews in Religion & Theology, 2018
pp., pb £??.?? Lee's Today When You Hear His Voice is an exploration into theological hermeneutics, seeking to address questions about how contemporary Christians can appropriate ancient Scripture. Lee's method is to hear how the book of Hebrews reads the Old Testament as Scripture, comparing this with the hermeneutical approaches of Augustine and Calvin. Over the course of the first four chapters, Lee argues that, in contrast to Augustine's mode of reading the Old Testament as signs, or Calvin's insistence on literal, Christological readings, Christian readers can follow the lead of the author of Hebrews, who reads the Old Testament as divine address, a living Word which speaks into the present. Two final chapters develop theologically the notion of divine address in conversation with a broader, modern theologies of scripture and hermeneutics. As an expansion and revision of a PhD dissertation, it is a thorough and detailed exposition, workman-like in its approach.
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
Southeastern Theological Review (STR), 2018
The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures (TEACS) is the third volume in a sort of informal trilogy that began in 1983 with the publication of Scripture and Truth, and continued in 1986 with Hermeneutics, Authority, and Canon (both volumes edited by D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge and published by Zondervan). After thirty-one years, and a host of new issues concerning hermeneutics and the authority of Scripture, it was time for a fresh evangelical contribution to the discussion—hence, TEACS. This anthology that brings together thirty-five essays from thirty-seven of the brightest minds within evangelical scholarship. The purpose of TEACS is to offer evangelicals a comprehensive, goto resource that not only addresses the nature and authority of Scripture in a scholarly, yet approachable manner but goes after “the jugular” of the most popular attacks on the authority of Scripture (see e.g., Carson’s helpful “Summarizing FAQs,” in Chapter 36).
Biblical theology as Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy In: Református Szemle 103/1 (2010)
Book review of Walter Brueggemann: Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 2005. Walter Brueggemann has written an impressive Old Testament theology. His approach is provocative for the OT Theology and is quite different from the models of W. Eichrodt and G. von Rad, who had dominated the twentieth century. Entering into discussion he summarizes the study of the OT Theology from the Reformation, and in the same time he describes his perspective on the social and theological environment within which an Old Testament must be elaborated today. Brueggemann gives a critic of different approaches, starting from Luther and throw Wellhausen, Bart, Alt, Noth, Eichordt, von Rad he arrives to the " Contemporary Situation " (Childs, Barr, Clines, Alter, etc.) characterised by plurality. Brueggemann points out how recent trends in scholarship have led to a move away from the hegemonic classical critical approaches to the incorporation of contributions from sociological and rhetorical criticism. Any interpretation now takes place within a pluralistic context, a reality, which for him is both challenging and enriching. There is no " interest-free interpretation, no interpretation that is not in the service of some interest and some sense advocacy ". Brueggemann particularly champions what he calls the " efforts at the margins, " those works arising from within the struggles of feminist, liberationist, and black theologies. But in the same manner he is criticising what he calls the " Centrist Enterprises "-Childs, Levenson, Barr and Rendtorff-. In his view primary attention must be given to the rhetoric and the rhetorical character of faith in the OT. Rhetorical criticism focuses on the final form of the biblical
Revisiting the Merits of a Contested Discipline: Reflections on the Study of Old Testament Theology
2015
Referring to his work as a New Testament scholar doing biblical theology, Peter Stuhlmacher maintains that "the more decisive impulses for understanding the NT [come] from OT scholars." 1 Whether or not this claim can be substantiated by Stuhlmacher's work, 2 my reading of Old Testament theology (OTT) more broadly has brought home both how frightening and how exciting this proposal is. That is, the rationale, methodology, and actual practice of OTT prove to be remarkably unsettled (for reasons that will become clear throughout this paper), and yet the potential OTT holds for illuminating Christian faith, practice, and reflection remains lamentably undervalued. This essay represents an attempt to chart a path through some of the major methodological issues involved in OTT, in order to (1) provide a means of evaluating the usefulness of the resources available, and (2) demonstrate that usefulness for the people of God today (at least as it might come to expression in my own roles of NT scholar, educator, and person of faith). To this end, I will first present brief arguments for my convictions about seven areas of methodological disagreement that I have deemed most crucial, and in the process I will present a working model for OTT. Second, in light of these methodological convictions, I will offer a brief example of how OTT might positively reshape the way Christians approach the NT and Christian life more broadly, by drawing out some ways OTT can deepen our understanding of a theological motif I have identified in the Gospel of John. Part One: Methodological Issues Audience and the Question of Theological Commitments Ben C. Ollenburger perhaps overstates the case with his suggestion that "[m]ethodology is also theology," but the point stands (like it or not) that OT theologians must offer rationale for their
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
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.
Beyond the Book: Rethinking Biblical Religion, Autumn 2016
In both scholarly analysis and the popular imagination, premodern Jewry is often envisioned as the people of the Book par excellence—a community in which both practice and belief emerge from the interpretation of Scripture. As a practical consequence, the study of premodern Judaism(s) has largely been relegated to the Society of Biblical Literature and cognate organizations—which has, in turn, subtly reinforced this trend by disproportionately promoting work on early Judaism that coincides with these institution's charge to advance biblical studies. The intellectual implications of this categorization have not been entirely benign. The Bible continues to be shrouded in an aura of sui generity in a great deal of contemporary scholarly discourse. As a result, the traditional portrait of classical Judaism as the religion of the Hebrew Bible has often led researchers to treat premodern Judaism(s) as somehow exempt from the comparative observations that have come to structure the study of other religions and ancient cultural traditions in the academy. An emerging body of new research, however, has begun to bring the study of premodern Judaism(s) back in line with the study of other religious movements and historical traditions in this regard, by revealing that early Judaism was not always as Bible-centric as the traditional scholarly portrait suggests. Or at least, this work draws our attention to the fact that premodern Jews did not always engage with the biblical tradition in the ways that we have come to imagine that religious practitioners will relate to this canonical text. This series seeks to bring together scholars working on these issues to encourage the development of this new line of research.
New Testament Theology Re-Loaded
New Testament Theology Re-Loaded: Integrating Biblical Theology and Christian Origins
This study examines the problem of balancing the historical and theological components of New Testament Theology. It presents a critique of both Biblical Theology and Christian Origins and finally argues for a ‘Theology of the New Covenant’ where theology emerges out of the interface of canon and community.