A Hermeneutics of Social Embodiment

1986 ◽  
Vol 79 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 176-186
Author(s):  
Wayne A. Meeks
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
The Other ◽  
Literary Analysis ◽  
Clear Distinction ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
New Testament Studies ◽  
Biblical Scholar

When Krister Stendahl's article “Biblical Theology” appeared in the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible in 1962, it caused no little consternation in some circles. He insisted that the primary intellectual task of the biblical scholar was to make a clear distinction between what the text meant in its original setting and what it means. That ran directly counter to the practical aims of the dominant interpretive schools of the day, which wanted, as Karl Barth had once said, to dissolve “the differences between then and now.” Today the distinction for which Stendahl argued so lucidly is taken for granted in most biblical scholarship, and the question is whether there can be any significant connection between “then” and “now.” New Testament studies threatens to divide into two contrary ways of reading texts. One is a rigorously historical quest, in which all the early Christian documents alike, canonical and extracanonical, are treated as sources for reconstructing the diverse and curious varieties of the early Christian movement. The other way of reading cares not at all where the texts came from or what they originally meant; by purely literary analysis it wishes to help text and reader to confront one another continually anew.

The Orthodox Christians and the Bible

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Roeber
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Biblical Study ◽  
English Translations ◽  
New Testament Studies ◽  
European Immigrants ◽  
History Of

Orthodox Christians (Eastern or Oriental) regard the Bible as an integral but not exclusive part of tradition. They have historically encountered the Bible primarily through their liturgical worship. No fixed “canon” describes the role of the Bible in Orthodoxy. The history of the Orthodox Bible in America moved in stages that reflected the mission to First Peoples, arrival of Middle Eastern and Eastern European immigrants, and the catastrophic impact of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia on Orthodox communities in America. Recovery from the fragmented, ethno-linguistic expressions of Orthodoxy occurred only after World War II. Orthodox biblical scholarship began in earnest in those years and today Orthodox biblical scholars participate in national and international biblical studies and incorporate scholarly approaches to biblical study with patristic commentary and perspectives. Parish-level studies and access to English translations have proliferated although New Testament studies continue to outpace attention given to the Hebrew Bible.

The Problem of a New Testament Theology

1973 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernst Käsemann
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
The Other ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Church

In the Protestant tradition the Bible has long been regarded as the sole norm for the Church. It was from this root that, in the seventeenth century, there sprang first of all ‘biblical theology’, from which New Testament theology later branched off at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Radical historical criticism too kept closely to this tradition, and F. C. Baur made such a theology the goal of all his efforts in the study of the New Testament. Since that time the question how the problem thus posed is to be tackled and solved has remained a living issue in Germany. On the other hand, the problem for a long time held no interest for other church traditions, although here too the position has changed within the last two decades. In 1950 Meinertz wrote the first Catholic exposition, while the theme was taken up in France by Bonsirven in 1951, and by Richardson in England in 1958. Popular developments along these lines were to follow.

scholarly journals The legacy of Circle women�s engagement with the Bible: Reflections from an African male biblical scholar

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lovemore Togarasei
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Gender Politics ◽  
African Women ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Biblical Scholar

The entry of women into religious and theological studies has revolutionised the modus operandi of these disciplines. Especially with the formation of the Circle of Concerned Women Theologians, the study of these disciplines has never been the same. In this article, an attempt is made to consider the legacy of women theologians in the area of biblical interpretation. Specifically, the article looks at how members of the Circle have interpreted the Bible in their quest for a theology that responds to African women�s experiences. The article discusses Circle biblical scholars� methods of interpreting the Bible, what they have managed to achieve, as well as pointing out areas that still call for attention. It concludes that Circle biblical scholars, like all African Biblical Interpretation, are engaged scholars who serve both the need for intellectual growth as well as solving the pressing needs of their societies.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article primarily focuses on how members of the Circle of Concerned Women Theologians have interpreted the Bible in their quest for justice. It therefore engages several disciplines: biblical interpretation, theology, gender, politics, health, and so on.Keywords: African Biblical interpretation; Women theologians; Bible; legacy;engaged Biblical Scholarship

On Not Neglecting Hatred

1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 511-518
Author(s):  
Daniel Kendall ◽  
Gerald O'Collins
Keyword(s):  
First World War ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
The Other ◽  
World War ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The First World War ◽  
First World

In 1918, on the very day the First World War ended, Karl Barth (1886–1968) wrote of doing theology with the Bible in one hand and the newspapers in the other. The scriptures and the daily papers converge in presenting one real, if highly unpleasant, feature of our human existence: hatred.

scholarly journals Skrifbeskouing in die lig van postmoderniteit

2004 ◽  
Vol 60 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andries G. Van Aarde
Keyword(s):  
Karl Barth ◽  
The Other ◽  
Friedrich Schleiermacher ◽  
Paradigm Shifts ◽  
Human Speech ◽  
The Bible ◽  
God's Word ◽  
Postmodern Theology ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

Perspective on Scripture in light of postmodernityThe aim of the article is to focus on the Reformers’ so-called “Scripture Principle” in light of the paradigm shifts from pre-modern, to modern and to postmodern theology. The “Scripture Principle” relates mainly to two notions: the Bible is God’s word in human speech and Scripture is handed to all believers who are encouraged to interpret it for themselves. In light of the perspectives on Scripture by Friedrich Schleiermacher, Karl Barth, and Rudolf Bultmann, the article discusses the “Scripture Principle” according to three positions: the Bible as book of the church; the Bible as book of believers; the Bible as book of theologians. The article advocates tolerance for users of the Bible to regard the authority of Scripture in concurrence with anyone of these positions without the hegemony of the one over the other. Yet, an overlap is an indication of postmodern theology.

PIETISTS, JURISTS, AND THE EARLY ENLIGHTENMENT CRITIQUE OF PRIVATE CONFESSION IN LUTHERAN GERMANY

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 627-656
Author(s):  
TERENCE MCINTOSH
Keyword(s):  
Natural Law ◽  
Special Form ◽  
The Other ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Central Figure ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Historical Origins

From the 1680s to the 1720s German Lutheran pastors’ use of private confession and suspension from Communion as a means of disciplining wayward parishioners generated seminal theological and intellectual debates. They were driven by Pietists and secular natural law jurists and concerned ultimately the purported corruption in the early Christian church that led to the abusive, unwarranted, and centuries-long intrusion of clerical power into secular affairs. By investigating these debates, this essay reveals in new ways the constructive collision of two different intellectual predispositions—one clerical, the other legal—that propelled the early Enlightenment in Germany. Letters from the 1680s and other writings of Philipp Jakob Spener, the father of German Pietism, show how he and fellow clergymen wrestled with specific pastoral challenges regarding the disciplining of allegedly unrepentant and incorrigible sinners. Christian Thomasius, a central figure in the early Enlightenment, and other secular natural law jurists vigorously rebutted the Pietists’ claims by critically examining the practice of confession in the primitive church, thereby exposing the historical origins of priestcraft. In doing so, Thomasius highlighted affinities between his work and that of the radical Pietist Gottfried Arnold, who had indicted the clergies of Christian churches for their unjust and inveterate persecution of religious dissidents. But Thomasius also faulted Arnold for weaknesses in his biblical scholarship. Thomasius's criticism points to the special form of biblical scholarship that secular natural law jurists had helped to develop and that predisposed them to embrace radical interpretations of Scripture, a potent stimulant of early Enlightenment thought.

Canonical Hermeneutics: Childs and Barth

1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles J. Scalise
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
The Other ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Early Article ◽  
Church Dogmatics ◽  
The Bible ◽  
As If

‘The Bible is not concerned with transmitting general truths about God, but is the Word of God calling forth a response.’ This declaration, which sounds as if it might be found in the first volume of theChurch Dogmaticsin one of the other early writings of Karl Barth, is actually a quotation from an early article by Brevard Childs entitled, ‘Jonah: A Study in Old Testament Hermeneutics’.

scholarly journals Fundamentalism on stilts: A response to Alvin Platinga�s reformed epistemology

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaco S. Gericke
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Alvin Plantinga ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
Philosophical Reflection ◽  
The Past ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Interdisciplinary Dialogue ◽  
Reformed Epistemology ◽  
Biblical Scholar

During the greater part of the 20th century, biblical scholarship and the philosophy of religion were not considered to have much in common. However, towards the end of the millennium, a movement of a few Christian philosophers of religion called �Reformed Epistemology� (RE) suggested the need for interdisciplinary dialogue. With Alvin Plantinga as primary representative, these philosophers claimed to be concerned with what they considered to be the lack of philosophical reflection on the foundations of historical criticism and its non-traditional findings. In this article, the author (qua biblical scholar) suggests that Plantinga�s arguments have not been taken seriously because of his fundamentalism and the resulting failure to grasp the nature and contents of the hermeneutical debates that have raged within biblical theology for the past 200 years.

scholarly journals Karl Barth’s interpretation of Scripture from the perspective of a possible “second naivety”

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
HL Bosman
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Methodological Reflection

Although the theological exegesis of Karl Barth cannot be depicted as “naïve”, his cumulative style of interpretation presupposes that the Bible entails a “new world” that has a threefold character and that requires a “second naivety” as suggested by Paul Ricoeur (i.e. an interpretive position beyond criticism) as its hermeneutical point of departure: (i) an inner core of divine revelation in Jesus Christ; (ii) the prophetic and apostolic witness in the Bible that makes the divine core accessible for interpretation; (iii) the proclamation or preaching of the biblical witness that is rooted in this “second naivety”. Critical scholarship in general and historical-criticism in particular are not rejected outright, but theological exegesis must move beyond criticism. In the early part of his career Barth, when appointed as a lecturer in New Testament, Barth took serious note of critical biblical scholarship. However, the jury is still out whether critical biblical exegesis remained an important point of reference in Barth’s later publications and whether his reluctance to engage in hermeneutical and methodological reflection caused a lack of the self-criticism presupposed by a “second naivety”.

scholarly journals The Anglophone Significance of the Work of Joachim Jeremias

2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Peter Townley
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Ecumenical Movement ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
New Testament Studies ◽  
Biblical Scholar ◽  
The University

Following his outstanding tenure as Professor of New Testament Studies at the Georg-August Universität Göttingen, Joachim Jeremias died eleven years after his retirement in 1968 on the 6th September 1979. Renowned as an eminent Neutestamentler throughout the world, with his works translated into many languages, a Symposium was held at the University in Göttingen in October 2019 to celebrate Jeremias’s life and scholarship on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his death. With contributions reflecting the breadth of his thinking and the depth of the affection in which he is still held, this particular contribution focussed on the Anglophone significance of Jeremias’s work not only as a Biblical scholar, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the world of the Bible, but also to his sometimes indirect but significant contribution to the work of the ecumenical movement and the formation of clergy.

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