scholarly journals Christian Scripture and American Scripture: An Instructive Analogy?

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Kalscheur
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Political Community ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
American Law ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Biblical Interpretation ◽  
The Church ◽  
The U.S

As a Jesuit priest whose ministry includes the teaching of constitutional law, I regularly struggle with the task of interpreting two foundational normative texts: the Bible and the U.S. Constitution. The Bible plays a central normative role in the life of the Church, while the Constitution provides a normative framework for American law and politics. These texts ground the ongoing lives of both the Church and the American political community. Both of these textually constituted communities face the challenge of appropriating for contemporary experience a normative text produced in a significantly different historical context. But can American constitutional lawyers learn anything from the ways in which the Bible has been interpreted within the life of the Church?Jaroslav Pelikan, eminent historian of the Church's doctrinal tradition and Sterling Professor of History Emeritus at Yale, believes that those engaged in the enterprise of constitutional interpretation can indeed learn something from the history of biblical interpretation. Drawing on a life-long “study of the twenty centuries of interpreting Christian Scriptures,” Pelikan offers his new book,Interpreting the Bible and the Constitution, in the hope that it “may be of some help and illumination … to those who stand in the tradition of the two centuries of interpreting American Scripture.” (37)

scholarly journals Historiese teologie in ʼn veranderende konteks

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim A. Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Church History ◽  
Church Polity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Missions History ◽  
History Of Theology ◽  
Historical Theology ◽  
History Of Biblical Interpretation ◽  
The Church ◽  
Precarious Situation

In this contribution, the author reflects on historical theology as theological discipline. After a short introduction to the precarious situation of church history as a theological discipline in South Africa and the question of faith and history, the contribution presents an analysis of Gerhard Ebeling’s 1947 publication on church history in which he proposed that church history should be understood as a history of Biblical interpretation. Based on some of the principles Ebeling delineated, the author proposes that historical theology could be applied to five areas of research: prolegomena, history of the church, history of missions, history of theology and church polity. The point is made that historical theology, when properly structured and presented, could play a major role in enriching the theological and ecclesial conversation and in assisting the church in the process of reformation and transformation.Keywords: Gerhard Ebeling; Hermeneutics; Church History

scholarly journals Retoriese kritiek en die interpretasie van die Ou Testament

1999 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
H.J.M. Van Deventer
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Literary Theory ◽  
Rhetorical Criticism ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Modern History ◽  
Short Overview ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
Basic Approaches ◽  
History Of Biblical Interpretation

Rhetorical criticism and the interpretation of the Old Testament Modern history of Biblical interpretation presents us with two basic approaches to the text of the Bible, viz. historical and literary approaches. This article proposes rhetorical criticism as a process of interpretation that analyses both the historical and literary features of a text. After a short overview of the modern use of the term, especially within the field of Biblical interpretation, this article investigates various “forms” of rhetorical criticism as proposed by scholars working in the fields of general literary theory, a well as Biblical (Old and New Testament) interpretation. The article concludes by proposing a form of rhetorical criticism for interpreting texts from the Old Testament.

scholarly journals Geloofsekerheid in die kerk se geskiedenis van Bybelinterpretasie

2001 ◽  
Vol 57 (3/4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kobus Labuscbagne
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
History Of Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Original Audience ◽  
The Church

Assurance of faith in the church's history of Biblical interpretation. The aim of this article is to focus on biblical interpretaion. It relects on the implications of biblical interpretaion for the foundaions of faith. People generally understand their world on the basis of their own presupposed convicions and on the basis of what they already know and have experienced of life. This tendency afects interpreters, understanding of the original audience of biblical texts. The article argues that the challenge to study Scipture accurately and objecively requires hermeneutical guidelines from the church in order to prevent subjecivism.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Barshinger
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Jonathan Edwards ◽  
Important Contributor ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Biblical Interpretation

David P. Barshinger introduces the need for a book exploring Jonathan Edwards’ interpretation of the Bible, highlighting how much of a shaping influence Christian Scripture had on him throughout his life. This introduction gives a taste of the place of the Bible in Edwards’ thought and experience, particularly visible in his work as a preacher, revivalist, and theologian, and it provides summaries of the chapter contributions in the volume. Barshinger calls for greater attention to Edwards as biblical exegete, for understanding Edwards’ place in the stream of sola scriptura, and for recognizing Edwards as an important contributor in the history of biblical interpretation.

scholarly journals Does the Lord Speak with a Forked Tongue? Solutions for Unity in a Diverse Biblical Corpus

Lumen et Vita ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Fitzroy
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Task Set ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
Biblical Scholar ◽  
History Of Biblical Interpretation

Does the Bible present a unified message from God to humanity? This paper is an attempt to undertake the task set forth by biblical scholar G. Ernest Wright, who said: “The question of the unity of the Bible’s message is one that will never be satisfactorily solved, though it is one which every generation of Christians must seek to solve.” This investigation, while framed as a “personal attempt,” looks at the biblical-theological issue of unity and diversity within the Bible to try to form some theologically synthetic answer to the above question. This investigation dialogues with the history of biblical interpretation by first looking at issues related to diversity in the New Testament (“Micro-diversity”) and then to the Bible as a whole (“Macrodiversity”) to see if we can understand a “whole Bible biblical Theology.” Finally, this paper explores some of the implications of the answers to these questions for the modern Christians.

Rembrandt Reads the Gospels: Form, Context and Theological Responsibility in New Testament Interpretation

1997 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Marsh
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
Constructive Theology ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Biblical Scholar ◽  
Road Story ◽  
The Church

Art is part of the history of the church, and relates to spirituality and to the practical expression of Christian faith. It illustrates theological loci and biblical themes. Often, the art which fulfils this function does so with the conscious intent of the artist; sometimes not. Attempts have been made, however, to argue that art not only illustrates theology, but also contributes to it. Even so, systematic theologians and biblical scholars — when they do talk to each other — still converse on the basis of largely word-centred approaches to their tasks. I am neither systematic theologian nor biblical scholar, precisely because I attempt to keep a foot in both camps. I am even less of an art critic. Yet it is clear that in the world of art there is a whole area of exploration yet to be ventured into not only historically (have we really sufficiently explored how biblical interpretation and doctrinal theology have been influenced by art?) but also from the perspective of constructive theology (what contribution can art past and present make to the very reformulation and expansion of Christian doctrine?). This paper offers a brief reading of three paintings by Rembrandt, of the Emmaus Road story in Luke 24.13–35. The theological significance of the changing interpretations of the passage is drawn out and the implications of the use of the paintings, in terms of the creative use of the Bible in Christian theology.

Postcolonial Liberation: Decolonizing Biblical Studies in the South African Postcolony

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald O. West
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
The South ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
The Bible ◽  
African Black ◽  
History Of ◽  
Land Economics ◽  
The 1960S

Liberation biblical interpretation and postcolonial biblical interpretation have a long history of mutual constitution. This essay analyzes a particular context in which these discourses and their praxis have forged a third conversation partner: decolonial biblical interpretation. African and specifically South African biblical hermeneutics are the focus of reflections in this essay. The South African postcolony is a “special type” of postcolony, as the South African Communist Party argued in the 1960s. The essay charts the characteristics of the South African postcolony and locates decolonial biblical interpretation within the intersections of these features. Race, culture, land, economics, and the Bible are forged in new ways by contemporary social movements, such as #FeesMustFall. South African biblical studies continues to draw deeply on the legacy of South African black theology, thus reimagining African biblical studies as decolonial African biblical studies—a hybrid of African liberation and African postcolonial biblical interpretation.

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