The Necessary Angel: Imagination and the Bible

1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-188
Author(s):  
Mark Coleridge
Keyword(s):  
Correct Interpretation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The Church

The point of this article is to explore the role of imagination in both the production and interpretation of the biblical texts. To speak of the metaphoric character of the Bible is to reject all authoritarian notions of interpretation which would claim that there is only one correct interpretation of a text. The biblical texts demand constantly fresh interpretations, the discovery of new possibilities. All our reading of the Scripture runs down to the sea of adoration, into that dark moment when we surrender to the infinite possibility which imagination has perceived at the heart of things. A failure to actualise Scripture in the life of the Church is a failure primarily of imagination.

Inspiration and Textual Preservation: A Catholic Essay on the Bible

Pro Ecclesia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 106385122199391
Author(s):  
James B. Prothro
Keyword(s):  
Textual Criticism ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Single Text ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The Church

The doctrine of inspiration grounds Christian use and interpretation of Scripture, making this doctrine at once theoretical and practical. Many theoretical accounts, however, restrict the “inspired” status of biblical texts to a single text-form, which introduces problems for the practical use of Scripture in view of the texts’ historical multiformity. This article argues that such restrictions of inspiration are theologically problematic and unnecessary. Contextualizing inspiration within the divine revelatory economy, this article argues that the Spirit’s same goals and varied activities in the texts’ composition obtain also in their preservation, so that we can consider multiple forms of a text to be inspired while acknowledging that not all forms are inspired to equal ends in the history and life of the church. The article concludes with hermeneutical reflections affirming that we, today, can read the “word of the Lord” while also affirming the place of textual criticism in theological interpretation.

The Role of Women

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Bramadat
Keyword(s):  
Senior Pastors ◽  
Christian Reformed ◽  
Level Of Involvement ◽  
Evangelical Churches ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Evangelical Women ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Church

Whenever I describe the IVCF to non-Christian academic peers, they almost invariably express their astonishment at the fact that at virtually every IVCF event I attend, approximately 70% of the participants are women. Perhaps this level of involvement is not unusual in the world of contemporary Protestantism; after all, in many of the churches IVCF members attend every Sunday, women outnumber men. However, the proportion of women to men is not as high in evangelical churches as it is in the IVCF (Bibby 1987:102; Rawlyk 1996:143). As well, women’s roles are usually much more tightly controlled in many if not most evangelical churches than they are in the IVCF. In fact, IVCF participants who attend churches in the Fellowship Baptist, Christian Reformed, and Brethren traditions may never see a woman in the pulpit, or, if women are allowed to speak at the front of the church, they are not usually permitted to become senior pastors or interpret the Bible. At the IVCF functions I have attended, however, women are in no way restricted in their abilities to lead worship, deliver sermons, organize events, or perform any of the myriad tasks involved in maintaining the group. In fact, the chapter’s paid staff worker is a woman, and she tries to ensure that the position of president alternates between a male and a female student every other year. I began to wonder how to make sense of the high level of female participation at every McMaster IVCF event I attended, especially in light of the fact that the scholarly literature on evangelicalism in North America often depicts the tradition as inimical or opposed to the egalitarian or feminist values that are so prevalent at universities. During my research, I found that many, but not all, of the evangelical women I interviewed maintain nonegalitarian views on the role of women. In other words, the common academic depiction of the place of women in evangelicalism seems to be confirmed by my experience, even though I hope to nuance this portrayal somewhat.

Rediscovering the Formative Power of Scripture Reading for the Church

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-42
Author(s):  
Mark A. Maddix
Keyword(s):  
Christian Faith ◽  
Modern Approach ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Bible Reading ◽  
The Church

Central to Christianity is the belief is that the Bible is inspired and authoritative for Christian faith and practice. Even though Christians affirm the authority of the Bible, there is a decline in Bible reading and Scripture usage in worship and discipleship. More recent biblical scholarship, built on a pre-modern approach to interpretation, moves to a reader-centered approach to biblical reading. The focus of this article is to explore a reader-centered approach to Bible reading that gives focus to the role of Scripture as means of formation. This rediscovery of the formative power of Scripture has implications for how the Bible is appropriated in worship and discipleship for the church.

Interpreting the Bible Amidst Ecological Degradation

Theology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 112 (867) ◽  
pp. 199-207
Author(s):  
Ernst M. Conradie
Keyword(s):  
Crucial Role ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
Ecological Degradation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Contemporary Context

This essay explores the role of interpretative strategies in biblical interpretation. It is argued that ‘doctrinal constructs’ play a crucial role in appropriating the significance of biblical texts in and for a particular contemporary context. Various such constructs typically employed for an ecological biblical hermeneutics are analysed. Suggestions are offered towards the use of more sophisticated constructs, with reference to the notions of the ‘liberation of creation’, the ‘wisdom of God’ and the ‘whole household of God’.

A Text with Teeth: Augustine’s Exegesis of Song of Songs 4:2 as Paradigm of His Hermeneutics

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Song Of Songs ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
Scriptural Interpretation ◽  
Modern Reader ◽  
Love Of God ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The Church

In the second book of his treatise on scriptural interpretation, On Christian Doctrine, Augustine introduces the theme of the obscurity of some biblical texts with a quotation from the notoriously difficult Song of Songs: ‘‘Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes coming up from the washing, which all give birth to twins, and there is not one among them that is barren’’ (4:2). Unsurprisingly, he finds references to baptism and the double commandment of love of God and neighbour. What strikes a modern reader is Augustine’s unembarrassed use of violent imagery to describe how the saints cut off errors and then chew the newly converted until they are soft for digestion by the Church. In later texts, Augustine will advert to the violence of biblical imagery to emphasize the necessity of transformation into the likeness of God and to reinforce the eschatological hope of the Church. This paper will examine the role of difficulty and obscurity in Augustine’s understanding of the process by which Scripture forms and orients its readers to prepare them for the vision of heaven.

Friendship and Rivalry: The Role of Amicitia in Twelfth-Century Monastic Relations

1993 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 390-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Haseldine
Keyword(s):  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
The Bible ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Church

The proliferation of new monastic orders in the twelfth century presented the Church with a dilemma which had previously challenged the theologians of Christendom: the flowering of diversity within the unity of the faith. Just as theologians had had to resolve contradictions among the writings of the Fathers – the primary authorities for the interpretation of the Bible, and hence the elucidation of God's truth as it was perceived – so, in the new climate of monastic revival, ecclesiastical leaders had to come to terms with the existence of a variety of new interpretations of the Rule of St Benedict, and indeed that of St Augustine – the primary guides to the living of a true Christian life.

Loitering with Intent: Biblical Texts in Public Places

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 566-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Print Media ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Public Places ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Natural Place ◽  
The Common ◽  
Biblical Texts

AbstractThis essay is about the effect of the Bible in the public arena. It explores the fate of biblical texts as they find themselves in the popular press. Secular newspapers are not the natural place to look for biblical citations but now and then they make appearances either to support or subvert issues ranging from asylumseekers to the use of corporal punishment for children. At a time when biblical allusions and imagery have all but evaporated from the Western consciousness, the intermittent showing up of sacred texts in the secular print media is a sign that the scriptures still have some hermeneutical hold. The essay looks at four areas—international conflict, sexual orientation, law and order and bringing-up children—where biblical texts are being summoned either to endorse or to repudiate. The essay raises hermeneutical issues such as how biblical texts are used in print media, the nature of the texts employed, the interface between popular and professional reading, the role of the common reader as a biblical commentator, and concludes with an examination of the standing and sway of the Bible as it moves outside its own natural habitat.

CONFORMITY, NONCONFORMITY, AND CRITICAL SOLIDARITY: The Church-State Issue and the Use of the Bible

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 240-261
Author(s):  
Johannes Nissen
Keyword(s):  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Nationalism And Identity ◽  
Just Society ◽  
Bible Reading ◽  
The Church

AbstractThe focus of this article is on the church-state issue, particularly in relation to the use of the Bible. The article has three parts. The first introductory part identifies four contemporary challenges: the attitude of Christians toward asylum-seekers and refugees, the question of civil disobedience, the role of the church in nation-building and the problem of nationalism and identity. Then follows some notes on the question of definition and methodology. The way we define the "state" influences our selection of relevant biblical texts. Any use of the Bible must face the risk of "proof texting." The second part offers some historical comments on selected texts. This includes the traditional "state" texts as well as other texts that reveal a critical perspective on the power issue. The third part points at a number of hermeneutical problems: (1) diversity and unity in the New Testament; (2) various levels of authority; (3) selective Bible reading and the method of correlation; (4) three different ways of perceiving the church-state issue: assimilation, alienation and critical solidarity. Both formation and malformation can be the result of the encounter of the churches with the public world. The article concludes with some reflections on the search for a just society in the biblical tradition.

scholarly journals Lessons from the Early Church for Today’s Evangelical Christianity

Kairos ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-90
Author(s):  
Ervin Budiselić
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Evangelical Christianity ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Rule Of Faith ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

Presuming that within Evangelical Christianity there is a crisis of biblical interpretation, this article seeks to address the issue, especially since Evangelicals view the existence of the church as closely connected to the proclamation of the Truth. Starting with a position that Evangelical hermeneutics is not born in a vacuum, but is the result of a historical process, the first part of the article introduces the problem of sola and solo scriptura, pointing out some problematic issues that need to be addressed. In the second part, the article discusses patristic hermeneutics, especially: a) the relationship between Scripture and tradition embodied in regula fidei and; b) theological presuppositions which gave birth to allegorical and literal interpretations of Scripture in Alexandria and Antioch. In the last part of the article, based on lessons from the patristic era, certain revisions of the Evangelical practice of the interpretation of Scripture are suggested. Particularly, Evangelicals may continue to hold the Bible as the single infallible source for Christian doctrine, continue to develop the historical-grammatical method particularly in respect to the issue of the analogy of faith in exegetical process, but also must recognize that the Bible cannot in toto play the role of the rule of faith or the analogy of faith. Something else must also come into play, and that “something” would definitely be the recovery of the patristic period “as a kind of doctrinal canon.”

scholarly journals Repliek op Van der Watt se artikel oor ‘Intertekstualiteit en oorinterpretasie: Verwysings na Genesis 28:12 in Johannes 1:51?’

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hennie F. Stander
Keyword(s):  
Church Fathers ◽  
John 1 ◽  
History Of Interpretation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

A response to Van der Watt’s article on ‘Intertextuality and over-interpretation: References to Genesis 28:12 in John 1:51?’ This article is a response to an article of Van der Watt titled ‘Intertextuality and over-interpretation: References to Genesis 28:12 in John 1:51?’ (2016). He states in this article that his aim is ‘to illustrate the dangers of over-interpretation when dealing with intertextual relations between texts, especially when allusion is assumed’. He then gives a brief survey of different interpretations of John 1:51. Van der Watt shows in his article how theologians use themes from Genesis 28:12 (like the ladder, Jacob or Bethel, which are not mentioned in John 1:51) in their expositions of John 1:51. Van der Watt regards some of these expositions as examples of over-interpretation. The aim of my article is to show how Church Fathers interpreted Genesis 28:12 and John 1:51. I show in my article that the Church Fathers saw several parallels between these two sections from the Bible. Furthermore, I suggest that the early theologians’ interpretations formed a tradition that probably influenced modern interpreters of the Bible. I also discuss the role of typology in the history of interpretation, specifically also in the case of Genesis 28:12 and John 1:51. I then argue that it is perhaps not so far-fetched to see an intertextual relation between Genesis 28:12 and John 1:51.

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