Henry Wansbrough: The Use and Abuse of the Bible – A Brief History of Biblical Interpretation

2011 ◽  
Vol 81 (04) ◽  
pp. 311-313
Author(s):  
Reidar Aasgaard
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Biblical Interpretation

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.

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 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 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.

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.

Reception Theory, H. R. Jauss and the Formative Power of Scripture

2012 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony C. Thiselton
Keyword(s):  
Reader Response ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Reception History ◽  
The Self ◽  
Reception Theory ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Reader Response Theory ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
Hans Georg Gadamer

AbstractFormation constitutes the key link between reception theory, Jauss and scripture. The Bible shapes readers by showing them what lies beyond the self. Hans Robert Jauss (1921–97) remains the effective founder of reception theory or reception history. He was a literary theorist, who specialised in romance literature. Following Hans-Georg Gadamer, he insisted that texts carry ‘a still unfinished meaning’, and focused on their historical influence. The exposition of how communities or thinkers have received texts includes de-familiarisation; sometimes the ‘completion’ of meaning, as in much reader-response theory; and instances of when a text ‘satisfies, surpasses, disappoints, or refutes the expectations’ of readers. Reception theory can often trace continuity in the reception of texts, as well as disjunctions, reversals and surprises. It offers a more disciplined approach to scripture than most reader-response theories. Clearly horizons of expectation play a major role in the interpretation of biblical texts. I suggest six direct parallels with biblical interpretation. (1) Like Francis Watson and others, Jauss rejects any value-neutral objectivism in interpretation. (2) The readers’ horizon of expectation derives partly from earlier readings of the text. (3) Horizons can move and change, and thus transform readers as these change. (4) Biblical genres display all of Jauss’ accounts of the responses of readers. For example, parables of reversal may surpass what the Christian believer expects, or disappoint the unbeliever. (5) Like Gadamer, Jauss emphasises the importance of formulating constructive questions in approaching texts. (6) Jauss’ ‘levels of reading’ correspond closely with Bakhtin's notion of polyphony. I compare Ormond Rush's work on reception and otherness, and Luther's insistence that the Bible often confronts us as our adversary to judge and to transform us. Finally, we illustrate the history of reception from Ulrich Luz on Matthew, from Childs on Exodus, and from my commentaries on 1 Corinthians and 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

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

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