The Historical–Critical Method

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Law
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Original Text ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Original Meaning ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Critical Method ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Critical Approaches

Historical Critical Analysis is the main way in which the Bible (both the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the New Testament) has been examined and read by scholars in the last century. The term refers to a range of methodologies which examine the origins of biblical texts, in relation to other contemporaneous texts, to form critical approaches and to questions of authorship, audience and authenticty. The aim is to get as close to the ‘original text’ and its ‘original meaning’ as possible. For many years Historical Critical Method has been the cornerstone upon which biblical scholarship is built, even as modern studies examine other theoretical approaches to reading the text in history, tradition, and from different audience perspectives the Historical Critical Method still presents the crucial starting point for students and scholars.

The Church of the Reigning Lord

1948 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
R. Stuart Louden
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Pauline Epistles ◽  
History Of ◽  
Four Square ◽  
The Church

We can trace a revival of theology in the Reformed Churches in the last quarter of a century. The new theological interest merits being called a revival of theology, for there has been a fresh and more thorough attention given to certain realities, either ignored or treated with scant notice for a considerable time previously.First among such realities now receiving more of the attention which their relevance and authority deserve, is the Bible, the record of the Word of God. There is an invigorating and convincing quality about theology which is Biblical throughout, being based on the witness of the Scriptures as a whole. The valuable results of careful Biblical scholarship had had an adverse effect on theology in so far as theologians had completely separated the Old Testament from the New in their treatment of Biblical doctrine, or in expanding Christian doctrine, had spoken of the theological teaching of the Synoptic Gospels, the Pauline Epistles, the Johannine writings, and so on, as if there were no such thing as one common New Testament witness. It is being seen anew that the Holy Scriptures contain a complete history of God's saving action. The presence of the complete Bible open at the heart of the Church, recalls each succeeding Christian generation to that one history of God's saving action, to which the Church is the living witness. The New Testament is one, for its Lord is one, and Christian theology must stand four-square on the foundation of its whole teaching.

Friedrich Schleiermacher on the Old Testament

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E. Capetz
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Friedrich Schleiermacher ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Critical Method ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Historical Investigation

In the nineteenth century the unrestricted application of the historical-critical method posed an unprecedented challenge to inherited Christian notions about the Bible. While this challenge was eventually to be felt most acutely in the study of the New Testament (nt) once the distinction between the “Jesus of history” and the “Christ of faith” had firmly established itself, traditional viewpoints on the Old Testament (ot) were actually the first to be called into question. As a consequence of historical investigation, it became increasingly difficult for theologians to claim that the gospel is already taught in the ot. Regarding this matter, Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834) made a bold proposal. He argued against the canonical standing of the ot on the grounds that it expresses Jewish, not Christian, religion. For him this conclusion was the unavoidable result of the advancing critical scholarship that was undermining the christological exegesis used to defend the church's claim to the ot against the synagogue's counter-claim to its sole rightful possession. Opposing such “christianizing” readings, Schleiermacher broke ranks from Christian theologians and championed the side of the Jews in this historic debate. His only predecessors in this regard were Marcion and the Socinians, although his proposal for relegating the ot to noncanonical status was later endorsed by Adolf von Harnack.

Peter Singer's Interpretation of Christian Biblical Environmental Ethics

1998 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-68
Author(s):  
Cara Beed ◽  
Clive Beed
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Natural World ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Book Of Genesis

AbstractPeter Singer's (1990 and 1993) interpretations of Biblical texts dealing with the natural world are evaluated in the light of recent Biblical scholarship. The texts in question are among those in the Bible relating to Christian ethical teaching about the natural world. The specific texts Singer examined concern the meaning of dominion and the flood of the earth in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament, particular teaching by the apostle Paul in the book 1 Corinthians in the New Testament, and certain actions by Jesus in the New Testament book of Mark. Singer's interpretations have a lengthy pedigree commonly used to hold Biblical teaching partly responsible for adverse Western attitudes to nature. This article argues that such interpretations contradict a deal of recent Biblical scholarship on the texts at issue.

Spinoza and Biblical Philology in the Dutch Republic, 1660-1710

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jetze Touber
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Dutch Republic ◽  
Biblical Criticism ◽  
Ecclesiastical History ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Dutch Golden Age

This book investigates the biblical criticism of Spinoza from the perspective of the Dutch Reformed society in which the philosopher lived and worked. It focusses on philological investigation of the Bible: its words, its language, and the historical context in which it originated. The book charts contested issues of biblical philology in mainstream Dutch Calvinism, to determine whether Spinoza’s work on the Bible had any bearing on the Reformed understanding of the way society should engage with Scripture. Spinoza has received massive attention, both inside and outside academia. His unconventional interpretation of the Old Testament passages has been examined repeatedly over the decades. So has that of fellow ‘radicals’ (rationalists, radicals, deists, libertines, enthusiasts), against the backdrop of a society that is assumed to have been hostile, overwhelmed, static, and uniform. This book inverts this perspective and looks at how the Dutch Republic digested biblical philology and biblical criticism, including that of Spinoza. It takes into account the highly neglected area of the Reformed ministry and theology of the Dutch Golden Age. The result is that Dutch ecclesiastical history, up until now the preserve of the partisan scholarship of confessionalized church historians, is brought into dialogue with Early Modern intellectual currents. This book concludes that Spinoza, rather than simply pushing biblical scholarship in the direction of modernity, acted in an indirect way upon ongoing debates in Dutch society, shifting trends in those debates, but not always in the same direction, and not always equally profoundly, at all times, on all levels.

EARLY CHRISTIAN REPRESENTATIONS OF MAN BETWEEN THE BIBLE AND GREEK PHILOSOPHY – THE FEATURES OF THE RELATIONSHIP

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-111
Author(s):  
A. V. Laputko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
World View ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Final Design

The article examines the preconditions for the formation of Christian ideas about man. The emphasis is on the fact that the doctrine of a person has never been a separate problem of theology, and, consequently, was formed in parallel and within the basic tenets of Christianity. The author focuses attention on the contradiction in understanding the origin of representations of a person between the traditional branches of Christianity. On the whole, while remaining in common positions, each denomination identifies its own fundamental source of the origin of anthropological ideas, not taking into account the complex and contradictory path of interpenetration of the ideas of ancient Greek philosophy and Christianity. The author shows the path of formation of the main anthropological representations from the Old Testament notions to the New Testament, which receive their final design only in the works of apologists of Christianity brought up by the logic and culture of thinking of ancient philosophy. Thus, the birth of a new world-view anthropological paradigm, which remains one of the most popular and discursive in the modern world, takes place within the framework of a dialogue between ancient Greek philosophical thought and Old Testament ideas.

Exodus 19–40

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. C. Propp
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Major Work ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Cultural Mores ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Ritual Law

The long-awaited conclusion of William H. C. Propp’s masterful study of Exodus, this informative, clearly written commentary provides a new perspective on Israelite culture and on the role of ritual, law, and covenant in biblical religion. Exodus 19–40 sets a new standard in biblical scholarship. Thorough and up-to-date, it is the first commentary on Exodus to include critical textual evidence from the recently edited Dead Sea Scrolls. Informed by Propp’s deep understanding of ancient cultural mores and religious traditions, it casts new light on the Israelites’ arrival at Sinai, their entry into a covenant with God, their reception of the Law, their worship of the golden calf, and their reconciliation to God. The incisive commentary on the building of the Holy Tabernacle–God’s wilderness abode–is supplemented by numerous illustrations that clarify the biblical text. Propp extends the scope and relevance of this major work in five appendices that discuss the literary formation of the Torah, the historicity of the Exodus tradition, the origins of Israelite monotheism, the Exodus theme in the Bible, and the future of Old Testament scholarship. By taking an anthropological rather than strictly theological approach, Propp places familiar stories within a fresh context. The result is a fully accessible guide to one of the most important and best known books of the Bible.

The Child Who Does Not Know How to Ask

We Walk ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 115-138
Author(s):  
Amy S. F. Lutz
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Learning Differences ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament

This chapter discusses the parable of the four sons, in which the author relates via the character of the wise son known as the “the child who does not know how to ask.” It talks about the representation of the “simple” child that already represents those with learning differences or intellectual disabilities. It also mentions how disability is seldom addressed in the Old Testament, noting that Moses allegedly suffered from a speech impediment. The chapter describes a token directive not to insult the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind but is belied by the treatment of the few disabled people mentioned in the Bible. It elaborates how the New Testament, by contrast to the Old Testament, is full of disabled people.

Cenzura w Biblii

2018 ◽  
pp. 166-181
Author(s):  
Marcin Majewski ◽  
Artur Sporniak ◽  
Teresa Szostek ◽  
Michał Czajkowski
Keyword(s):  
Song Of Songs ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Original Text ◽  
Holy Ghost ◽  
Small Letter ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Original Meaning ◽  
Correct Translation

The article focuses on the analysis of an interview regarding Bible translation and related censorship. The author comments on the statements of one of the interlocutors, adding her own insights and analyses. Bible translators make certain parts of the text more approachable, as was the case with the refrain to Song of Songs, which, in most translations, mentions “embracing” while the protestant Bible contains the correct translation, i.e. “caressing.” Similarly, translators correct the Bible, as they have a different notion of what a sacral text should look like. For example, they introduce neutral phrases instead of offensive words. In Czajkowski’s opinion, translators often censor the Bible, trying to make the text less blunt. However, sometimes discrepancies are a result of not understanding the original text. Not always are these differences a consequence of the translator’s work, though. It is clearly visible e.g. in the case of “pneuma,” a word which can be translated into ghost or soul, spelled with a small letter, or the Holy Ghost. The author does not support the so-called “inclusive” translation. The inspired text should not be changed. Such changes can be replaced with explanations or comments. In order to discover the original meaning of the Holy Scripture, one can compare one of the Polish translations with translations into other foreign languages or other translations into Polish.

scholarly journals Strack-Billerbeck, Orthodoxy and a Jewish New Testament

1999 ◽  
Vol 55 (2/3) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Loader
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament

On the basis of the evidence of publications daing from the eighteenth century, this paper argues that the orthodox doctrine of the verbal inspiration the Bible caused extreme views on the language of the Old Testament which could maybe transferred to the "heathen" language of the New Testament. The resulting void was filled by focussing on the Jewish (read "Hebrew", thought of the New Testament. The work of Chistian Schoettgen, available the author in Vienna, is used in conjunction with the Critica sacra by Johan Gottlob Carpzov to develop the argument for the thesis. Some conclusions ardrawn.

scholarly journals Inspiration and the Texts of the Bible

1997 ◽  
Vol 53 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Buchner
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Early Church ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Masoretic Text ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Book Of Hebrews ◽  
Textual Research

This article seeks to explore what the inspired text of the Old Testament was as it existed for the New Testament authors, particularly for the author of the book of Hebrews. A quick look at the facts makes. it clear that there was, at the time, more than one 'inspired' text, among these were the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text 'to name but two'. The latter eventually gained ascendancy which is why it forms the basis of our translated Old Testament today. Yet we have to ask: what do we make of that other text that was the inspired Bible to the early Church, especially to the writer of the book of Hebrews, who ignored the Masoretic text? This article will take a brief look at some suggestions for a doctrine of inspiration that keeps up with the facts of Scripture. Allied to this, the article is something of a bibliographical study of recent developments in textual research following the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls.

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