From Books to Testimonies

Church History, 2011

2005

2020

When two of Jesus’ disciples were on their way to Emmaus, sadly discussing the events of the last three days, they were clearly dealing with a hermeneutical problem. They were not able to interpret Scriptures correctly concerning the death and resurrection of their Lord. As Jesus joined them on their way, he helped them as a true hermeneut, “[interpreting] to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:13-28). This small incident demonstrates several crucial aspects concerning biblical hermeneutics: (a) the Bible needs to be interpreted; (b) Christ is to be found in all of Scripture; (c) although we can be familiar with Scripture, we can fail to understand or apply it correctly; (d) personal and cultural biases can distort Scripture (Luke 24:21a); (e) man on his own is unable to interpret Scripture correctly without divine help; and (f) Scripture is God’s infallible word. Biblical hermeneutics, therefore, are serious business, possibly resulting in either confusion and misunderstanding, or in healthy faith and guidance (Luke 24:32). Herein lies the problem. Although Scripture testifies of its own infallibility and divine inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16), there is no “cookbook-recipe-like” specification of how correct hermeneutics should be conducted. Therefore, because culture affects all attempts at interpretation, many methods have been developed and applied since the beginning of Biblical hermeneutics; some better, and some worse. Ramm (1970) emphasized: "There is no profit to us if God has spoken and we do not know what He has said“ and concludes “that we need to know the correct method of Biblical interpretation so that we do not confuse the voice of God with the voice of man". This essay is concerned with the development of how evangelicalism interprets the Bible from the Enlightenment to the present. It is quite useful to also investigate this from the Reformation onwards to the emergence of Evangelicalism, since these developments in Biblical hermeneutics are the beginning of Evangelicalism's attempt to interpret Scriptures. The essay will then continue with a short introduction on the Enlightenment, followed by a presentation of four scholars who were important for Biblical criticism. After that, the developments in the 19th and 20th Centuries will be investigated. The study of hermeneutics is not an exact science and its developments are diverse and manifold. Therefore, it is only possible to present a limited survey. However, the main key data will be presented.

RBL, 2022

Dividing the volume into seven parts, editors Paul M. Blowers and Peter W. Martens gather a global array of contributors in their contribution to the inimitable Oxford Handbook series, focused on early Christian biblical interpretation. The editors cite the impetus for the present book as the unparalleled amount of current scholarship on patristic exegesis and biblical interpretation, as well as the publication of countless patristic writings, singling out Hans-Georg Gadamer's work on "interpretive horizons" and tradition in biblical exegesis. It is because of this renewed emphasis on interpreters as conversation partners with the biblical text that the surveys found within this handbook are deemed necessary.

This article first briefly raises the question to what extent the Church Fathers remained in continuity with the NT interpretation of the OT. The second and main part of the article highlights some of the main differences between the "modern" approach to sacred texts and the "pre-modern" approach, which the Church Fathers shared with the NT writers. A greater awareness of the differences between the "modern" and the "pre-modern" approach to knowledge and to the interpretation of texts, facilitated by a post-modern perspective, will enable contemporary scholars to understand and appreciate better the early church's use of the Scriptures. Furthermore, not only study of patristic interpretation of Scripture, but also study of the whole history of biblical interpretation is needed in order to help us become more critically self-aware of the ideological roots of contemporary approaches to Scripture. This may open up new insights into the way fo...

Theoforum, 2020

The Pontifical Biblical Commission's document The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church (IBC) details interpretive methods which the Roman Catholic exegete should use in the study of Biblical texts. Scripture itself is a living tradition of interpretation as later texts re-read and reapply earlier passages to their current situations. The IBC stresses the aspect of "Re-Readings" and the "Relationship between the Old Testament and the New." This article will highlight the IBC's description of these processes, then further survey these interpretive actions, and finally assess the tension in their usage. RÉSUMÉ : Le document L'interprétation de la Bible dans l'Église (IBÉ) de la Commission Biblique Pontificale fournit une excellente description des méthodes d'interprétation que l'exégète doit utiliser pour l'étude de la Bible. Les Saintes Écritures elles-mêmes constituent une tradition vivante d'interprétation puisque les textes plus récents relisent et actualisent les textes plus anciens en fonction de leur propre situation. L'IBÉ présente en quoi consistent ces « relectures » et les « rapports entre Ancien Testament et Nouveau Testament ». Cet article entend réfléchir sur la description de ces processus fait par l'IBÉ, étudier davantage ces actions interprétatives avant d'évaluer, finalement, la tension engendrée par leur utilisation.

The Journal of Religion, 2015