Canon and Criterion in Christian Theology

Abstract

AbstractTraces a radical shift in the history of Christian theology from the canon of scripture as a list of books to that of a criterion of truth in theology. The argument takes the form of a narrative showing how epistemology won out over soteriology in the conception of the bible. Within this development, theologians were upstaged by philosophers when scripture as a criterion failed to resolve critical material issues in Christian theology. The middle section of the narrative shows that the epistemology of the Enlightenment was deeply indebted both historically and formally to the foundationalism first worked out within theology. The net result was the collapse of the internal content of Christian theology in the modern period and its ongoing replacement by speculative exercises in epistemology. The cure for this state of affairs is the retrieval of the canonical heritage of the patristic Church and a resolution to develop rigorous solutions to problems in the epistemology of theology. The Church needs a wider canon of materials, practices, and persons than that supplied by scripture for her spiritual health. All epistemological proposals related to theology need to be treated as significant Midrash that are deployed when appropriate, but that should not be canonized.