Conclusion

Abstract

Abstract It is difficult to draw neat conclusions at the end of this study. The temptation is to look back on the uses and construals of Scripture by the different authors surveyed and to derive various “lessons” from their respective uses of Scripture. I intend to resist this temptation, however, as much as possible. One of my goals in this book has been to provide thickly descriptive analyses of how Scripture has been used and interpreted in the theology and ethics of some of the most prominent and influential Christian theologians of the twentieth century. I therefore want to avoid reductionistic characterizations, and I am concerned that deriving certain lessons from this undertaking might undercut the larger purpose of the project. I am convinced that we need to pay more attention to the actual practices of biblical interpretation as these are carried out in constructive theology and ethics. To this end, I have concentrated on concrete and specific uses of discrete biblical materials. I certainly hope that this study contributes to a better understanding of the constructive work of the eight figures that have been the subject of the study. Beyond this, however, I hope that this study points to some of the larger questions and issues associated with appeals to the Bible in theology and ethics. By way of summary, I will use one focal passage (the Sermon on the Mount) to provide a brief comparative overview of the various approaches to Scripture presented above.