Doctrine Of Scripture Research Articles

Revitalizing Theological Epistemology: Holistic Evangelical Approaches to the Knowledge of God. By STEVEN B. SHERMAN.

Increasing engagement with the wider range of ideas in the academic arena has been a noticeable trend among evangelical theologians. This is nothing new and has taken place across the range of academic disciplines for most of the latter half of the twentieth century, although it seems to have taken particularly evident shape in the area of epistemology. In this work, Steven B. Sherman, currently part of Regent University’s Religion and Philosophy teaching faculty, offers a helpful overview of a recent trend in evangelical theological epistemology. The book begins by defining post-conservative evangelical theology with its key features (pp. 10–13) and proponents, who include the usual suspects (Olson, Pinnock, Grenz, Franke, etc.), along with quite a few others (p. 14) who may or may not like the label themselves. Chapter 2 gives attention to ‘postconservative pioneer’ Clark Pinnock, providing a fascinating sketch of the developments of his doctrines of Scripture, Christology, and Pneumatology, showing how these bear on his epistemology. The remaining half of the chapter then focuses on his supposed theological successors and their epistemological emphases, beginning to highlight those who have shown disdain for a kind of Cartesian indubitable certainty that they noticed as part of their earlier evangelical heritage.

Scripture's Doctrine and Theology's Bible: How the New Testament Shapes Christian Dogmatics – Edited by Markus Bockmuehl and Allan J. Torrance

Scripture's Doctrine and Theology's Bible: How the New Testament Shapes Christian Dogmatics – Edited by Markus Bockmuehl and Allan J. Torrance

Doctrine of Scripture in Lutheran Theology—Its Missional Thrust: A Response to Lamin Sanneh's Hein‐Fry Lecture 20081

Abstract: In this article, I argue that Lutheran doctrine of Scripture is rooted in a christological centre, a centre that is coherent with Lamin Sanneh's thesis that the missionary experience must encompass both the work of the missionary who comes from ‘outside’ and, more especially, the reflections of the ‘indigenous’ peoples on Scripture in its witness to God's coming in Jesus Christ. This essential mutuality of ‘receiving’ and ‘giving’ in reading Scripture christologically undercuts imperial biblical hermeneutical practices that privilege certain cultures, languages, ethnic, racial, and class groupings as bearers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hermeneutics and the Doctrine of Scripture: Why They Need Each Other

AbstractCurrent attempts to understand Scripture theologically typically appeal either to modern hermeneutics or to more traditional doctrines of Scripture – but not to both together. It is argued here that hermeneutics can help to identify and resolve certain problems bequeathed to posterity by the characteristic sixteenth‐century equation of Scripture with ‘Word of God’. The problems in question relate to the past and present modes of divine speech, the relation of text to community and the fundamental significance of the ‘Word of God’ concept itself.

Scripture's Doctrine and Theology's Bible: How the New Testament Shapes Christian Dogmatics – Edited by Markus Bockmuehl and Alan J. Torrance

Scripture's Doctrine and Theology's Bible: How the New Testament Shapes Christian Dogmatics – Edited by Markus Bockmuehl and Alan J. Torrance

<i>Sacrum suum verbum</i> – aspekte van Calvyn se Skrifbeskouing in sy Kategismus van 1545

Sacrum suum verbum – aspects of Calvin’s view of Scripture in his 1545 Catechism The succession of spiritual streams that followed in the wake of the Reformation gave rise to seismic shifts in the way Scripture was viewed, the consequences of which still have decisive significance in theology today – most inevitably for preaching and catechism. Semler’s book “Abhandlung von freier Unter-suchung des Canon” (1771-1775), with its insistance on a separation between Scripture and Word, played a far-reaching role in this regard. Against this backdrop, and with the doctrine of Scripture in Calvin’s Catechism (1545) yet to be examined (in contrast with his “Institutes”, for example), this article focuses on the issue of authority in catechesis. Given the central place that catechism occupied in Calvin’s ministry and in his em-phasis on Word ministry, this issue lies at the heart of the subject of “Calvin as catechist”. The investigation has delivered exceptional results. Calvin’s handling of Scripture is quite dynamic. In a discussion on authority, he uses the concept of “Word” to refer implicitly to Scripture, while simultaneously binding it directly to the reve-lation in Christ. By referring to that which “is established from the Word”, he indicates the primacy of Scripture in the issue of authority. Scripture in its entirety is revered to as the Word of God, and is valid as such for the (whole) church. It is therefore not possibe to detach “sola Scriptura” from either “tota Scrip-tura” or “una Scriptura”. According to Calvin in his Catechism, Scripture is valid as the sufficient authoritative foundation for theological and confes-sional pronouncements. In this regard, it is especially the con-nection between Word and Spirit that is of fundamental signi-ficance. The effect of this is that the doctrine of Scripture is not only of bibliological importance, but it also has other theological implications – most notably for christology, pneumatology and soteriology.

Evangelical doctrines of Scripture in transatlantic perspective

This article examines confessional statements concerning the doctrine of Scripture issued by evangelical bodies in Britain and the USA. It demonstrates that the central American confession of the inerrancy of Scripture is almost wholly absent from British confessions. Rejecting the idea that this merely represents a weaker doctrine of Scripture amongst British Evangelicals, it suggests that there are broadly different models of Scriptural authority at work either side of the Atlantic, and traces these differences to the differing influence of the Romantic movement in the early Nineteenth century. Finally, it essays a doctrine of Scripture, that takes seriously the concerns of both British and American evangelicals.

Pieter Potgieter as mens en teoloog: essensieel en eietyds

This article focuses on the life and work of Pieter Potgieter. A few of his most important publications are analysed, in order to evaluate his theological contribution. He concentrated on substantial and essential Biblical principles, and their application in our times. He devoted himself to researching especially the following: the doctrines of Scripture, the church and providence as well as the theology of Calvin. Furthermore, he is widely respected for the outstanding leading role he played in the church on both synodical and ecumenical levels. As a born leader this was a task for which he had a natural aptitude. A complete bibliography of Potgieter concludes this article. (Acta Theologica, Supplementum 3, 2002: 1-16)

Living and Active: Scripture in the Economy of Salvation

For all of the Bible's popularity, confusion reigns about what the Bible is, its relationship to God and to its human authors and readers, and its proper use. Living and Active answers these fundamental questions by looking anew at Scripture from the perspective of Christian doctrine.Rather than treating the Bible as a sourcebook for theology, Telford Work uses systematic theology to build a compelling new doctrine of Scripture that allows us to see the Bible at work accomplishing God's purposes in the world. Throughout the book, Work incorporates insights from the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, Anabaptist, and evangelical traditions. He also interacts with patristic theology, historical-critical methods of interpretation, and postmodern thought. As a result, Living and Active is the most relevant and ecumenical statement of Scripture now available.

Beleef die Christelike teologie soos met die vorige eeuwending weer ’n paradigmaverandering?

Is Christian theology experiencing a paradigm shift as was the case at the end of the nineteenth century?Biblical scholarship experienced a major paradigm shift at the end of the nineteenth century. This shift had an enormous impact on the way in which the Bible was read and studied by scholars during the twentieth century. During the early stages, it affected primarily Protestant denominations and their doctrine of Scripture. The Roman Catholic Church, however, could not escape its influence. In 1943, biblical scholars in this tradition received permission from Pope Pius XII to use historical-critical methods in their study of the Bible. The results of this shift are only now impinging on theology in the broad sense and there are signs that Christian theology is heading for a new shift which is going to be just as radical as the previous one.

Fundamentalisme en kritisisme: Nadenke oor Skrifbeskouing en Skrifverklaring – van Augustinus tot Bultmann

Fundamentalism and criticism: Reflections on the view and use of Scripture – from Augustine to Bultmann In this article the author investigates the views of fundamentalism and criticism as far as the doctrine of Scripture is concerned. In this context, special attention is given to the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. By way of a prelude the views of the great church father, Augustine, who influenced Western theology fundamentally, are scrutinised. The author arrives at the conclusion that elements of criticism can be discovered in the fundamentalist stance while the critical option can be blamed for its (although reduced) fundamentalistic approach.

Gospel and Scripture: Rethinking Canonical Unity

It is widely believed that the Christian Bible is merely an anthology of the religious literature of ancient Israel and the early church, and that to speak of its ‘unity’ or ‘coherence’ is no longer possible. But biblical unity is still an issue where one seeks to understand the texts in their relation to God, and there are two main ways in which this issue is typically presented: biblical unity may be grounded in the process of divine inspiration which is believed to have generated these writings, or it may be grounded in a theory of providential ordering. The problem with both approaches is that they fail to reflect on the relation between scripture and the gospel, the proclamation of what God has done in and through Jesus and his Spirit which, for Christians, lies at the centre of the testimony of both Old and New Testaments. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul struggles to articulate an evangelical hermeneutic for scriptural interpretation, over against opponents who hold no less ‘high’ a doctrine of scripture than he does. This evangelical hermeneutic is not simply imposed on the texts from the outside, but identifies fundamental elements in the dynamics of these texts, notably the promise/law polarity. In broad outline, Paul’s argument can serve as a model for our own attempts to rethink scriptural unity.

Bavinck en het ‘Concessionisme’

In an article on the development of the doctrine of Scripture in the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland) during the 20th Century, H.M. Vroom suggests that the reformed theologian Herman Bavinck’s doctrine of Scripture resembles that of ‘Concessionism’ (a movement among catholic exegetes in France around 1900). If Vroom is right, this would have far-reaching consequences for Bavinck-interpretation. Comparing Bavinck’s description of ‘Concessionism’ to his own views, one sees some points of agreement: with regard to the purpose of exegesis; the view that Scripture cannot be used as a handbook for several sciences (e.g. geology, biology, history); and the view that one should consider the genre of the text in interpreting Scripture. On important points however, Bavinck disagrees with the ‘Concessionists’.

What Meaneth This? Pentecostals and Theological Inquiry

AbstractThis article investigates what it means to maintain a Pentecostal theology by asking whether Pentecostals have any theological distinctives to offer, and, if so, how they may be identified. The first part begins with two recent approaches that seek to articulate what is theologically distinctive for Pentecostals through an appeal to spiritual experience. Following a critique of those approaches, the author proposes a constructive framework within which theological distinctives may emerge. The article concludes by applying the framework to the doctrine of scripture as a test case in order to determine what may be theologically distinct in the Pentecostal confession about that doctrine.

Voëls van eenderse vere? Oor die Israelitiese en Egiptiese wysbeid en voelsimhole

Birds of a feather? Ancient Israelite and Egyptian wisdom and bird symbols Ordinary Bible readers are not always aware that sections of the Old Testament contain material that agrees (almost verbally) with other documents of the ancient Near East. One of these sections is Proverbs 22: 17-24:22. The publication of papyri containing the Egyptian wisdom book "Wisdom of Amen-em-ope" in 1923 made this evident. This article takes a brief look at the history of wisdom research since 1923, and gives a positive reply to the question whether ancient Israelite wisdom and Egyptian wisdom are similar. This answer, however, impinges on the reformed doctrine of Scripture. Georg Fohrer has emphasized this almost three decades ago but in South Africa we are still struggling to come to terms with this.

Die gereform eerde skrifbeskouing en moderne metodes van verklaring van die nuwe testament

In this article aspects of current exegetical methodology in New Testament studies are evaluated with reference to the reformed doctrine of Holy Scripture. The main aspects of the reformed doctrine of Scripture are discussed. Certain textual-theoretical principles which form the basis of the new methodologies in New Testamant studies are discussed, as well as the most important methodological principle in a textual-theoretical approach and the determining factor of one's concept of the text as such.

Fundamentele theologie en feministische theologie

Summary In the handbooks on fundamental theology we meet little attention for the questions about the relationship between the academic theology and the different contextual/emancipatory types of theology. The author takes the feminist theology of Schüssler-Fiorenza as a starting point, to reflect on this relationship. Some notes are made on the doctrine of Scripture (where he defends her methodological position) and on the limitations of the contextual theologies (what contribution is made to the theological reflection on God?).

The Career of John Abernethy (1680–1740) Father of Nonsubscription in Ireland and Defender of Religious Liberty

The British theological world was stirred at the beginning of the eighteenth century by what the learned and staunchly orthodox Presbyterian historian James Seaton Reid has called “latitudinarian notions on the inferiority of dogmatic belief and the nature of religious liberty.” In the 1690s John Locke had published his Reasonableness of Christianity and Letters on Toleration, followed by John Toland's Christianity Not Mysterious. In 1710 “Honest Will” Whitson, Sir Isaac Newton's successor as Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, was expelled from the University for embracing Arian views. His departure was accompanied by rumors—long since substantiated—about his great predecessor's heterodox theology. Traditional theologians were shocked next by the appearance of Dr. Samuel Clark's Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity which resulted in the author's arraignment before Convocation of the Church of England in 1714. The very same year John Simson, Professor of Divinity in the University of Glasgow, was first tried before the General Assembly of the Scottish Presbyterian Church for teaching Arian and Pelagian errors. In 1729, after three more trials, Simson was suspended from his professorship for denying the numerical oneness of the Trinity. Fierce doctrinal contentions also began to occupy English Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists, erupting during the famous Salters’ Hall meeting early in 1719.

Luther and the Bible

It is my impression that in Britain there is more awareness of the importance of John Calvin as a biblical expositor and theorist on the doctrine of Scripture than there is of the parallel significance of Martin Luther; but perhaps I am generalising from my own experience of realising the creativeness of Luther's work much later than I did that of Calvin's. Admittedly Calvin's doctrine of Scripture is more clearly formulated and his exegesis is tighter. But often the issues that are raised and not entirely solved in Luther are the ones that continue to trouble and fascinate biblical scholars and theologians. His new hermeneutic foreshadows many aspects of the problem of the status and interpretation of the Bible as these have since unfolded; indeed, he was a decisive stimulus to this development.

Soundings in the Doctrine of Scripture in British Evangelicalism in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Soundings in the Doctrine of Scripture in British Evangelicalism in the First Half of the Twentieth Century