Function Of Scripture Research Articles

One Edge of a Two-Edged Sword: The Subversive Function of Scripture

God gave Scripture to his people for many reasons. Two of the most important are the subversive and the therapeutic. This article concentrates on the former. All humans are blind to the extent of their alienation from God, others, and themselves. Christians have begun the process of salvation, part of which includes growth in theocentric self-awareness, and God uses Scripture to promote this growth. Christians, however, face a formidable challenge at this point, because in our remaining sin, we can also distort Scripture for sinful purposes. As a result, God has to use Scripture subversively and indirectly in order to enable Christians to read the Bible to promote the healing of inward deepening. A case for this agenda will be made from the Bible itself and the Christian tradition.

Would you Adam and Eve it? Social Scientific Contributions to the Study of the Reception of Scripture in Consumer Society

My argument, simply put, is that if the study of the reception of the Bible and popular culture is going to offer insights into the function of scripture in contemporary consumer societies, then it must move beyond methodologies designed for the study of sacred literature; there must be meaningful engagement with the cultures of production and consumption of popular culture, and biblical scholars must be prepared to surrender their privileged interpretive position. I have argued elsewhere that in reception histories of biblical tropes in popular music, the typical approach is to identify a favored genre or artist, then utilize a similar methodology as found in approaches to the study of scripture that reception scholars critique or wish to move away from. The focus is on the production of culture through recourse to biographies and interviews, and the consumer of popular culture is the trained biblical scholar through the close reading of lyrics as text. In the case of popular music, then, reception studies of the Bible in contemporary popular culture are methodologically incapable of telling us as much about the current reception of the Bible as they would like to, since engagement with the world beyond biblical scholarship is limited to the production of popular culture. In the case of the study of biblical tropes in contemporary advertising, I think the methodological question is more pronounced. Without engaging the culture within which advertising is produced, in addition to engaging the culture within which advertising is consumed, advertisements might appear as fully formed ideological artifacts without the complexities that biblical scholars have recognized inform the production and reception of scripture.

Śabdapramāṇa : Hindu contributions to understanding the meaning and function of scripture

The traditions of Hinduism, especially the Vedanta sampradāyas, have developed elaborate and sophisticated arguments for the words of the Vedas as a source of valid knowledge. This study seeks to explicate this rationale, with particular attention to the tradition of Advaita Vedanta. The understanding of scripture as a valid source of knowledge (pramāṇa) is neglected in the contemporary study of Hinduism, although this approach may lend a fresh perspective to the meaning and significance of sacred texts and a unique way of understanding their authority. Scripture cannot claim exemption from being subject to the same criteria that are utilized to validate other ways of knowing. Scripture as pramāṇa is a Hindu argument that enriches our understanding of sacred texts and ought to be a prominent point of view in the contemporary discussion of the nature and authority of scripture.

The Bible in Pastoral Practice: Readings in the Place and Function of Scripture in the Church – Edited by Paul Ballard and Stephen Holmes

Religious Studies ReviewVolume 36, Issue 1 p. 51-52 The Bible in Pastoral Practice: Readings in the Place and Function of Scripture in the Church – Edited by Paul Ballard and Stephen Holmes Nathan Carlin, Nathan Carlin University of Texas Medical School–HoustonSearch for more papers by this author Nathan Carlin, Nathan Carlin University of Texas Medical School–HoustonSearch for more papers by this author First published: 22 March 2010 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-0922.2010.01399_1.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Volume36, Issue1March 2010Pages 51-52 RelatedInformation

When Scripture Meets Scripture

This article gives an overview of the issues and implications involved in the ways that scripture uses scripture. While the major focus is on the New Testament's use of the Old Testament, many of the issues discussed apply also to the use of earlier Old Testament texts by later Old Testament writers. These issues include more “technical” matters, such as the nature and scope of usage and the accuracy of citations, as well as more “theological” matters, such as the function of scripture and the interpretive techniques used by the biblical writers. All of these issues have profound significance for the church's understanding of the nature and authority of scripture, and the way(s) that the church uses scripture to speak to its contemporary context. Above all, a careful examination of scripture's use of scripture invites us to a greater humility about our exegetical methods, a greater dependence on the work of the Holy Spirit as we read, and a greater faith in the God who speaks to us through these scriptures.

Missio Dei: Envisioning an Apostolic Reading of Scripture

A theological account of the nature and function of Scripture in the church is properly situated within the larger context of the missio Dei, God's merciful self-communication to the world in Jesus Christ through the power of the Spirit. Exegetical soundings in 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 Peter, and 1 John illustrate the fruitfulness of an “apostolic hermeneutic” that attends to the ways in which these texts address and form the church as the community of the reconciled who are called into fellowship with the triune God as active participants in God's own work of reconciliation.

Ballard, Paul, and Stephen Holmes, ed.The Bible in Pastoral Practice: Readings in the Place and Function of Scripture in the Church

Ballard, Paul, and Stephen Holmes, ed.The Bible in Pastoral Practice: Readings in the Place and Function of Scripture in the Church

The Bible in Pastoral Ministry: The Quest for Best Practice

This article reflects on the findings of an empirical research project on "The Use of the Bible in Pastoral Practice" funded by Cardiff University and the Bible Society over the years 2002-2003. This project was part of a larger series of related works into Bible use in pastoral ministry involving a team of international scholars and Bible practitioners, culminating in a Symposium at Cardiff in September 2005. The published outcome to date is Paul Ballard and Stephen R. Holmes (eds.), The Bible in Pastoral Practice: Readings in the Place and Function of Scripture in the Church (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2005), and Gordon Oliver's Holy Bible, Human Bible: Questions Pastoral Practice Must Ask (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2006). This fieldwork component was exploratory; to see what was happening on the ground—to discover people's stories. It was also governed by the important demands of utility; to be useful in promoting good practice among this and the next generation of Bible educators and practitioners. In this sense, the project was viewed as having the potential to inform and transform practice.

Book Review: The Bible in Pastoral Practice: Readings on the Place and Function of Scripture in the Church

Book Review: <b>The Bible in Pastoral Practice:</b> Readings on the Place and Function of Scripture in the Church

Short Notices

Books reviewed in this article:Christopher Partridge (ed.), Dictionary of Contemporary Religion in the Western WorldNancy K. Frankenberry (ed.), Radical Interpretation in ReligionMargaret Stutley (ed.), Shamanism: An IntroductionSamuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological CommentarySteve Delamarter, with a contribution by J.H. Charlesworth, A Scripture Index to Charlesworth's The Old Testament PseudepigraphaJames H, The Pesharim and the Qumran Community: Chaos or Consensus?Timothy H. Lim, PesharimJames M. Scott, Geography in Early Judaism and Christianity: The Book of JubileesThomas R. Hatina, In Search of a Context: The Function of Scripture in Mark's NarrativeAnthony Phillips, Essays on Biblical LawLarry J. Kreitzer, Gospel Images in Fiction and FilmDavid S. Cunningham, Reading is Believing: The Christian Faith through Literature and FilmJohn Wijngaards, No Women in Holy Orders? The Women Deacons of the Early ChurchOwen Chadwick, The Early Reformation on the ContinentAndrew Bradstock and Christopher Rowland (eds), Radical Christian Writings: A ReaderSarah K. Pinnock, Beyond Theodicy: Jewish and Christian Continental Thinkers Respond to the HolocaustColeen McDannell, Religions of the United States in PracticeDouglas Pratt, Relational Deity: Hartshorne and Macquarrie on GodJohn Habgood, Darton, The Concept of NatureAnthony C. Thiselton, A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of ReligionJoseph Runzo, Global Philosophy of Religion: A Short IntroductionMax Charlesworth, Philosophy and Religion: From Plato to PostmodernismJohn Cottingham, On the Meaning of LifeCharles R. Pinches, Theology and Action: After Theory in Christian EthicsPhilip Goodchild, Capitalism and Religion: The Price of PietyPat Collins CM, The Broken Image: Reflections on Spirituality and CultureGordon Lynch, After Religion: ‘Generation X’ and the Search for MeaningAlison Webster, WellbeingClifford Longley, Chosen People: The Big Idea that Shapes England and America

&lt;i&gt;Pulchrum esse&lt;/i&gt;: The Beauty of Scripture, the Beauty of the Soul, and the Art of Exegesis in Hugh of St. Victor

PULCHRUM ESSE: THE BEAUTY OF SCRIPTURE, THE BEAUTY OF THE SOUL, AND THE ART OF EXEGESIS IN HUGH OF ST. VICTOR By BOYD TAYLOR COOLMAN Pondering the narrative of creation given in Genesis in his De sacramentis Christianae fidei,} Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1142)2 raises the question of whether creation was instantaneous or required a literal six days. Hugh opts for the latter. Though instantaneous creation was of course possible, he argues that God created in six days, proceeding gradually through increasing degrees of form and beauty, so that the rational creature "might discern how great was the difference between esse and pulchrum esse," between "being" and "beautiful being." God's intention, Hugh declares, was that rational creatures would be "warned not to be content with having received being [esse] from the Creator," but would strive for "beautiful being" (pulchrum esse).3 The primary task of the human being in Eden, therefore, was twofold: first, a discernment , an exegesis that rightly interpreted the pulchrum esse of creation to be a manifestation of divine Beauty; second, a realization of pulchrum esse within itself. In large measure, for Hugh, the ensuing Fall entailed a failure to fulfill this original exegetical and ethical calling. This perspective on creation and the Fall reflects an aesthetic dimension in the Victorine's thought.4 Hugh's theology of beauty is the subject of a 1 PL 176:173A-618B. Hugh of Saint Victor: On the Sacraments of the Christian Faith (De sacramentis), trans. R. J. Deferrari, Medieval Academy of America, 58 (Cambridge, Mass., 1951). Cited hereafter as De sacramentis. This is an expanded and revised version of a paper read in 2001 at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Mich. I am indebted to Elizabeth A. R. Brown and Michael Roberts for their insightful editorial suggestions and invaluable improvements on my Latin translations. 2 The abbey of Saint Victor was founded in Paris by William of Champeaux in 1108 and housed an Augustinian order of regular canons. For the most recent study of the early history of the abbey see Robert-Henri Bautier, "Les origines et les premiers développements de l'abbaye Saint-Victor de Paris," in L'abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Age, ed. Jean Longère, Bibliotheca Victorina, 1 (Turnhout, 1991), 23-52. 3 De sacramentis 1.1.3 (PL 176:189A; Deferrari, 9): "Idcirco foris prius ei demonstrata est informis materia, postea formata, ut quanta foret inter esse et pulchrum esse distantia discerneret . Ac per hoc admonita est ne contenta esset eo quod per conditionem a Creatore esse acceperat, donec et pulchrum esse atque beatum esse adipisceretur. . . ." 4 For Hugh's theology, see Roger Baron, Science et sagesse chez Hugues de Saint-Victor (Paris, 1957) and the numerous articles by Grover A. Zinn, Jr., including "Book and Word: The Victorine Background of Bonaventure's Use of Symbols," in S. Bonaventura 1274-1974, ed. Francesco P. Papini and Jacques C. Bougerol, 5 vols. (Rome, 1973), 176traditio recent monograph,5 but the role of beauty in his theology demands further consideration, especially in relation to his view of Scripture and scriptural exegesis.6 Four issues deserve exploration. First, while the Fall radically altered the human capacity to do so, the task of discerning and being converted to divine Beauty remained. What changed were the conditions that make this possible, and crucial among these is the status and function of Scripture. Put simply, for Hugh, after the Fall, Scripture has become the lens in and through which human beings can perceive divine Beauty. Second , this assumption shapes Hugh's view of Scripture's very composition: like creation, it is artfully wrought and thus manifests divine Beauty. Third, Hugh's exegetical theory reflects Scripture's post-lapsarian function and composition. Criteria such as fittingness, consonance, harmony, and unity emerge as central interpretive principles. Finally, scriptural exegesis facilitates human conversion to pulchrum esse. In Hugh's thought, accordingly, exegesis is closely related to ethics, and he conceives of ethics, at least in part, as the realization of beauty of the soul. Post-Lapsarian Exegesis of Beauty in and through Scripture Perceiving uncreated Beauty (pulchritudo invisibilis) within created things (pulchritude...

The Wisdom of the Wise: The Presence and Function of Scripture in 1 Cor. 1:18-3:23

By H. H. Drake III Williams. A dissertation contributing to the discussion of Paul’s Jewish background and his use of Scripture by examining the presence and function of Old Testament Scripture in 1 Corinthians 1:18–3:23.

Review: The Presence and Function of Scripture in Galatians 1 and 2

Review: The Presence and Function of Scripture in Galatians 1 and 2

Book Review: The Function of Scripture in Early Jewish and Christian Tradition

Book Review: The Function of Scripture in Early Jewish and Christian Tradition

The Mode of Theological Decision Making at the Early Ecumenical Councils: an inquiry into the function of scripture and tradition at the Councils of Nicaea and Ephesus. By Ralph E. Person (Theologischen Dissertationen, Bd xiv.) Pp. 245. Basle: Friedrich Reinhardt, 1978.

The Mode of Theological Decision Making at the Early Ecumenical Councils: an inquiry into the function of scripture and tradition at the Councils of Nicaea and Ephesus. By Ralph E. Person (Theologischen Dissertationen, Bd xiv.) Pp. 245. Basle: Friedrich Reinhardt, 1978. - Volume 33 Issue 1

The Mode of Theological Decision Making at the Early Ecumenical Councils: An Inquiry into the Function of Scripture and Tradition at Councils of Nicaea and Ephesus. By Ralph E. Person Theologischen Dissertationen 14. Basel: Friedrich Reinhardt Kommissionsverlag, 1978. viii + 247 pp. DM 32, 80.

The Mode of Theological Decision Making at the Early Ecumenical Councils: An Inquiry into the Function of Scripture and Tradition at Councils of Nicaea and Ephesus. By Ralph E. Person Theologischen Dissertationen 14. Basel: Friedrich Reinhardt Kommissionsverlag, 1978. viii + 247 pp. DM 32, 80. - Volume 50 Issue 3

Values and Behavioral Change

A primary function of Scripture is the launching of behavioral change. Processing the Word through human experience into changed behavior is an art which few pastors and teachers understand or enable. The recent literature in the field of “values clarification” may provide a needed clue for understanding the process toward biblically-inspired change. A fresh paradigm incorporating information, belief, values, and behavioral change is presented from Scripture. Values are viewed as the pivotal axis around which behavioral decisions are often made. Re-formed values, then, become the chief target for Christian communicators. Modeling by significant persons may be a fundamental source for values re-formation and corresponding behavioral change.