A significant strand within the discipline of biblical studies within modernity has leaned towards equating the “true meaning” of Scripture with the intent of the author. Ironically, this emphasis on “authorial intention” undermines the Christian claim that the Scriptures are superintended over by the Holy Spirit. For if the Scriptures are a gift that the church receives from the Holy Spirit, then the meaning of the texts can not be reduced to the supposed intentions of the historical authors. Augustine, for his part, while not dismissing the importance of authorial intention does relativize it in relation to reading with the rule of faith. Here’s how he describes how Christian interpreters should approach obscure or difficult passages: Continue reading Augustine on Authorial Intention in Biblical Interpretation
Category Archives: Reflections
Advent Resources
With the first Sunday of Advent nearly upon us, I thought that I would go back through the archives and pull together some of the most memorable postings pertaining to Advent that have appeared on the blog. In the days ahead, I will also be posting some Advent-themed quotations from Stanley Hauerwas which appear in Minding the Web. Here are some of the notable previous posts: Continue reading Advent Resources
Responding to “A Plea for Pointless Preaching” – A Guest Post by Lissa Wray Beal
On Thursday, November 1, a surprisingly large and energetic group of pastors, professors, seminary students, and college students gathered at Providence to hear and engage in conversation surrounding my paper, “A Plea for Pointless Preaching.” The paper was an abbreviated version of an essay that I wrote for Minding the Web: Making Theological Connections. In the essay, I suggest that the work of “two Stanleys” – the evangelical mega-church pastor Andy Stanley and the theological ethicist Stanley Hauerwas – present two contrasting homiletical paths open to preachers today. Since that volume will soon be appearing in print, I will not be reproducing the essay here. However, my colleague Lissa Wray Beal, who served as the respondent to the paper, has graciously allowed me to publish her insightful engagement with the essay here on the blog. Continue reading Responding to “A Plea for Pointless Preaching” – A Guest Post by Lissa Wray Beal
Bonhoeffer and the Canadian “Values Test”
A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by Olivia Lavallee, a student at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s views on church and state for an article she was writing about the controversial “Attestation” required by the Canadian federal government on summer grant applications. You can read the full article here.
The End of an Era
I recently wrapped up my final course at Tyndale Seminary. It was nice to have a smaller group (pictured above) for this last time through Systematic Theology I. Continue reading The End of an Era
Salvation by Allegiance Alone – Chapter 3
This is the fourth in a series of posts engaging with Matthew Bates’s Salvation by Allegiance Alone. The earlier posts can be read here: first, second, third.
In chapter 3, “Jesus Proclaims the Gospel,” Bates turns to confronting a longstanding problem in modern Protestant Christianity: the reconciliation of the Letters of Paul with the Gospels.1 The writings of Paul have long been a haven for certain forms of Lutheranism and conservative evangelicalism espousing the centrality of a particular understanding of justification by faith. While the Gospels have often been the playground of some liberal forms of Christianity attempting to advance a social agenda based upon ethical principles. The irony is that in their readings of their respective canons-within-a-canon both groups have lost sight of the animating center of the canon as a whole, as well as Paul’s Letters and the Gospels in particular, namely the crucified and living Lord Jesus Christ. Continue reading Salvation by Allegiance Alone – Chapter 3
- Interestingly, Bonhoeffer felt the need to make a similar move in his famous treatise Discipleship. Although, Bonhoeffer began with the Synoptic Gospels before turning his attention to Paul. ↩