Union with Christ is without a doubt a significant aspect of Pauline theology. Over at Crux Sola, Nijay Gupta reviews Con Cambell’s highly anticipated work Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study (Zondervan, 2012).
Click here to read his review.
I’ve been reading through Hearing the Old Testament edited by Bartholomew and Beldman. I thought this quote from Mark Boda was worth passing along.
This hermeneutical agenda for biblical theology, which arises from the self-witness of Scripture, explains the ubiquitous interconnections between the various parts of the canon. The Old Testament canon itself displays inner cohesion through the regular use of quotations, allusions, and echoes of earlier Old Testament passages. This trend, which is observable in the Old Testament, only increases in the New Testament. It is important to take a closer look at this phenomenon of inner-biblical connectivity by looking at the ways the New Testament writers used the Old Testament and the ways Old Testament writers used other parts of the Old Testament. The biblical witness itself lays the foundation hermeneutically for Christian biblical theologians to follow as they seek to read the Old Testament as Christian Scripture.
Mark J. Boda (“Biblical Theology and Old Testament Interpretation” in Hearing the Old Testament, ed. Craig Bartholomew and Dave Beldman, Eerdmans, 2012). 135
I’m thankful for STR for conducting a round table discussion concerning some of the brouhaha around Licona’s interpretation of Matthew 27. I won’t get into my own personal feelings of how this situation unfolded. You can read the dialogue here and decide for yourself.
(HT Ben Blackwell)
A book to keep your eye on if you are interested in theological interpretation is Hearing the Old Testament: Listening for God’s Address (Eerdmans) edited by Craig G. Bartholomew and David J.H. Beldman. In the Preface Bartholomew and Beldman lament that the Old Testament is for the most part unknown by the majority Christians and that there are far too few books to assist Christians to feast upon it as Christian Scripture. Their response to the famine is this edited volume with the goal of listening for God’s address through the Old Testament:
At the heart of the hermeneutic advocated in this book is the belief that our love for the Old Testament and our desire for God will come together only when we make the goal of our interpretation to listen for God’s address. If Scripture is God’s Word, then any other goal is inadequate.
Hearing the Old Testament boasts an impressive collection of contributors beginning with Bartholomew’s opening chapter, “Listening for God’s Address: A Mere Trinitarian Hermeneutic for the Old Testament.” Part II of the volume concerns methods in interpretation and is appropriately named, “Learning to Listen.” Essays from Part III are involve listening to the different sections of the Old Testament. Part IV concludes the volume with, “Hearing and Preaching the Old Testament.”
What stands out about this volume is the careful editorial process. Contributors to Part II, “Learning to Listen” first read Bartholomew’s chapter on Hermeneutics and then were invited to interact either positively or negatively with his essay. Contributors to Part III were asked to write their chapters after reading Bartholomew’s chapter and the chapter’s on “Learning to Listen.” Part IV was then written in light of the Parts I-III. This type of editorial planning should bring a certain type of cohesion that normally lacks in an edited volume. I only hope that future volumes may follow suit.
The List of chapters and authors:
Over at the Gospel Coalition website, they have posted Don Carson’s chapter “Theological Interpretation of Scripture: Yes, But . . . .” from Theological Commentary: Evangelical Perspectives. Edited by R. Michael Allen. London: T&T Clark, 2011. I became aware of this chapter a month or so online at Amazon. After GC posted the chapter a friend of mine was interested to hear my thoughts and so I thought I would briefly share them here. I do not intend for this to be anything real in depth but more so just some observations from reading.
First, I am thankful for Dr. Carson’s work throughout his career. In my mind, he truly exemplifies one who carries out his academic work as an act of worship and seeks that it to be done for the church (even when his work is not directly addressing the church). Having said that, Dr. Carson’s article is also a welcome to the Theological Interpretation of Scripture (TIS) movement both in his charity and questions of the movement.
Dr. Carson’s chapter is broken down into six propositions where he gives a brief affirmation of what TIS represent but also gives his qualification for his agreement. One issue I see through his whole chapter is his neglect of some of the major works in TIS that contradicts his characterization of TIS. I’ll give two examples:
His first proposition is thae issue of history and theology in biblical interpretation. He rightly notes that TIS rejects a historical-critical methods that presuppose anti-supernaturalism. From this he concludes that TIS as a whole tends to pit history as the villain to theology. He then continues to a critique to the dichotomy that he has created. I was baffled that he would make such a conclusion with an entire volume from the seven volume Scripture and Hermeneutics Seminar on history and biblical interpretation dealing with this issue. I am sure there are some in TIS, because the movement is so varied, would create this dichotomy but I find this to be an oversight from some of the main literature from leading proponents.
A second example is that Dr. Carson writes that a goal in TIS is to bring biblical studies and theology back together–which is exactly right. Here, his critique highlighted some of the issues of the difficulties in how exegesis and systematics come together. Here, again I think Dr. Carson has too small of a selection that does not represent what some of the more main proponents are writing. I am thinking of Daniel Treier’s “Biblical Theology and/or TIS and Francis Watson’s, Text and Truth which explores how theological interpretation relates to biblical theology. For sure, Carson is right in the difficulties he highlights. I do not think most of TIS would disagree with the way he has set up categories.
These are just two examples I found in his chapter that are a result of choosing to interact with too small sample of the literature and then critique the whole movement. I would encourage you to read the chapter because I believe it will continue to refine the TIS movement.
I’m currently reading George Parsenios’ work Rhetoric and Drama in the Johannine Lawsuit Motif for review. In it Parsenios explores the implications of reading John’s Gospel through the lens of Greek tragedy and forensic rhetoric. I must admit that I’m a bit skeptical of this endeavor, namely because I don’t see how we are supposed to conclude that John had Greek tragedy or legal rhetoric in mind while writing his Gospel. Parsenios admits as much in his opening chapter, saying:
We can say almost nothing with certainty about what [John] read, apart from the Old Testament. We know only such generalities as the fact that the tragedians were part of the school curriculum throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods in the East, or that many prose authors in the Roman Empire regularly rely on tragic language and scenarios in a phenomenon that is called the “thearicalization of ancient culture.”
Parsenios then concludes this section by arguing that:
regardless of what John read, if we read John in concert with ancient rhetoric and ancient drama, we will read John differently, and with greater insight.
My question is whether Parsenios can legitimately move from his first statement to his second without doing detriment to John’s intention for his Gospel.
I’m inclined to say that he cannot and should not.
What about you?
I wanted to highlight a recent project that came out in November. The book is an edited volume on the book of Lamentations entitled, Great is Thy Faithfulness: Reading Lamentations as Sacred Scripture (Pickwick) edited by Robin A. Parry and Heath A. Thomas. Heath is a friend of mine and has a steady stream of projects in the queue for the next couple of years–you’ve been warned (in a good way).
The book seeks to assist the reader in how to read Lamentations as Scripture. Personally, I do not know if I’ve ever heard a sermon based on a text from Lamentations let alone Lamentations even used as a cross reference. To this, Parry and Thomas write:
Lamentations has never had a place of honor at the table of Christian spirituality. It is not one of those texts that everyone wants to converse with—a John’s Gospel, an Exodus, an Isaiah, a Romans. It is one of those texts people feel uncomfortable around, not quite sure what to do with. Indeed, were it left to us, it may well not have had a place at the table at all. Rather, like the desolate character of Lady Jerusalem sitting alone as people pass by on the other side of the road (Lam 1), the book of Lamentations itself has been passed by, ignored by the other guests (xiii).
Great is Thy Faithfulness is a welcomed contribution to the dinner party described. One strength about this project is that it addresses Lamentations from Jewish, Messianic Jewish, Christian, and Artistic/Contemporary reception history. This becomes an ideal work to show how reception history can help inform and shape the way the church approaches Lamentations as a word from God.
The need of the project is coupled by essays from accomplished scholars. Part 1 begins with a chapter from Heath Thomas (Southeastern Seminary) on the interplay of Scripture and Hermeneutics followed by Part 2 with a chapter on the theology of Lamentations by Paul House (Beeson Divinity School). Part 2 then proceeds with Jewish reception history, with essays from:
Lamentations in Isaiah 40-55 by Lena-Sophia Tiemeyer (Kings College, Aberdeen)
The Character and Significance of LXX Lamentations by Kevin J. Youngblood (Harding University)
Targum Lamentations by Christian M.M. Brady (Penn State University)
Lamentations Rabbati by Jacob Neusner (Bard College)
Introduction to Rashi’s Commentary on Lamentations by Mayer I. Gruber (Gurion University)
Lamentations in Jewish Liturgy by Elsie R. Stern (Reconstructionist Rabbinical College)
Lamentations in Modern Jewish Thought by Zachary Braiterman (Syracuse University)
Following Jewish reception history is a chapter on Lamentations in Messianic Jewish reception history. Holocaust Theology in the Light of Yeshua? Messianic Jewish Reception of Eikah by Richard Harvey (All Nations College)
After Messianic Jewish reception history is Lamentations in Christian reception history with essays by:
Lamentations in the Patristic Period by Heath Thomas (Southeastern Seminary)
Christian Interpretation of Lamentations in the Middle Ages by David Hogg (Beeson Divinity School)
John Calvin’s Interpretation of Lamentations by Pete Wilcox (Canon Chancellor at Lichfield Cathedral)
Lamentations for the Lord: Great and Holy Friday in the Greek Orthodox Church by Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou
Lamentations and Christian Worship by Andrew Cameron-Mowat SJ (Heythrop College, University of London)
Part 2 ends with a section on Artistic and Contemporary reception:
Musical Responses to Lamentations by F. Jane Schopf (Rose Bruford College)
Lamentations in Rembrandt van Rijn: “Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem” by Heath A. Thomas (Southeastern Seminary)
Psychological Approaches to Lamentations by Paul Joyce (St. Peter’s College, University of Oxford)
Feminist Interpretation(s) of Lamentations by Heath A. Thomas (Southeastern Seminary)
Part 3 of Great is Thy Faithfulness is a chapter by Robin Parry (Wipf and Stock Publishers) on Wrestling with Lamentations in Christian Worship.
Part 4 is a chapter on pastoral theology with Confession and Complaint: Christian Pastoral Reflections on Lamentations by Ian Stackhouse (Senior Pastor of Guildford Baptist Church).
Great is Thy Faithfulness is a needed volume for the field and is worthwhile to anyone who wishes to read Lamentations theologically. You can purchase the book here.