'Behind' the Text: History and Biblical Interpretation (Scripture and Hermeneutics Series) [Paperback]

Craig Bartholomew (Editor), C. Stephen Evans (Editor), Mary Healy (Editor), Murray Rae (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2003 | Series: Scripture and Hermeneutics Series (Book 4)

Christianity believes in a God who acts in history. The Bible tells us the story of God's actions in Israel, culminating in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and the spreading of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. The issue of history is thus unavoidable when it comes to reading the Bible Volume 4 of the Scripture and Hermeneutics Series looks at how history has dominated biblical studies under the guise of historical criticism. This book explores ways in which different views of history influence interpretation. It considers the implications of a theology of history for biblical exegesis, and in several case studies it relates these insights to particular texts. 'Few topics are more central to the task of biblical interpretation than history, and few books open up the subject in so illuminating and thought-provoking a manner as this splendid collection of essays and responses.' Hugh Williamson, Regius Professor of Hebrew, University of Oxford, England '. . . breaks new ground in its interdisciplinary examination of the methodology, presuppositions, practices and purposes of biblical hermeneutics, with a special emphasis on the relation of faith and history.' Eleonore Stump, Robert J. Henle Professor of Philosophy, Saint Louis University, United States 'This volume holds great promise for the full-fledged academic recovery of the Bible as Scripture. It embodies an unusual combination of world-class scholarship, historic Christian orthodoxy, bold challenges to conventional wisdom, and the launching of fresh new ideas.' Al Wolters, Professor of Religion and Theology, Redeemer University College, Ontario, Canada 'The essays presented here respect the need and fruitfulness of a critical historiography while beginning the much-needed process of correcting the philosophical tenets underlying much modern and postmodern biblical research. The result is a book that mediates a faith understanding, both theoretical and practical, of how to read the Bible authentically as a Christian today.' Francis Martin, Chair, Catholic-Jewish Theological Studies, John Paul II Cultural Center, Washington, D.C. Not only is history central to the biblical story, but from a Christian perspective history revolves around Jesus Christ. All roads of human activity before Christ lead up to him, and all roads after Christ connect with him. A concern with history and God's action in it is a central characteristic of the Bible. The Bible furnishes us with an account of God's interactions with people and with the nation of Israel that stretches down the timeline from creation to the early church. It tells us of real men, women, and children, real circumstances and events, real cultures, places, languages, and worldviews. And it shows us God at work in human affairs, revealing his character and heart through his activities. 'Behind' the Text examines the correlation between history and the Bible. For the scholar, student, and informed reader of the Bible, this volume highlights the importance of history for biblical interpretation, and looks at how history has and should influence interpretation.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Christianity believes in a God who acts in history. The Bible tells us the story of God’s actions in Israel, culminating in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and the spreading of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. The issue of history is thus unavoidable when it comes to reading the Bible

Volume 4 of the Scripture and Hermeneutics Series looks at how history has dominated biblical studies under the guise of historical criticism. This book explores ways in which different views of history influence interpretation. It considers the implications of a theology of history for biblical exegesis, and in several case studies it relates these insights to particular texts.

"Few topics are more central to the task of biblical interpretation than history, and few books open up the subject in so illuminating and thought-provoking a manner as this splendid collection of essays and responses." Hugh Williamson, Regius Professor of Hebrew, University of Oxford, England

". . . breaks new ground in its interdisciplinary examination of the methodology, presuppositions, practices and purposes of biblical hermeneutics, with a special emphasis on the relation of faith and history." Eleonore Stump, Robert J. Henle Professor of Philosophy, Saint Louis University, United States

"This volume holds great promise for the full-fledged academic recovery of the Bible as Scripture. It embodies an unusual combination of world-class scholarship, historic Christian orthodoxy, bold challenges to conventional wisdom, and the launching of fresh new ideas." Al Wolters, Professor of Religion and Theology, Redeemer University College, Ontario, Canada

"The essays presented here respect the need and fruitfulness of a critical historiography while beginning the much-needed process of correcting the philosophical tenets underlying much modern and postmodern biblical research. The result is a book that mediates a faith understanding, both theoretical and practical, of how to read the Bible authentically as a Christian today." Francis Martin, Chair, Catholic-Jewish Theological Studies, John Paul II Cultural Center, Washington, D.C.

Not only is history central to the biblical story, but from a Christian perspective history revolves around Jesus Christ. All roads of human activity before Christ lead up to him, and all roads after Christ connect with him. A concern with history and God’s action in it is a central characteristic of the Bible. The Bible furnishes us with an account of God's interactions with people and with the nation of Israel that stretches down the timeline from creation to the early church. It tells us of real men, women, and children, real circumstances and events, real cultures, places, languages, and worldviews. And it shows us God at work in human affairs, revealing his character and heart through his activities.

"Behind" the Text examines the correlation between history and the Bible. For the scholar, student, and informed reader of the Bible, this volume highlights the importance of history for biblical interpretation, and looks at how history has and should influence interpretation.

About the Author

Craig Bartholomew (MA, Potchefstroom University, PhD, Bristol University) is professor of philosophy and biblical studies at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. He is the author of Reading Ecclesiastes: Old Testament Exegesis and Hermeneutical Theory. He has also edited In the Fields of the Lord: A Calvin Served Reader and co-edited Christ and Consumerism: A Critical Analysis of the Spirit of the Age. He is the series editor for the Scripture and Hermeneutics Series.

C. Stephen Evans (PhD Yale University) is University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Prior to coming to Baylor in 2001, he taught philosophy at Calvin College, St. Olaf College, and Wheaton College. His published works include fifteen books, among which are The Historical Christ and the Jesus of Faith and Why Believe?

Dr. Mary Healy is council chair of Mother of God Community, a lay Catholic community in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and adjunct professor of Scripture at the Institute for Pastoral Theology in Ypsilanti, Michigan. She has also recently joined the faculty of Campion College, a new Catholic college opening in Washington, DC. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she completed a licentiate at the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria in 1998 and a doctorate in biblical theology at the Gregorian University in Rome in 2000. She is the co-editor of Behind the Text: History and Biblical Interpretation, the author of several articles, and often addresses conferences on biblical interpretation, the theology of the body, and other topics.

Murray Rae is a lecturer in systematic theology at King's College, London. He is the author of Kierkegaard's Vision of the Incarnation, and has co-edited The Practice of Theology and More Than a Single Issue: Theological Considerations Concerning the Ordination of Practicing Homosexuals. He is also the co-director of a research colloquium on theology and the built environment.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (November 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031023414X
• ISBN-13: 978-0310234142
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History is philosophy teaching by example, February 17, 2011

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Stratiotes Doxha Theon "2 Thes 2:15" (Richmond, Missouri) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 'Behind' the Text: History and Biblical Interpretation (Scripture and Hermeneutics Series) (Paperback)

Since much of the Bible is concerned with historical narrative, any approach to biblical interpretation will be affected by the presuppositions we carry into our understanding of history. One of the contributors to this book cited the ancient Dionysius of Halicarnassus, "History is philosophy teaching by examples."

The mistaken belief that the historical-critical methods, that were almost universally accepted in the 19th and 20th centuries, were without presuppositions has led many down the path of inadequate exegesis. So contend the scholarly essays contained in this wonderful fourth volume in the Scripture and Hermeneutics Series. The Protestant theologian and father of "Presuppositional Apologetics," Cornelius Van Til argued convincingly in, for instance, A survey of Christian epistemology (In defense of Biblical Christianity) that there were two kinds of thinking, theistic and anti-theistic. The theistic thinker presupposes God is involved in the story and the anti-theistic thinker presupposes God is not involved. There is no `neutral' thinking that is not affected by that rudimentary theistic or anti-theistic presupposition. The authors of this work, primarily Catholic (likely a surprise to most Van Tilians), would agree. The proponents of historical-critical methods in an attempt to be unbiased have only turned to a different form of bias - they have exchanged theistic for anti-theistic epistemology.

So is the solution to throw out the tools of historical-criticism in their entirety and pursue the postmodernist dilemma that we can know nothing about history with any certainty? These authors think not. Prof. Mary Healy, for instance, speaks of how the view of scripture can be analogous to the view of the incarnation. Just as Jesus is both human and divine, so scripture is both human and divine. The mistake of some in the past, which the proponents of historical-criticism rightly challenged, has been to downplay the human element of scripture in order to follow the subjective extremes of a `spiritual' interpretation. The human contribution and historical context was ignored or maligned to such an extent that it played little or no affect in guiding interpretation or keeping it from the subjective extremes of every interpreter. The historical-critical proponents, however, exchanged that extreme for the other extreme that ignores or denies the divine content of scripture. In denying the divine, they fail to grasp the important context of scripture that gives it substance. In the end, such denial of the divine leads to seeing scripture as entirely irrelevant and a matter of various hypothesis and probabilities of its meaning. Neither method is adequate to understand the scripture text. The true test of interpretative methods is the one that reveals the most satisfactory meaning of the text. Our methods must employ theistic thinking because that is the only approach that makes sense of scripture. The solution to overemphasis on the divine nature of scripture is a balance of the historical-critical methods as tools to alleviate the subjective tendencies by balancing the human with the divine nature.

Experts tend to write primarily for other experts and the nature of short essays is to assume a certain level of knowledge already present with the reader. For that reason, some of the essays may be difficult to follow for the non-expert theologian or historian. But for those who are somewhat familiar with the concepts and philosophical challenges involved in Biblical theology, the rewards are great. On the other hand, the beginner can still get a sense of the depth and breadth of this oft overlooked topic. It may challenge their own presuppositions and draw them closer to the theistic thinking required to truly grasp the truths to be revealed to us in scripture.

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Excellent!, February 24, 2011

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Timothy J. Mills (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 'Behind' the Text: History and Biblical Interpretation (Scripture and Hermeneutics Series) (Paperback)

This book provides an excellent exploration of the intersection between biblical texts and the realities which are (or are not) behind them.

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly academic level text, October 10, 2004

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Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 'Behind' the Text: History and Biblical Interpretation (Scripture and Hermeneutics Series) (Paperback)

This book is the fourth volume of the Scripture and Hermeneutics Series. In it the editors make the point that Christianity is a religion that believes in a God who acts in history. Most of the stories in the Bible are set in specific historical contexts and are designed to show God working with individuals and groups in a historical context. Because history is so bound up in the Bible stories it is impossible to read the Bible without addressing the issue of history.

Sometimes the particular historical view that a reader holds affects their interpretation of Bible passages. This is one of the primary areas this book examines - biblical hermeneutics with an eye toward the relationship between faith and history and how that relationship both affected how historical events were reported and how biblical events are interpreted.

This is a scholarly collection of articles that is written in an academic style and highly suitable for Bible colleges and Seminaries more than the average reader. Behind the Text: History and Biblical Interpretation is recommended for the serious Bible student.