scholarly journals LEARNING FROM CALVIN’S METHODOLOGY OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
DAVID EUNG YUL RYOO
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
John Calvin ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Biblical Texts

Most research on John Calvin focuses on theology and history. Yet Calvin viewed himself primarily as a minister and preacher: the Bible is the revelation of God and exposition the preacher’s ultimate mission. This article examines Calvin’s methodology of biblical interpretation in his sermons, his perspective on the word, and his conception of preaching. Calvin’s sermons reveal four characteristics: the goal of preaching is unfolding biblical texts, biblical interpretation communicates the intent of the original author, the absolute lordship and grace of God is centered upon Jesus Christ, and the text must be applied as well as explained.

scholarly journals Is Allah die Here?

1994 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Van Rooy
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
John Calvin ◽  
Timothy 1 ◽  
Distorted Image ◽  
Absolute Sense ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Difference Of Opinion ◽  
The Absolute

Regarding the issue whether Allah is God, much difference of opinion exists among Reformed theologians. J.H. Bavinck, John Calvin and Z. Ursinus would probably say no in answer to the question as to whether Allah is God. whereas others, like Albert Kruyt and most specialists on Islam would say yes. These differences may be explained as emanating from different approaches. The subjective-personal point of view would not recognize in Allah the God of the Bible. Gods of different faiths reflecting a distorted image of God should, however, only in a very relative and limited way he called false gods. The exegetical point of view should take cognisance of Taul’s statements about the God of Judaism in Romans 10:2 and his own experience according to 2 Timothy 1:3. These Pauline statements make it clear that the God of Judaism cannot historically and objectively be called an idol. Knowledge of Allah of Islam, however, is historically dependent on Judaism and Christianity, and is therefore an extension of the knowledge Jews and Christians have of God. From a New Testament perspective Judaism and Islam cannot be called true religions, but neither can the God they worship be called an idol in the absolute sense of the word.

Interpreting the Bible Amidst Ecological Degradation

Theology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 112 (867) ◽  
pp. 199-207
Author(s):  
Ernst M. Conradie
Keyword(s):  
Crucial Role ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
Ecological Degradation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Contemporary Context

This essay explores the role of interpretative strategies in biblical interpretation. It is argued that ‘doctrinal constructs’ play a crucial role in appropriating the significance of biblical texts in and for a particular contemporary context. Various such constructs typically employed for an ecological biblical hermeneutics are analysed. Suggestions are offered towards the use of more sophisticated constructs, with reference to the notions of the ‘liberation of creation’, the ‘wisdom of God’ and the ‘whole household of God’.

scholarly journals Die ontmoeting van wêrelde en die beginsel van sola Scriptura

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
Normative Power ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
Fusion Of Horizons ◽  
Point Of Departure

The meeting of worlds and the principle of sola Scriptura. Rather than function as a catalyst for unity, the Bible can be the cause of conflict among Christian believers. The Bible is also often the reason for strife, specifically in the Reformed tradition, even though Protestants uphold the creedal truism of sola Scriptura and though the authority of the Bible is seen as selfmandatory, transcending the normative power of ecclesiastical or confessional traditions. This article focuses on biblical interpretation as both a cause of disunity and a possible means to achieve greater unity. The point of departure is that biblical interpretation consists of a fusion of horizons; it is primarily about the fusion of two horizons, namely that of the Bible and that of the reader. However, both these horizons represent a great diversity of perspectives. A variety of readers interpret the Bible from diverse contexts. The Bible itself also communicates a diversity of ideas. Even the notion ‘Jesus Christ’ does not function as a unified or unifying concept. The article proposes that the idea of ‘Jesus’ cause’ (Sache Jesu) could provide continuity between the world of the reader and the world of a biblical passage.

scholarly journals CROSSING BOUNDARIES. THE TRANSFORMATIVE POTENTIAL OF INTERCULTURAL BIBLE READING IN SECULAR / POST-SECULAR CONTEXTS

Scriptura ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Louis Jonker
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Bible Reading

Intercultural biblical hermeneutics is a fairly recent development in biblical scholarship in general. It emphasises that biblical interpretation almost always takes place in contexts where an array of cultural values and beliefs determine the outcome of the interpretative process. Although this branch of biblical hermeneutics emerged from the need to reflect theoretically on how Christians from different socio-cultural and socio-economic contexts engage the biblical texts, and one another on account of those texts, this approach may also be widened to include the interpretation of the Bible in non-Christian contexts (including the contexts of other religions and secular contexts) or even to engage in discourse on the interpretation of authoritative texts of different traditions (such as the Qur’an in Islam, in addition to the Tenakh of Judaism, and the Old and New Testament of Christianity). In research on intercultural biblical hermeneutics, it has been noticed that intercultural interpretation holds enormous transformative potential. My paper will examine how this could be of use in engagements between religious, secular and post-secular contexts.

Influence: On Rhetoric and Biblical Interpretation

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-105
Author(s):  
Michal Beth Dinkler
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Human History ◽  
Popular Opinion ◽  
Short Answer ◽  
Biblical Literature ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Do So

Abstract The influence of the Bible in human history is staggering. Biblical texts have inspired grand social advancements, intellectual inquiries, and aesthetic achievements. Yet, the Bible has also given rise to hatred, violence, and oppression—often with deadly consequences. How does the Bible exert such extraordinary influence? The short answer is rhetoric. In Influence: On Rhetoric and Biblical Interpretation, Michal Beth Dinkler demonstrates that, contrary to popular opinion, rhetoric is not inherently “empty” or disingenuous. Rhetoric refers to the art of persuasion. Dinkler argues that the Bible is by nature rhetorical, and that understanding the art of persuasion is therefore vital for navigating biblical literature and its interpretation. Influence invites readers to think critically about biblical rhetoric and the rhetoric of biblical interpretation, and offers a clear and compelling guide for how to do so.

The Bible as a Document of the Church: A Personal View

2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (6) ◽  
pp. 276-285
Author(s):  
George G. Nicol
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
Personal View ◽  
Church Of Scotland ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The Church

Following some general remarks on recent significant trends in biblical studies, I note that these will exacerbate the gulf between church and academy with respect to biblical interpretation. A brief introduction to the official documents of the Church of Scotland shows that they provide little indication of how the Bible should be interpreted as a document of the church. In view of the ideological nature of many of the biblical texts an argument against too ready recourse to theological interpretation is outlined.

scholarly journals Joseph Smith’s plain and precious truths restored: A Christian apologetic response

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik G. Stoker ◽  
Paul Derengowski
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
John Calvin ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Joseph Smith ◽  
Brigham Young University ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Church

It has been the claim of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that ‘many plain and precious truths’ have been removed from the Bible, although Smith did not explicitly or concisely elaborate on what those missing truths were. Later, Dr Clyde J. Williams of Mormon-owned Brigham Young University provided that concise list. Writing for Ensign magazine in October 2006, Williams argued for at least eight specific doctrines that were ‘restored’. Upon examination and rebuttal, it is demonstrated that the Bible remains sufficient for all matters pertaining to Christian faith and practice, as John Calvin and the Reformers concluded years ago, and is emphasised in their stance on Sola Scriptura.

Struggle is a Name for Hope: A Critical Feminist Interpretation for Liberation

1997 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-248
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Feminist Interpretation ◽  
Religious Meaning ◽  
Critical Feminist ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Theological Authority ◽  
The One ◽  
A Site

The author attempts to find a way between defence of religion and the bible on the one hand and the exodus from religion and church on the other. In reclaiming the authority of wo/men as religious-theological subjects for interpreting biblical texts, the act of biblical interpretation emerges as a moment in the global struggle for liberation. This essay has four parts: Scripture as a site of struggle over theological authority; the bible as a site of struggle over religious meaning; wo/men's struggles as a site of biblical interpretation; and reclaiming a radical democratic feminist tradition.

The Morality of Biblical Deception

2019 ◽  
pp. 263-275
Author(s):  
Shira Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Philosophical Question ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Texts

The chapter explores the philosophical question of whether or not it is ever moral to lie or deceive. Despite the Bible’s prohibitions against lying (Ex. 20:12; Lev. 19:11; Prov. 6:17), there are many instances in biblical narrative in which deceptive means are used to achieve a desired end. Exegetes go to great lengths to temper biblical characters’ lies and philosophers allegorize or attempt to harmonize biblical texts in order to idealize biblical characters. Such biblical interpretation will be examined from the perspective of moral philosophy in order better to appreciate the ethical teachings of the Bible.

Authority and Truth

2020 ◽  
pp. 53-80
Author(s):  
Michael C. Rea
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Biblical Authority ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Textual Authority ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Biblical Inerrancy

Chapter 3 is divided into three sections. The first attempts to clarify what might be meant in calling a text authoritative. The second draws distinctions between different things that might be meant by saying that a text is truthful. The goal in both of these parts is to arrive at some general conclusions about texts, rather than specific conclusions about the Bible. Consequently, the chapter refrains from making assumptions about (e.g.) biblical interpretation or about the truth of particular biblical texts. Indeed, for much of the discussion, the Bible is not even directly in view. The third section draws out some of the implications of the discussions in the first two sections for the question of how textual authority and textual truth are connected to one another. It also comments on the significance of these conclusions for discussions about the relation between biblical authority and biblical inerrancy.

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