[I wrote this for a doctoral seminar on Biblical Theology and Theological Hermeneutics. So, it’s technical . . .] Broad Strokes In The Character of Christian Scripture: The Significance of a Two-Testament Bible, Christopher Seitz takes up the work of his teacher, Brevard Childs, seeking to reform biblical theology in terms of its innate canonicity.Continue reading “Discussion of Christopher R. Seitz, The Character of Christian Scripture”
Category Archives: Hermeneutics
Theological Interpretation in an Anti-Theological Tradition
In response to my post about the future of Churches of Christ as a theological question, a friend texted me this pithy observation: “For us theology = hermeneutics = exegesis.” To which I responded, “Tell me about it. I’m a PhD candidate in systematics writing on hermeneutics.” And that is very much the point. ForContinue reading “Theological Interpretation in an Anti-Theological Tradition”
On Discovery Bible Study: A Conversation with John King
This video records a long-form conversation in which John King tells his story as the lead developer of the Discovery Bible Study method (see additional resources below), and I air some of my doubts and concerns about DBS, especially in view of hermeneutical issues that face our shared tradition as members of Churches of Christ.Continue reading “On Discovery Bible Study: A Conversation with John King”
On Women in Church Leadership: 1 Tim 2:8–15
I began writing publicly about women in church leadership in 2014, while my family was still in Peru. I was applying to doctoral programs with the intention of studying biblical interpretation, and I was thinking a lot about the role of the biblical text in my tradition (Churches of Christ). Megan and I were alsoContinue reading “On Women in Church Leadership: 1 Tim 2:8–15”
Ricoeur on Biblical Interpretation and Resurrection Hope
Some excerpts from two essays. I highlight the thread of “new creation” that ties them together. From Paul Ricoeur, “Toward a Hermeneutic of the Idea of Revelation”: “What is finally to be understood in a text is not the author or his presumed intention, nor is it the immanent structure or structures of the text,Continue reading “Ricoeur on Biblical Interpretation and Resurrection Hope”
Sermon Prep. for John 16:16–33
The text this week is John 16:16–33, assigned as part of a series on the “very truly” sayings in John. These are initial notes and reflections on the text, co-text, and intertext before recourse to contextual materials and commentaries. What does the assignment of a text do to the process of delimiting the interpretive boundariesContinue reading “Sermon Prep. for John 16:16–33”
On Practicing Theological Interpretation in Churches of Christ
I began a sermon a few Sundays ago with the Apostles’ Creed. Well, with Rich Mullins’s rendition anyway. I’ve been in a cappella Churches of Christ worship services for close to every Sunday of my life (if I count the churches we planted in Peru, which perhaps I shouldn’t). I’ve been in rural and urban churches, large andContinue reading “On Practicing Theological Interpretation in Churches of Christ”
On the Incarnation (Part 2)
(Material from adult Bible class at Hollywood Church of Christ) God the Refugee A Darker Christmas Drama Luke’s birth narrative has its overtones of uncertainty and fear in the midst of weakness and poverty, but it pivots on the promise of blessing and the declaration of great joy. Matthew’s story, however, is colored with a sombre and ominousContinue reading “On the Incarnation (Part 2)”
On Hermeneutics and Ethics
I’m not an ethicist, more’s the pity. But as a missionary, I found it necessary to teach from ignorance, act from weakness, and generally be sent on the basis of inadequacy. “Who is sufficient for these things?” Paul asks. Fool that I am, I once thought the question was an invitation to reflect on whether orContinue reading “On Hermeneutics and Ethics”
Toward a Research Agenda
In September, I begin doctoral study at Fuller Theological Seminary. I will be in the School of Theology, with a theology concentration and a New Testament minor concentration, but I will cross into the School of Intercultural Studies in order to work in missiology as well. The ability to do interdisciplinary research in this way was whatContinue reading “Toward a Research Agenda”
Scripture & Mission 