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| Introducing Theological Interpretation of Scripture: Recovering a Christian Practice | 
 enlarge | Author: Daniel J., Treier
Publisher: Baker Academic
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99 (42.35 RON)
Buy New: $12.23 (28.79 RON)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 43975
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0801031788
Dewey Decimal Number: 220.6
EAN: 9780801031786
ASIN: 0801031788
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
Comprehensive, helpful November 14, 2008
This book serves as an excellent primer on the subject of theological interpretation of Scripture, and a great supplement to the Dictionary for the Theological Interpretation of Scripture, which Daniel Treier helped edit. Here, Treier traces the emerging "theological interpretation" movement, demonstrating a comprehensive knowledge of the relevant secondary sources on the subject. He concludes each chapter by offering an illustrative case study on the Imago Dei which applies the principles discussed.
In Part I, chapter 1, he begins by looking at church history and how many scholars seek to recover the pre-critical interpretative spirit of several church fathers, whose interpretations have always been more spiritually beneficial to the community of faith than those of biblical critics. In chapter 2, he also explores the role of the "Rule of Faith" and Christian doctrine in interpretation. Here he demonstrates how "doctrine shapes both the questions we ask of biblical texts and the ways we communicate our answers."
In the final chapter of Part I, Treier examines the role of virtue in theological exegesis, looking at Lindbeck, Fowl, Vanhoozer, et al. He concludes by summarizing Fowl's two-fold distinction on the relation between virtue and theological interpretation: virtue-through-interpretation (how such interpretation aids in cultivating virtue) and virtue-in-interpretation (how virtue aids interpretation). Treier notes how there is widespread agreement in the former, but the latter poses several problems. How do we impose virtue as a criterion within interpretative practice? What counts as virtue? Such questions belong to the enduring challenges to theological interpretation, which he addresses in Part II.
Beginning Part II, in chapter 4, Treier discusses the modern debate in biblical theology and its role in theological interpretation. With information already familiar to those who have read the DTIB, he follows the development of the Biblical Theology Movement as a discipline of its own. In the rest of what feels like a very short chapter, he defines three proposals for the "future" of biblical theology: an approach of progressive revelation (advocated by D. A. Carson), the canonical approach (Christopher Seitz), and the theological interpretation of Scripture approach (Francis Watson, Brian Rosner). The last approach sees biblical theology as bridge discipline between Scripture and systematic theology, though the waters are increasingly muddied about what this looks like as definitions of 'theological interpretation' and 'biblical theology' remain a bit fluid.
In chapter 5, he offers one of the deepest and most helpful discussions in the entire book, looking at the role of general hermeneutics in theological interpretation. He begins by looking at the contribution of Hans-Georg Gadamer and then follows responses by both Jurgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida, developing the hermeneutical discussion through the 20th Century and beyond. Within this broad, quick, yet deep overview, one will encounter Ricoeur, Hirsch, Thisleton, and Vanhoozer.
In the attempt to bridge general and special hermeneutics, the discussion of virtue comes up once again, with Aristotle's sophia and phronesis categories coming into play. In Treier's estimation, Vanhoozer's dramatic model presented in "The Drama of Doctrine" offers the church the best model for remaining virtuous in its application of Scripture, since it both embodies the "appropriate" concept of drama and appeals to phronesis with its appeal to improvisation. In improv, an actor spontaneously reacts to the script, necessitating the 'actor' having become a certain type of person in order to faithfully relate to the script in their performance. Treier begins to move the discussion forward by quoting Jens Zimmerman on how the Incarnation might have implications for general hermenuetics and theology (which you simply need to read for yourself), but he stops. One wishes there might have been some more constructive thinking after mapping out the major players and thinkers, but alas . . .
The final chapter relates to globalization, the global South, and the importance and value for Western theology in reading outside one's own culture - something not done near enough in today's literature.
The overview here is not so much constructive if not instructive, but this was Treier's expressed purpose and it is a resounding success in this respect. The book will serve to help give an overview of where the modern discussion came from, who its major voices are, and what it looks like in practical application to the Christian community. A quick, useful read if you have the time.
Very helpful August 4, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is a very helpful and readable introduction to theological interpretation. Treier has not only read the relevant and important material in this area (he was an associate editor for the 'Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible'), but he has the ability to clearly layout the central aspects of the movement in a way that students can understand. The book includes discussion of figures such as Barth, Watson and Fowl (among many others) and engages with fields and topics like the rule of faith (including pre-critical interpretation), biblical theology, general hermeneutics, and global theology as they relate to theological interpretation. The intro also interacts with Roman Catholic interpretation (esp. Matthew Levering's new work) which is a plus. At the end of almost every chapter Treier enters into a discussion on the image of God based on the descriptions that were just presented. This was very helpful because it provided an example of how this is fleshed-out rather than leaving you with a mere theory or history of how this "could" be done.
While the book is appropriately instructive, it does contain controversial elements. For example, Treier writes that "the presuppositions of interpreters have often had a bad name in biblical studies... Presuppositions are 'baggage' to be set aside as much as humanly possible in a quest for 'objectivity.' This metaphor points to an alternative, however: baggage usually carries with us that which is essential, not that which we need to get rid of. What if presuppositions are not a threat to objectivity but rather an aid in preserving it?" (202). Some will cheer on such questions, yet others will become uncomfortable with the idea of even asking them. Nevertheless, these are important questions, and Treier's book helps present possible answers. Overall, I highly recommend this book. It also includes a seven page "suggested reading" at the end and helpful index.
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