Scripture and Tradition: What The Bible Really Says

May 22, 2013 — Leave a comment

9781441240484

Edith M. Humphrey is the William F. Orr Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She has written a few books including Grand Entrance: Worship on Earth as in Heaven and And I Turned To See The Voice (in Baker’s Studies in Theological Interpretation series). Here in Scripture and Tradition: What The Bible Really Says, she tackles the sticky issue of Christian relations with tradition. Helpfully, she wants to keep the focus on how Scripture directs us to focus on tradition rather than how certain traditions urge us to focus on tradition.

Overview

This is a relatively short book that would make a good reading companion to Carl Trueman’s The Creedal Imperative. Humphrey highlights three questions that will ultimately animate her study (21-22):

  • Can we separate Scripture from tradition?
  • Is there a difference (and if so what is it) between “traditions” and Holy Tradition?
  • What is the relationship between the Church, Scripture, and Tradition?

Though she does not aim to definitively answer each of these questions, she does attempt “to make a start using a kind of ‘common denominator’ approach, something shared by Christians: What does the Bible really say about tradition?” To make this start and answer this specific question, Humphrey says “Our major business will be to compare Scripture with Scripture, with all the help that we can get from others in the Christian community, past and present, who have read with care these text that touch on the nature of tradition.” (22)

This project, first of all, involves an examination of the NT passages that involve the Greek paradosis (a handing over or giving down) and paradidomi (to hand over, or to gift), as well as places where tradition may be invoked with this specific word group being used. She raises the question whether something is lost in translation. In other words, there are several places in the NT where these words are translated in a way that fails to highlight their connection to tradition being passed (or gifted) on.

Chapter 2 then takes a look at the transmission of Scripture itself, the teaching of the rabbis, and eventually Jesus’ condemnation of tradition. Here Humphrey seeks to show that Jesus’ condemnation was not a blanket disapproval of any and all traditions, but rather a certain kind of tradition. Also dealt with is whether or not we should take Jesus and Paul’s condemnation of the Law as applying equally to any and all traditions.

Chapter 3 turns the focus to Acts and how the early church functioned, especially as it relates to the apostolic basis underlying it. She also uses Paul’s letters to the Corinthians as a window into how he appropriated tradition in his own ministry. Here we see tradition functioning as a kind of apostolic precedent for how to handle issues in the life of the church.

Chapter 4 is a sermon turned book chapter in which Humphrey discusses how God’s “blessed delivery” to the Church. God is not only the Giver and the Gift, he is in and among us the recipients. We are not the first to be given the gift of life with God, nor will we be the last. Tradition in this light is seen as a kind of divinely instituted connective tissue. Not that better than or superior to the Gift, but a means of joining into it.

Chapter 5 brings this into sharper focus. Humphrey sees a connection between the giving of the Holy Spirit and God’s personal gift of tradition to the Church. Here she brings up issues of mediation, both in terms of how God is mediated through leaders in the church like the apostles and prophets, as well as how tradition can continue that trend into the present. If the tradition being referred to is properly apostolic, then it is extending that mediation.

Finally, chapter 6 digs into issues that readers already tuned into this discussion might have expected. Humphrey uses Scripture to dig into the differences between Holy Tradition and human tradition. Here she examines four examples from church history of “mutable traditions.” They are: (1) how the Gospels reinterpret Isaiah 6:10, (2) Sabbath keeping, both in terms of changing the day, and the nature of keeping it, (3) Acts 15 and nature of the decision making there, and (4) the habit of praying to the Holy Spirit even though it is not commanded or modeled in Scripture. She then concludes with a brief discussion of some other debated traditions and how to approach them in light of the preceding study.

Conclusion

As she writes in the conclusion, “Our main quest in this study has been to examine the theme of tradition in the Scriptures, rather than Scripture as read by the Tradition. At every point, however, these two concerns are linked, since Scripture is enveloped by Tradition and Tradition is enshrined in Scripture.” (160) I think the quest is successful, although I imagine there will be some debate about how to exactly appropriate tradition even if one is in general a fan of it. Humphrey’s book though seems more aimed at popular level and simply making the case to Protestants that tradition isn’t bad in and of itself. Footnotes are fairly sparse in this book and it is an easy read. Much like Trueman’s The Creedal Imperative, the audience seems to be an evangelical world that seems intent on reinventing the ecclesiological wheel. Rather, as both Trueman and Humphrey urge, there is guidance to be found in tradition, but never in such a way that it subordinates Scripture. Sola Scriptura doesn’t mean Solo Scriptura although many treat it this way. Scripture and tradition work in tandem and Humphrey’s book does a good job of illustrating from Scripture itself why this is so. For readers interesting is testing her case, I would encourage you to pick up a copy and read for yourself.

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In Book Reviews, Christian Culture, Historical Theology, Interpreting The New Testament
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40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible

May 20, 2013 — Leave a comment

9780825434983

Way back in January, I reviewed Paul’s Missionary Methods: In His Time and Ours. The book was edited by Robert Plummer and John Mark Terry, the former of whom got in touch with me over Facebook and offered me the opportunity to review his other book, 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible. I already had a copy of my own, but suggested that he could send me a copy and I’d feature it in a giveaway, and so here we are.

If you’re not familiar with this series, or this particular volume, here’s the rundown. Each volume tackles a particular subject through the lens of 40 key questions. Answering the questions is obviously the aim of the book, but it takes a scholar who knows his stuff to select the best 40 questions in the first place. Plummer’s book breaks the questions down into the following groups:

  • Questions about text, canon, and translation
  • Questions related to interpretation
  • Questions related to meaning
  • Questions about the various genres in both testaments
  • Questions about specific NT issues
  • Questions about specific OT issues
  • Questions about issues in recent discussion

In these questions, there is something for everyone. While aimed at general readers, Plummer doesn’t shy away from getting into recent trends like speech act theory and theological interpretation of Scripture. But on the other hand, neither does he ignore basic questions like “Why is Biblical interpretation important?” and “How is the Bible organized?” Basically, someone has never given any concentrated thought into biblical interpretation could pick this book up and start with the first question (“What is the Bible?”) and be guided into sound principles of interpretation. Likewise, the reader who is already actively trying to understand the Bible better can pick this book up and find guidance for more advanced issues (“Can a text have more than one meaning?”). And even those of us who’ve graduated from seminary can find this book as a useful refresher, as well as a potential teaching tool (which I think I just might do).

Conclusion

Overall, I’ve liked the layout and nature of this whole series, and this book is no exception. If you’re serious about understanding the Bible and want to use sound principles of interpretation, this book is great starting point. The questions cover all the basics and then some, and Plummer’s answers are clear and to the point. You’d do well to keep up with this whole series, but this book is definitely the place to start.

If you’re in RSS, you’ll probably need to click through to see the PunchTab form. As always, just follow the prompts to earn your entries! I do want to add this disclaimer though: I plan on starting a blog newsletter in the coming weeks or sometime before Google Reader’s demise. By entering your email, you are also adding yourself to the mailing list. You can enter the giveaway without using your email, but if you go that route, that is what you’re doing (and this will be true in giveaways from now on!)

Here’s the giveaway info:

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In Book Reviews, How-To, Interpreting The New Testament, Interpreting The Old Testament
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Tweets of The Week 5.18.13

May 18, 2013 — 1 Comment

For the second week in a row, I offer you “Tweets of The Week.” Kind of like a #FollowFriday, I offer you the tweets I liked the most from the various people I follow on Twitter. Without further delay, here they are:

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Sex & Money: Pleasures That Leave You Empty and Grace That Satisfies

May 15, 2013 — Leave a comment

9781433536496

For a while now, I’ve been a big fan of Paul Tripp’s books. Back in the fall I was able to read through his Dangerous Calling. Though I didn’t do a formal review, I did offer some extended thoughts on the book here and here. It is a book I think every pastor or potential pastor should read.

After having the opportunity to read Tripp’s latest, Sex & Money, I would say it qualifies for that list of books as well (which might make a future post, who knows). The target audience is much wider, but judging from recent pastoral failings here in Orlando, it is a book much needed by pastors. If you’re not a pastor, don’t let that stop you from picking up this book. Dangerous Calling was written espeically for pastors. This book is written espeically for people who live in a sex and money obsessed culture.

Tripp begins with a chapter explaining just how crazy our money-sex obsessed culture is. You hope his vignettes of disaster are made up for publication, but deep down you know that they are all probably true. After laying these paragraph long stories of money-sex insanity, Tripp explains briefly what the root problem is. We have a glory orientation and are addicted to looking for it in all the wrong places. Or as he puts it, “this side of eternity really is one big, unceasing glory battle.” (24)

Thankfully Tripp is not writing a purely descriptive book. Though he continues to explain our problem in chapters 2 and 3, it is all building up to chapter 4 where he points readers to the true nature of pleasure, which I think is worth quoting in full:

It is not an overstatement of a distant theological platitude to say that pleasure and its birth are in the mind of God. Legitimate pleasure of any type is God’s creation, and our ability to recognize and enjoy pleasure is the result of his design. There is no better place to see this and to trace its implications than to go back to the beginning, to the garden of Eden. I want to introduce you to the Eden hermeneutic. Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation. You and I don’t live life based on the facts of our existence but on our unique and personal interpretation of the facts. Here’s how it works for our topic: if God created pleasure, then pleasure is not the problem. The problem comes when we understand pleasure in the wrong way and then involve ourselves in pleasure in ways that are the direct result of the wrong interpretation we have made. (56)

This is a key in all of Tripp’s books (the importance of how we interpret our life), but it is really central when it comes to how we understand sex and money. In both cases, as Tripp shows through his book, we are looking for ultimate pleasure in the wrong places and therefore we devolve into the sex-money crazed insanity that our culture perpetuates. Because those things can never truly satisfy, we are constantly looking for the next “glory-fix” through our pursuits and never quite attain it.

Having set this context, Tripp spends chapters 5-8 specifically focused on offering a correct, God-centered interpretation of sex and our lives as sexual beings. In short, since sex is about worship (chapter  6), relationship (chapter 7), and obedience (chapter 8) then it can’t just be about us. But the problem for many of us is that we try to do just that: make it all about us and our wants. Tripp carefully and pastorally tries to show readers a much better way.

Chapter 9 is a transition chapter, and then chapters 10-14 are focused on applying this same reinterpretation to our money problems. Playing a bit on a Josh Harris book title, Tripp points out that money is not the problem, love is. We spend money on what we love and so our poor spending habits reflect disordered loves. If we truly want to move forward, we need a heart change and a love re-orientation.

Conclusion

Like I hinted at in the beginning, this is a book for everyone. I think we could all use a re-orientation when it comes to what we love and where we seek ultimate pleasure. Tripp does a masterful job of providing pointed and persuasive biblical counsel on this issue. He is a great writer and is probably one of the best authors of practical theology books writing right now. Maybe that’s my own subjective assessment since Tripp has been so influential in both my and Ali’s life. But, I think anyone who has read of any of his other books will see the pastoral wisdom infused in them, and this book is no different.

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In Biblical Counseling, Book Reviews, Christian Culture, Practical Theology, Worship
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Pilgrim Theology

May 13, 2013 — 4 Comments

9780310330646

It’s no secret I was rather critical of Michael Horton’s The Christian Faith. Some of that was expectation driven, but I think there were legitimate drawbacks to Horton’s work. If nothing else, Horton just wasn’t ready to write a full-scale academic systematic theology. Had he waited and developed the book later into his career, it might not have had the uneven quality that it had.

All that being said, I was nothing short of curious to see how the semi abridgment, Pilgrim Theology would turn out. Long story short, I was pleasantly surprised. So much so I decided to make it the textbook for my junior Bible class this next year.

So why the change of heart?

Well, because the goals of this book are more modest, I think it is an overall success. Here is how Horton explains the relationship of Pilgrim Theology to The Christian Faith:

This book is more than simply an abridgment of The Christian Faith. Instead, I have sought to write for an entirely new and wider audience. I’ve intentionally tried to make it useful for both group and individual study, and have included key terms, distinctions, and questions at the end of each chapter that are linked to words in bold font within the text. Though this book is less detailed than my longer systematic theology, it is written to serve as something of a travel guide to help you on your own journey of theological understanding, showing you the proper coordinates and important landmarks you’ll need to recognize along the way. (14)

As you can see, Horton has a penchant for metaphors, and in this book that works to his advantage. Because his goals here are more modest (a travel guide vs. a meticulous map), I think he hits his sweet spot. His writing style works better for this kind of work rather than an academic work.

Beyond that, this book is essentially a re-write. Though many of the chapter headings are the same, the chapters themselves are not, and the material within the chapters is not just condensed bits from his full systematic. (Though oddly the copyright inside is 2011 rather than 2013).

In terms of content, Horton covers all the majors contours of a systematic. The lone exception, interestingly enough, are angels, Satan, and demons. They were given a more or less single page treatment in his full systematic, so perhaps it is not surprising that they are not treated at all in this book (I guess that’s just not a necessary topic for a theological travel guide!) More surprising is that there is no treatment of the covenants, which would probably make Bavinck and Berkhof sad if they were still alive and knew Horton was carrying their mantle of Reformed systematic theology writing (although to be fair, there is much more that would concern them than that Horton didn’t talk about covenants in his popular systematic theology).

Footnotes are sparse and biblical expositions are more numerous than in the fuller treatment, which is one reason I liked this book better (since errors plagued his footnotes and his exposition was lighter). In general, I think this book is much more useful as a textbook and is geared more toward classroom and group discussion. The distinctions that Horton makes within each chapter are a definite plus, and if you haven’t seen the infographics, then click on thru to this site.

So, overall, if we are to evaluate this book as a popular level systematic theology, I think it’s one of the best available. It’s probably on par with Wayne Grudem’s abridged version, and is definitely better than Driscoll’s Doctrine. Gerald Bray’s God is Love is perhaps a better overall work, but it is also a bigger volume and perhaps less accessible to the average person. I toyed with using it as a textbook, but ultimately decided that Horton’s work is the best bet. Had Horton’s book been available at the beginning of the year, I probably would have used it for my Doctrine class at church instead of Driscoll’s book.

For readers looking for an accessible systematic theology from a Reformed perspective (or to use Horton’s metaphor, “in a Reformed key”), then this is for you. It is not without flaws (like leaving angels and covenants out completely) but is strongly Reformed/Calvinistic in his theology without being abrasive (not that Calvinists are ever abrasive, right?). It is readable and engaging in a way appropriate to its target audience. It would be nice to see a 2nd edition of The Christian Faith at some point that fixes some of its errors and weakpoints. Horton doesn’t do much to mitigate those here, but by writing for a different audience, he definitely bypasses many of them, and in doing so, writes a book I actually didn’t get super frustrated reading.

And that’s gotta count for something right?

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