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40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible

May 20, 2013 — Leave a comment

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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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Reverse Systematic Theology: A Proposal

April 17, 2013 — 7 Comments

Something I don’t do as often anymore, but would like to change, is offer you thoughts in process. I think that’s kind of a big part of blogging. I used to use the blog to think out loud more frequently, but that was in its MySpace and Xanga iterations. I think in seminary I felt like I had to post complete thoughts and complete thoughts only. But, I’m not in seminary any more (but I live across the street from one).

Recently, as I’ve been teaching the Sunday night Doctrine class, and my 11th grade Bible class (which in this semester is a Christian doctrine class), I’ve been thinking about how we go through theology. “Systematic” really just means “ordered according to some logical principle,” and certain ground is expected to be covered. So, systematic theology is just theology that is ordered logically according to topic rather than traced in a linear way through either a single biblical book, or the entire Bible itself.

Good systematic theology is highly exegetical. That is, it is built by exegeting key passages of Scripture. Historical rootedness is helpful, but teaching theology should be more than just rehashing what major theologians have said. A good theologian goes back to the text, and as John Piper exhorted preachers last Wednesday at the inaugural Spurgeon Lectureship at RTS, we need to point people to the text so they see where we got it.

In light of all that, I’ve been wondering if treating the topics in a semi-reverse order might actually be better suited for many audiences. Consider for instance the major headings in the table of contents of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology:

  • Doctrine of The Word of God
  • Doctrine of God
  • Doctrine of Man
  • Doctrine of Christ and The Holy Spirit
  • Doctrine of the Application of Redemption
  • Doctrine of the Church
  • Doctrine of the Future

Similarly, here is the table of contents from Michael Horton’s more recent systematic, The Christian Faith:

  • Knowing God: The Presuppositions of Theology
  • God Who Lives
  • God Who Creates
  • God Who Rescues
  • God Who Reigns in Grace
  • God Who Reigns in Glory

Here we see fairly similar ground covered, but instead of “doctrine,” Horton orbits everything around God as the main actor. Gerald Bray does something similar, but focuses on love, hence his title, God is Love:

  • The Language of Love
  • God’s Love in Himself
  • God’s Love for His Creation
  • The Rejection of God’s Love
  • God So Loved The World
  • The Consummation of God’s Love

I could multiply TOC’s further, but I think you get the idea. They all tend to follow a general pattern. The pattern in and of itself is not what makes them “systematic,” but the fact that there is a clear pattern to it. Berkhof makes this point in his systematic, predictably titled Systematic Theology, where he points out that there are numerous logical orderings, but the point is that there needs to be some kind of logical/topical flow. The one at work in all of the above is starting with the foundation of knowledge, then moving to God, then forward through the biblical story.

If we are going to use the “ologies” for each of these focal points, it would look like this:

  • Epistemology
  • Bibliology
  • Theology Proper
  • Anthropology
  • Hamartialogy
  • Christology
  • Soteriology
  • Pneumatology
  • Ecclesiology
  • Eschatology

Now, what if instead of starting in the usual place (which really puts the most complicated doctrines right up front), we started were people are: the Gospel (or soteriology)

What I’ve noticed while teaching, and I owe some of this insight to Fred Sander’s The Deep Things of God, is people are most familiar with soteriology and the basic contours of the Gospel (if they’re in a good church). It is not self evident to them that epistemology is important for understanding theology and growing in their relationship with God. It is, but it’s not self-evident to the average church-goer.

So, what if a systematic theology was oriented toward readers who have a basic grasp of the Gospel, but want to grow in their theological knowledge? I think it would look something like this:

  • Work of Christ
  • Pneumatology
  • Person of Christ
  • Sin/Fall
  • Man/Creation
  • Church/Eschatology
  • Theology Proper
  • Bibliology
  • Epistemology

Here’s how I would think of it in terms of questions (and this is the part I owe to Sanders):

  • What did Jesus do for me? (past tense)
  • How is He relating to me now?
  • What more can I know about Jesus as a person?
  • Why did Jesus have to die, and how am I responsible?
  • What was God’s original intention?
  • How is God working to fix things now?
  • How can I know all this is true?

That’s kind of rough, but the idea is that people start with their grasp of the gospel and then move backwards. In order to go deeper into the gospel as the work of Christ, you move into his person and his Spirit. That then raises the question of why Jesus death was necessary, as well as what it means for him to be fully human. That raises the question of what is God’s plan in all of this, which leads to discussing the original creation, the final recreation, and the church’s role in that whole process. You’re already been employing a latent Trinitarianism, so the stage is set to explore that further, and in doing that you bring up the issue of revelation, which brings up the issue of epistemology.

I think moving in this way would pique interest better, but maybe that’s just me. After reading through this, what do you think? What would you alter? Do you think people would connect with theology taught in this direction?

I’m curious to hear your thoughts, so don’t leave the comments section lonely!

In How-To, Theology
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Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers & Skeptics Find Faith

April 9, 2013 — Leave a comment

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Alister McGrath is professor of theology, ministry, and education and head of the Centre for Theology, Religion, and Culture at King’s College, London, and president of the Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics. He’s written more books than I care to list here, but this is actually the second recently published book of his that I’ve read in the last 30 days. His C. S. Lewis – A Life was my spring break reading, and now I’ve had the opportunity to read through his Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers & Skeptics Find Faith. Read the latter after the former proved interesting since McGrath draws on Lewis quite a bit, and I imagine the writing of these two works overlapped considerably.

Overview

Mere Apologetics, like the name suggests, is something similar to Lewis’ Mere Christianity, but for apologetics. As immersed as McGrath was in Lewis’ writings during the writing of this book, it’s not surprising to see the resultant book very much in the spirit of Lewis. As McGrath opens up:

This book is an introduction to apologetics – the field of Christian thought that focuses on the justification of the core themes of the Christian faith and its effective communication to the non-Christian world. It commends a mindset of engagement, encouraging Christians to interact with the ideas of our culture rather than running away from them or pretending they can be ignored. (11)

He continues,

This book sets out to introduce its readers to the leading themes of apologetics, presenting a basic understanding of its agendas and approaches. I have tried to make this book accessible, interesting, and useful, while giving pointers to more advanced resources that will allow you, the reader, to take things further in your own time. It is not comprehensive, so you will need to supplement it with more advanced and specialized texts. Nor is it committed to any particular school of apologetics. Rather than limiting itself to any one specific school or approach to apologetics, this work draws on their collective riches. (12)

That last point is what makes this book a great introduction to “mere” apologetics. There are things in here that will make presuppositionalists proud, and other things that they’ll find somewhat annoying (see more below). Evidentialists and classicalists alike will find their insights in McGrath’s book. The book then succeeds in McGrath’s aims stated in the second quote and gives readers the “flavor” of the riches that Christian apologetics has to offer. In terms of a brief overview, the opening chapters are very basic. First, McGrath defines apologetics (chapter 1). McGrath sees apologetics involving defending the truth of the gospel, commending the truth and relevance of the gospel to an audience, and translating the core ideas and themes of the Christian faith to an audience unfamiliar with Christian thought. In chapter 2, McGrath tackles the shift of culture from modernity to postmodernity in perhaps the briefest form possible. It is here as well that he outlines his general approach (35-36):

  • Understand the faith
  • Understand the audience
  • Communicate with clarity
  • Find points of contact
  • Present the whole gospel
  • Practice, practice, practice

McGrath comes back to this approach in chapter 8, but before getting there he tackles first the theological basis for apologetics (chapter 3) and the importance of the audience (chapter 4). For the latter, McGrath takes us through Paul’s speeches in Acts, showing how he adapted his presentation, but not his gospel, depending on the audience. After laying this foundation, chapters 4-6 comprise the meat of the book. Unlike God is Dead, a book for seekers, skeptics, and curious Christians that I’ll be offering a review of Thursday, McGrath’s book is for young apologetes who want to learn how to best defend their faith. This section on defense then is giving weapons, but talking to an audience already on-board. McGrath covers in succession the reasonableness of the Christian faith (chapter 5), pointers or clues to faith (chapter 6), and gateways for apologetics (chapter 7). These chapters are the longest and focused on the content of an apologetic defense. His list of clues has a presuppositional flair and is worth listing:

  • Clue 1: Creation
  • Clue 2: Fine-tuning
  • Clue 3: Order
  • Clue 4: Morality
  • Clue 5: Desire
  • Clue 6: Beauty
  • Clue 7: Relationality
  • Clue 8: Eternity

As McGrath sees it, these are “proofs” that Christianity is true, but rather clues in search of an explanation. In short, they are transcendentals we know exist and that any adequate worldview needs to account for. They are also great apologetic conversation starters. McGrath moves further in chapter 7 to offer four gateways for doing apologetics:

  • Explanation
  • Argument
  • Stories
  • Images

Arguably, the latter two have been ignored for a bit too long, a problem I wanted to remedy with my thesis. Discerning your audience is key here, since some people want a clearly reasoned argument, and others would like a story that captures their imagination. Lewis himself was captured first through his imagination and later through his reason. Reading your audience means knowing what to use when. Finally, the book closes with a chapter where McGrath deals with two common questions about the faith. He does so in a way that doesn’t offer pat answers but guides you through seeing what is actually being asked when people bring up these questions (Why does God allow suffering? Isn’t God just a crutch?) so you can respond appropriately. The final chapter focuses on developing your method and is only a few pages long.

Conclusion

Overall, I think this is a great book if you keep in mind it’s goal. McGrath is not offering extensive apologetic answers and he is not aligning himself with any specific apologetic school. There are a couple of places I could probe a bit deeper into some of the arguments McGrath makes, but I think you get the general overview well enough to form your own conclusions. I come from a strong presuppositional background but I am growing in my appreciation for imagination, because I see how powerful or an entry point that is for people. I tried to connect the two with my approach to movies, and I think McGrath does a good job of a similar suture job here. As a book that gives very practical advice on how to do apologetics, this book is a must read!

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In Book Reviews, How-To, Philosophy, Presuppositional Apologetics, Scientific Apologetics
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How To Have A Better Day Off

February 22, 2013 — 2 Comments

A few Mondays ago, I decided to put together a little tutorial on how to have a great day off.

Mondays have typically been my Sabbath during the school year, although during seminary it was Fridays. Essentially, it amounts to taking time to refocus using a combination of the transcendentals: truth, goodness, and beauty. You can focus on different aspects of these three, but for me it focuses on getting outside, eating some good food, and reading.

Toward that end, step #2:

I prefer something that looks like this:

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Next, I like to break my black coffee routine and get the drink I used to get everyday (!) when I worked at Starbucks (and as long my 30% discounted lasted) by enacting step #3:

Behold the iced 6-shot venti nonfat carmel macchiato:

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With drink in hand, it’s time for step #4:

Step #4: Get a spot outside with adequate sunlight and casually peruse the stack of books you a) brought or b) were already in your car — Nate Claiborne (@nateclaiborne) February 4, 2013

Often, it looks like this for me:

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After doing this for several hours, usually until I get hungry, it’s time for step #5:

On the particular Monday I was cataloging, this is the result:

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I don’t always eat barbecue in Florida, but when I do its 4Rivers. And it’s totally a bonus that they carry Ale-8 down here (which you can usually only get in Kentucky).

Post lunch, I either resume with some more reading, or maybe take a walk. Most times though I will do step #6:

As an example, here’s a personal favorite by Scale The Summit for pensive reflection time:

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The point in all of this is that I am spending concentrated amounts of time renewing my mind (truth), immersing myself in nature and other aesthetically pleasing environments (beauty), and enjoying some out of the ordinary bodily pleasures (goodness). I also like to spend some time thinking about what I can be thankful for, which meditating on God’s goodness toward me.

For me this is all mainly a solitary activity, but that’s how I refill and refresh. For you it might include a different setup and other people. I’ve just found it helpful to keep the emphasis on renewal and primarily using extensive outdoor reading as my mainstay.

In How-To, Personal Adventures, Practical Theology
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Building A Theological Library: Old Testament Commentaries

February 20, 2013 — Leave a comment

Looking back over the completed list of my recommendations on Old Testament commentaries, you may notice some patterns. If you haven’t looked, here’s the list of posts:

In the Old Testament Backgrounds I gave you a brief commentary survey, but I wanted to elaborate on that a bit. Since that was all the way back in November, here’s the list again focusing on the 4 major series I recommended, but this time with the actual commentaries and some general rules of thumb (rules of thumbs?).

Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries

I recommend several TOTC commentaries, and I’ve generally found the ones I’ve used to be good general overviews of a given book. Here’s several:

As you can see, I had quite a few! The ones in bold are ones that are particularly helpful for the specific book they cover. In general, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries have very strong introductions to the book and are sensitive to background historical and cultural concerns. If you already have an ESV Study Bible, these commentaries are the logical next step. And by that I mean, the ESV Study Bible has excellent notes and introductory articles to each book. If we’re going to think in terms of sizes, each ESV Study Bible comes equipped with a “small” commentary on each book. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries would then represent a “medium” sized commentary on each book. For the average Christian reader who wants to dig just a bit deeper, this is the series of commentaries to grab.

NIV Application Commentary

If an ESV is small, Tyndale is medium, then the rest of the commentaries in this list are large to extra large depending on the specific volume. This first one, the NIVAC series, is probably the best commentary series for the average Christian reader who wants in depth treatment of a book as well as contemporary applications. I realize keep referring to this mystical “average Christian reader” person. It’s really just my designation for the a Christian reader who is not necessarily a pastor or teacher, but who wants to learn more about specific book of the Bible through reading and study. It’s a person who doesn’t know the biblical languages, isn’t a theology nerd, and isn’t probably going to buy every commentary they can get their hands on just to study further. They’re probably going to pick up a single commentary, and I would recommend either one of the Tyndale volumes listed above, or one of these NIVAC volumes:

New International Commentaries on the Old Testament

Now, my personal favorite in the Old Testament is the NICOT series. These volumes are considered “large” in my measurement system. However, they aren’t necessarily aimed at the “average Christian reader” person, at least not by my definition. Instead, NICOT is for pastors and teachers (which is my demographic) and provides in depth exegetical work through a given book. There may or may not be theological asides and applications, it just depends on the given author. They can be technical at times, but not as much as the next series. Here are the ones that I personally recommended:

You’ll notice there’s quite a bit of bold. That’s probably because I am most likely to recommend a commentary that suits my needs. Part of why I’m making this aggregate list then is to temper my one-sided recommendations. My top pick for a commentary on a given book may not be the commentary you should go out and buy if you want to study that book further. In the case of the NICOT series, if you enjoy technical exegetical discussions and in depth exposition of a given book, then by all means, grab a NICOT. If you really enjoy technical discussions, then pick one of this next list.

Word Biblical Commentary

Commentaries in this series are almost always on the large side, and often are split into two volumes (which was also true of NICOT). However, these commentaries are usually a bit more technical are not the easiest reading because of font style and general formatting. What is helpful is that after each section of extensive comment on a particular passage, the author boils it down to a summary section. I usually start there and then go back if I need more detail. For this series, here’s what I picked:

Much fewer bold, and a much short list, right? I had this entire series on the NT, but paired it down just a pinch, and it’s not high on my priority list when it comes to the OT. Part of that is because, while this series is aimed at pastors and teachers, it provides far more detail than I can pass along. So, invariably, if I’m teaching an OT book, I may peruse the introduction, but the exposition is usually more technical than my needs call for.

Conclusion

There are a bunch more commentaries that I aren’t here, but that you should check out in the individual OT section lists. There are also 2 commentary series (Baker Exegetical Commentaries on The Old Testament Wisdom & Psalms, & New American Commentaries) that I made several recommendations from, but didn’t comment on here. So to comment, both of these count as “large” series are aimed at pastors and teachers. BECOTWP are generally great for the wisdom books (as you should expect them to be) and NAC commentaries are generally strong in the historical books (which is where NICOT is currently lacking). So, keep that in mind.

Also, I never recommend any books from the Anchor Bible series, or Hermenia for that matter. Both of these are very highly esteemed critical commentaries series. However, as far as Best Commentaries is concerned, the latter never ranks very highly on OT books. The former does occasionally, but I don’t generally prefer them. If I were to give a reason, it’s that I don’t particularly trust the theological presuppositions of most of the authors, and even if they are screening them out in their work, I don’t think that’s the right way to read the Bible. I want my commentaries to at least touch on the theological, and when they do, I prefer the theological ruminations coming from evangelical scholars.

That, and well, you can’t read everything, so you’ve gotta draw the line somewhere!

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In Book Bites, How-To, Interpreting The Old Testament
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