Pillars in the History of Biblical Interpretation, Volume 2

Prevailing Methods after 1980

Stanley E. Porter, Sean A. Adams, Stanley E. Porter, Sean A. Adams, Porter, Adams

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781498292900, 9781498292924
• eBook ISBN: 9781498292917
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

This two-volume set is part of a growing body of literature concerned with the history of biblical interpretation. The ample introduction first situates key players in the story of the development of the major strands of biblical interpretation since the Enlightenment, identifying how different theoretical and methodological approaches are related to each other and describing the academic environment in which they emerged and developed. Volume 1 contains fourteen essays on twenty-two interpreters who were principally active before 1980, and volume 2 has nineteen essays on twenty-seven of those who were active primarily after this date. Each chapter provides a brief biography of one or more scholars, as well as a detailed description of their major contributions to the field. This is followed by an (often new) application of the scholar's theory. By focusing on the individual scholars and their work, the book recognizes that interpretive approaches arise out of certain circumstances, and that scholars are influenced by, and have influences upon, both other interpreters and the times in which they live. This set is ideal for any class on the history of biblical interpretation and for those who want a greater understanding of how the current field of biblical studies developed.

33

Francis Watson and Stephen E. Fowl as Theological Interpreters of Scripture

Patrick S. Franklin

Introduction

The theological interpretation of Scripture has become a significant topic of scholarly discussion and debate in recent years. While this contemporary conversation may be more broadly conceived as being an heir to the Biblical Theology movement, Daniel J. Treier notes that “theological hermeneutics . . . is fast becoming a term with its own history.”1985 While representatives of this emerging movement frequently address common themes, such as the role of faith and the ecclesial community in interpretation, their particular approaches and methodologies are diverse. This paper focuses on two scholars considered to be among the leading advocates of the theological interpretation of Scripture.1986

Francis Watson

Francis Watson received his DPhil from the University of Oxford. He currently teaches in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University (UK) and previously held positions at Aberdeen (as Chair of New Testament Exegesis) and King’s College in London (as Reader in Biblical Theology). Watson’s primary area of expertise is New Testament studies, but he also has diverse interests in theological hermeneutics and the history of biblical interpretation. His approach to theological interpretation is difficult to summarize without doing violence to the depth and breadth of his academic writing. Watson does not begin with a set of strict method...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Contributors to Volume 2
• Biblical Criticism after around 1980
• The History of Biblical Interpretation
• Chapter 15: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Lutheran Existentialism in Theological Interpretation
• Chapter 16: Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Paul Ricoeur
• Chapter 17: Edmund Leach and Structuralism
• Chapter 18: Martin Hengel, the New Tübingen School, and the Study of Christian Origins
• Chapter 19: Peter Stuhlmacher and Biblical Theology
• Chapter 20: Edwin Judge, Wayne Meeks, and Social-Scientific Criticism
• Chapter 21: Mary Douglas
• Chapter 22: Philip F. Esler and Social-Scientific Criticism
• Chapter 23: Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Phyllis Trible, and Feminist Biblical Interpretation
• Chapter 24: Hans Dieter Betz, George A. Kennedy, and Rhetorical Criticism
• Chapter 25: Eugene A. Nida and Johannes P. Louw and Their Linguistic Contribution
• Chapter 26: James Barr and Theological Lexicography
• Chapter 27: Daniel Patte: A Structural Semiotic Model for Interpreting Didactic Discourse
• Chapter 28: Brevard S. Childs and the Canonical Approach
• Chapter 29: James A. Sanders and Canonical Criticism
• Chapter 30: Anthony C. Thiselton’s Use of Speech-Act Theory
• Chapter 31: Richard B. Hays and a Narrative Approach to the Pauline Letters
• Chapter 32: Loveday Alexander, David Rhoads, and Literary Criticism of the New Testament
• Chapter 33: Francis Watson and Stephen E. Fowl as Theological Interpreters of Scripture