Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine
2 total works
How can academic biblical interpretation fruitfully contribute to Christian belief and living in today's world? This book offers a synthesis of some of the best in pre-modern, modern and post-modern approaches to biblical interpretation, and locates the discipline within a self-critical Trinitarian rule of faith, where historical criticism, systematic theology, ethics, and spirituality are constructively combined. Moberly reclaims biblical and patristic principles of what is necessary for meaningful and truthful speech about God to be possible; he engages with contemporary ideological suspicions directed both to scripture and to its interpreters; and he offers an account of God and humanity in relation to both Old and New Testaments. Hermeneutical theory is given practical shape in in-depth studies of Genesis 22 ('The Akedah'), the Journey to Emmaus (Luke 24), and the Christology of Matthew's Gospel, studies which should be of interest to both Jews and Christians.
If people claim to speak for God, what enables us to know when to credit or discredit the claim? This book analyses the criteria for discernment of prophetic authenticity in the Old Testament, and for discernment of apostolic authenticity in the New Testament; and also considers their validity and viability in a contemporary context. After explaining the biblical concept of prophetic and apostolic speech on God's behalf, Moberly offers close readings of the biblical text so as to bring to life the distinctive voices, especially those of Jeremiah and St Paul, which speak of critical discernment. He addresses contemporary difficulties with the whole idea that humans might speak for God and analyses the nature of authentic spirituality. Throughout the discussion the premise is that the biblical treatment of discernment illuminates the fundamental human issue of the need to know who may be trusted and why.