CBTS Logo

Brief survey of the history of hermeneutics – 3. Patristics

by | Mar 17, 2011 | Hermeneutics, Historical Theology

Brief survey of the history of hermeneutics – 1. Intro.

Brief survey of the history of hermeneutics – 2. Patristics

a.      Clement of Rome (circa A.D. 96): Clement wrote 1 Clement in about A.D. 100. He wrote it to the troubled church in Corinth. Dockery says that 1 Clement contains various hermeneutical approaches. His use of the Old Testament is primarily for moral use. Even when he utilizes it to find Christ, he uses it to apply to moral situations.[1] Dockery says: 

 

Clement interpreted Scripture in a christological fashion, not unlike his predecessors [i.e., Christ and the New Testament writers]. Yet he did not so much seek to discover the Old Testament’s message concerning the work of Christ, but offered the pictures of Christ as basis for moral obedience.[2]

 

Clement is also remembered for finding the blood of Christ pointed to by the scarlet thread of Rahab in Joshua 2.[3]

 

b.      Ignatius of Antioch (circa A.D. 35-110): Two issues are of interest in Ignatius’ seven letters – 1) he rarely quoted the Old Testament (unlike the New Testament) and 2) he relied heavily on Paul, especially 1 Corinthians. Dockery notes, “In comparison with Clement, it is remarkable how little use Ignatius made of the Old Testament. There are only two actual quotations, though there are possibly eight other allusions. Both quotations are introduced by the formula gegraptai (it is written).”[4] This displays that he viewed the Old Testament as authoritative, yet was apparently not steeped in it as were the New Testament authors (either that or he did not know what to do with it?). His functional hermeneutic may help explain the claim by Thiselton that in Ignatius we see “…neither allegory nor typology.”[5]

As far as his dependence on 1 Corinthians goes, he quoted it more than any other Pauline letter, almost 50 times. His use of Paul does not display a careful, contextual hermeneutical method. He appears to have taken what Paul said and applied it in his own context irrespective of the original context from which it came.[6] This is what Dockery calls a functional hermeneutic. One reason for this method was to combat heretics.

[1] Dockery, Biblical Interpretation, 50.

[2] Dockery, Biblical Interpretation, 50.

[3] Thiselton, Hermeneutics, 98.

[4] Dockery, Biblical Interpretation, 52.

[5] Thiselton, Hermeneutics, 98.

[6] Dockery, Biblical Interpretation, 52-54.

Family-Integrated Church 8: Are We Guilty of a Messianic View of the Christian Family? (Continued)

by | Mar 16, 2011 | Family-Integrated Church

What do I mean? I mean that the Bible is first of all about the gospel of Christ. There is one Messiah, and he alone is the hope of the world. He alone is the hope of our children. Our Christian families are not the hope of the world. The hope of the world in any sense that we may speak of an earthly institution is the body of Christ, the church, and not the Christian family. It was to the church and not the family that Christ said in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Our light should shine partly in our Christian families, but the light is mainly Christ in the church seen in its good works.

Let me say it clearly. The message of the Bible is Christ, and it is really, really easy to gradually in our minds and hearts to make our focus something else—like the Christian family. The hope of the world is the gospel of Christ, and it is really, really easy to put our hope in something else. It is especially easy to put our hope in something good like the Bible’s general promises of temporal welfare for moral living, like the Bible’s general promises to nations which have moral civil laws, and like the Bible’s real commands and promises about Christian living in the home.

Why am I concerned? Here is why. I believe that my views on this subject were skewed and distorted for some years. And I believe that all of us must be careful not to distort the message of the Bible into something that focuses on the Christian family rather than on Christ Himself. We are not the hope of the world. We are earthen vessels. The treasure is Christ Himself.

Lawson’s rebuke of Osteen

by | Mar 11, 2011 | Audio/Video, Preaching

Steve Lawson interacts with some comments made by Joel Osteen on Larry King Live. I don’t think Lawson will be on Larry King Live anytime soon, but then again…

some thoughts on interpreting the Confession

by | Mar 11, 2011 | Ecclesiology, Hermeneutics, Historical Theology

  1. Like the Bible, the Confession is often self-interpreting, latter statements shedding interpretive light on former statements and former statements upon latter.
  2. Unlike the Bible, however, the self-interpreting phenomena of the Confession are not infallible.
  3. Like the Bible, the Confession is progressive in its formulation, latter statements assuming the former and building upon them.
  4. Like the Bible, inner-biblical (inner-confessional) exegesis/intertexuality is present in the Confession and often the key to its proper interpretation.
  5. Like the Bible, the Confession possesses authorial intent.
  6. Unlike the Bible, there is no divine author.
  7. Like the Bible, seeking to understand human authorial intent requires understanding background information, such as symbolic sources, historical-theological context, the theological nomenclature of the era, and the writings of the editor(s) of the Confession.

White/Barcellos Interview: Bonus Footage – bloopers

by | Mar 10, 2011 | Audio/Video, Current Events, Interviews, Podcast

Here is our first attempt at MCTS bloopers. For some reason, James White looks nervous. Dr. White also talks about his time at MCTS.

PS: One correction – Dr. Haykin will not be lecturing at our January 2012 module. Instead, Dr. Waldron will be on eschatology.

Pin It on Pinterest