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The Art of Reading Scripture
"The difficulty of interpreting the Bible is felt all over today. Is the Bible still authoritative for the faith and practice of the church? If so, in what way? What practices of reading offer the most appropriate approach to understanding Scripture? The c"
356 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 11, 2019
The outcome of an important step taken around 20 years ago: "The Scripture Project". It was a project initiated by the Center of Theological Inquiry (guide mainly by Robert Jenson at Princeton Theological Seminary) as a reaction to the barren fruits of an extrictly scientific (in this particular case, historico-critical) approach to the Christian Bible, thus aiming to recover the idea of more theological and confessional readings. In the words of the introduction, "reading Scripture is an art—a creative discipline that requires engagement and imagination, in contrast to the Enlightenment's ideal of detached objectivity." (xv) The book, thus, brings essays from 13 well-known biblical scholars (e.g. Richard Hays, Walter Moberly, Richard Bauckham) and theologians (e.g. Robert Jenson, L. Gregory Jones, David Steinmetz), all of them somehow involved with and interested in Scripture as part of the life of the Christian church.
The essays are divided in three parts: methodology ("How to Read and Teach the Scriptures?"), academic experiments in the proposed method ("Reading Difficult Texts") and sermons by Ellen Davis and Richard Hays following the theological method ("Selected Sermons"). A very helpful part of the book is the "Nine Theses on the Interpretation of Scripture" that the Scripture Project settled as their guidelines after 4 years of meetings and discussion.
As a whole, it is quite difficult to evaluate such different writers and essays. I would say that some articles could be rated at 3 stars (e.g. James Howell's "Christ was like St. Francis") and others deserved 5 stars (Moberly's "Living Dangerously" and Gary Anderson's "Joseph and the Passion of Our Lord" were breathtaking!), so I'm rating the whole product at a 4-star range. The sermons are explained by the authors, so it's also very helpful to understand how these highly trained scholars manage to "land down smootlhy" the plane of deep academic interpretation into engaged preaching.
For those interested in understanding the post-liberal movement and theological interpretation of Scripture (TIS), especially in the US, this is a highly recommended reading.
The essays are divided in three parts: methodology ("How to Read and Teach the Scriptures?"), academic experiments in the proposed method ("Reading Difficult Texts") and sermons by Ellen Davis and Richard Hays following the theological method ("Selected Sermons"). A very helpful part of the book is the "Nine Theses on the Interpretation of Scripture" that the Scripture Project settled as their guidelines after 4 years of meetings and discussion.
As a whole, it is quite difficult to evaluate such different writers and essays. I would say that some articles could be rated at 3 stars (e.g. James Howell's "Christ was like St. Francis") and others deserved 5 stars (Moberly's "Living Dangerously" and Gary Anderson's "Joseph and the Passion of Our Lord" were breathtaking!), so I'm rating the whole product at a 4-star range. The sermons are explained by the authors, so it's also very helpful to understand how these highly trained scholars manage to "land down smootlhy" the plane of deep academic interpretation into engaged preaching.
For those interested in understanding the post-liberal movement and theological interpretation of Scripture (TIS), especially in the US, this is a highly recommended reading.
December 27, 2024
12/24: My tolerance for any smack of liberalism has decreased dramatically since I wrote this review (and subsequently became confessional Lutheran after an extended period of theological squishiness), and hence the book is leaving my shelves.
6/21: These essays are unique. They are very intelligently conceived and represent some truly fresh and inspired ideas about biblical exegesis as applied to contemporary ideals of community and society. The authors’ styles were all so similar that I wasn’t able to tell them apart. However, there are some things you need to know. First, the perspectives here mostly come from the Roman Catholic and Anglican/Episcopal traditions. Second, some are suffused with liberal theology, sometimes to an extent that made me wonder if they could even be called Christian perspectives. Though there are a couple exceptions, these are mostly heavily influenced by Neo-orthodoxy. Granted, most of them work within fairly traditional frameworks, but biblical inerrancy is not at all assumed, and no matter which side you’re on chances are you’ll find an essay or two to disagree with (the one extolling the virtues of postmodern interpretation gave me hives, but the one on why the Resurrection must be treated as historical fact was wonderful). Despite these quibbles, I found myself deeply impressed by the literary, aesthetic, and theological acumens of these writers (Ellen Davis’s pieces are Kierkegaardian/Barthian tours de force), and was challenged and stimulated by their views. It’s worthy of gracing the shelves of any theology enthusiast’s library as long as the orthodox believer is willing to take it with a grain of salt.
6/21: These essays are unique. They are very intelligently conceived and represent some truly fresh and inspired ideas about biblical exegesis as applied to contemporary ideals of community and society. The authors’ styles were all so similar that I wasn’t able to tell them apart. However, there are some things you need to know. First, the perspectives here mostly come from the Roman Catholic and Anglican/Episcopal traditions. Second, some are suffused with liberal theology, sometimes to an extent that made me wonder if they could even be called Christian perspectives. Though there are a couple exceptions, these are mostly heavily influenced by Neo-orthodoxy. Granted, most of them work within fairly traditional frameworks, but biblical inerrancy is not at all assumed, and no matter which side you’re on chances are you’ll find an essay or two to disagree with (the one extolling the virtues of postmodern interpretation gave me hives, but the one on why the Resurrection must be treated as historical fact was wonderful). Despite these quibbles, I found myself deeply impressed by the literary, aesthetic, and theological acumens of these writers (Ellen Davis’s pieces are Kierkegaardian/Barthian tours de force), and was challenged and stimulated by their views. It’s worthy of gracing the shelves of any theology enthusiast’s library as long as the orthodox believer is willing to take it with a grain of salt.
March 25, 2021
This book contains a set of essays by a group of authors that discuss and demonstrate how Christians should read and interpret the Bible.
The book opens with "Nine Theses on the Interpretation of Scripture" that is the foundation for its essays. According to them, Scripture is "the story of God's action of creating, judging, and saving the world." This story is a "coherent dramatic narrative", so we need to engage with the entire narrative in order to faithfully interpret the Bible. The Bible itself was brought into being by several communities of believers (i.e. Jews and Christians), so we need to interpret Scripture in dialogue with these communities (both past and present). In other words, we should look to Biblical interpretations and traditions from the past to guide us as we seek to understand what a Scriptural text is saying to us today.
Following that, there are four sets of essays:
* How do we read and teach the Scriptures?
* A Living Tradition
* Reading Difficult Texts
* Selected Sermons
I think I learned something from every essay in this book. But for me, the "Reading Difficult Texts" and "Selected Sermons" sections were most helpful because they demonstrated "the art of reading Scripture". There are several essays from those two sections that I plan to read again, because they really affected me the first time around and I want to explore what those particular Scriptures and interpretations might mean for me or demand of me.
For all that I learned from this set of essays, the one problem with it is that I fear it will not be very accessible to most Christians. The authors of these essays are seminary professors and their intended audience are those who are studying at seminary or are in the ministry. Because of this, I think most Christians will find it too academic or difficult of a read. Of course, an advantage of a book of essays like this is that you can skip the essays that you don't "grok" or are bored by and move onto ones that are more engaging for you.
All in all, I found this book to be interesting and thought-provoking. If you are Bible nerd like me, then you might find it interesting and thought-provoking as well. But if you are not a Bible nerd, then this book is probably not for you.
Reading Scripture is an art - a creative discipline that requires engagement and imagination, in contract to the Enlightenment's ideal of detached objectivity.
The book opens with "Nine Theses on the Interpretation of Scripture" that is the foundation for its essays. According to them, Scripture is "the story of God's action of creating, judging, and saving the world." This story is a "coherent dramatic narrative", so we need to engage with the entire narrative in order to faithfully interpret the Bible. The Bible itself was brought into being by several communities of believers (i.e. Jews and Christians), so we need to interpret Scripture in dialogue with these communities (both past and present). In other words, we should look to Biblical interpretations and traditions from the past to guide us as we seek to understand what a Scriptural text is saying to us today.
Following that, there are four sets of essays:
* How do we read and teach the Scriptures?
* A Living Tradition
* Reading Difficult Texts
* Selected Sermons
I think I learned something from every essay in this book. But for me, the "Reading Difficult Texts" and "Selected Sermons" sections were most helpful because they demonstrated "the art of reading Scripture". There are several essays from those two sections that I plan to read again, because they really affected me the first time around and I want to explore what those particular Scriptures and interpretations might mean for me or demand of me.
For all that I learned from this set of essays, the one problem with it is that I fear it will not be very accessible to most Christians. The authors of these essays are seminary professors and their intended audience are those who are studying at seminary or are in the ministry. Because of this, I think most Christians will find it too academic or difficult of a read. Of course, an advantage of a book of essays like this is that you can skip the essays that you don't "grok" or are bored by and move onto ones that are more engaging for you.
All in all, I found this book to be interesting and thought-provoking. If you are Bible nerd like me, then you might find it interesting and thought-provoking as well. But if you are not a Bible nerd, then this book is probably not for you.
December 30, 2012
This is a collection of essays by members of The Scripture Project in Princeton. The essays deal with how to read scripture in the modern/postmodern world. Although the different authors come from different Christian denominations they share a common approach to reading scripture, including judicious use of ancient interpretations minus the anti-semitism. They discount the value of "higher criticism" and generally take synchronic approaches and assume that texts must be read in a confessional context according to dogma to be an authentic true reading.
May 14, 2018
An important and incisive collection of essays challenging the modern church to abandon a wholesale reliance on historical-critical study for determining Scripture's reading and embracing an unapologetically theological approach towards Biblical criticism and preaching. Very much worth a read for anyone interested in Biblical studies and for anyone who is or is preparing to be a preacher of the Word.
February 4, 2021
20 years on no one is talking about TIS. The sermons in the back explain why.
May 15, 2012
This book was better than I had anticipated.
I come from a fairly conservative background and was prepared to be underwhelmed by the authors of the different sections. I read one chapter a day and found myself engaged and challenged by the different interpretations.
The difficulty of interpreting the Bible is felt all over today. Is the Bible still authoritative for the faith and practice of the church? If so, in what way? What practices of reading offer the most appropriate approach to understanding Scripture? The churchs lack of clarity about these issues has hindered its witness and mission, causing it to speak with an uncertain voice to the challenges of our time. This important book is for a twenty-first-century church that seems to have lost the art of reading the Bible attentively and imaginatively. The Art of Reading Scripture is written by a group of eminent scholars and teachers seeking to recover the churchs rich heritage of biblical interpretation in a dramatically changed cultural environment. Asking how best to read the Bible in a postmodern context, the contributors together affirm up front Nine Theses that provide substantial guidance for the church. The essays and sermons that follow both amplify and model the approach to Scripture outlined in the Nine Theses. Lucidly conceived, carefully written, and shimmering with fresh insights, The Art of Reading Scripture proposes a far-reaching revolution in how the Bible is taught in theological seminaries and calls pastors and teachers in the church to rethink their practices of using the Bible.
I come from a fairly conservative background and was prepared to be underwhelmed by the authors of the different sections. I read one chapter a day and found myself engaged and challenged by the different interpretations.
The difficulty of interpreting the Bible is felt all over today. Is the Bible still authoritative for the faith and practice of the church? If so, in what way? What practices of reading offer the most appropriate approach to understanding Scripture? The churchs lack of clarity about these issues has hindered its witness and mission, causing it to speak with an uncertain voice to the challenges of our time. This important book is for a twenty-first-century church that seems to have lost the art of reading the Bible attentively and imaginatively. The Art of Reading Scripture is written by a group of eminent scholars and teachers seeking to recover the churchs rich heritage of biblical interpretation in a dramatically changed cultural environment. Asking how best to read the Bible in a postmodern context, the contributors together affirm up front Nine Theses that provide substantial guidance for the church. The essays and sermons that follow both amplify and model the approach to Scripture outlined in the Nine Theses. Lucidly conceived, carefully written, and shimmering with fresh insights, The Art of Reading Scripture proposes a far-reaching revolution in how the Bible is taught in theological seminaries and calls pastors and teachers in the church to rethink their practices of using the Bible.
July 18, 2016
The large number of contributors makes this an uneven book, but one I found worthwhile overall. Some of the more insightful chapters are the ones by Richard Hays, Richard Bauckham, David Steinmetz, L. Gregory Jones, and Gary Anderson. Ones I found less helpful (and not completely intelligible) were by Ellen Davis, James Howell, and William Johnson.
The thing I appreciated most was all the authors' commitment to taking Scripture very seriously. I think their approach tended to be somewhat marred by modernist critical assumptions that dismiss the historicity of some texts and throw out traditional claims about authorship. But the nine main theses explicated in the introduction and which made up the core of the Scripture Project (from which this book came) were quite good, and establish a firm approach for hermeneutics and preaching.
The thing I appreciated most was all the authors' commitment to taking Scripture very seriously. I think their approach tended to be somewhat marred by modernist critical assumptions that dismiss the historicity of some texts and throw out traditional claims about authorship. But the nine main theses explicated in the introduction and which made up the core of the Scripture Project (from which this book came) were quite good, and establish a firm approach for hermeneutics and preaching.
July 29, 2010
I originally read part of this book in college, but finally was able to read it in its entirety. I was surprised with how much I struggled with the content; this book made me realized that most of the people I talk to about scripture share a fairly homogenous Baptist understanding, so I found acknolwedging the other perspectives mentioned challenging, even when the author of a particlar chapter presented a perspective he or she ultimately argued against. I especially liked the 4th section of the book (a collection of sermons) and I would like to learn to read scripture those ways.
June 5, 2014
A fascinating collage of approaches to biblical interpretation. I especially appreciated the essays in the first two sections. There is a great deal if insight to harvest from them, though as with most essay collections, such fruit is scattered. The nine theses that frame the book are probably as important as any contemporary proposal for an ecumenical engagement with Scripture. They represent first-rate scholarship that is fully committed to historical Christian faith dynamically engaged in present Christian life.
November 29, 2012
An excellent work that constructively critiques the division within theological education between biblical, theological, historical, and practical studies. It includes essays and sermons by scholars like Ellen Davis, Richard Hays, Robert Jenson, Richard Bauckham, Brian Daley, SJ, L. Gregory Jones, Gary Anderson, and others. It shows how scholars should read the biblical text with the church, past and present, in order to help people grow in their faith and love of God. I highly recommend it.
August 13, 2016
"The Art of Reading Scripture is written by a group of eminent scholars and teachers seeking to recover the church's rich heritage of biblical interpretation in a dramatically changed cultural environment. Together they affirm up front "Nine theses" that provide substantial guidance for the church."
December 22, 2016
This is a deeply reflective book on the art of reading scripture and what it means to read scripture in our time. There are some profound articles that make up this book and even though it is a collection of articles by different authors and perspectives there are a number of unifying themes that come out of the labor of the Scripture Project that led to this volume.
Want to read
July 20, 2010With Ellen Davis, recommended by Matt.
January 19, 2015
Brilliant entryway into various levels of theological interpretation, though with modern biblical scholarship still in view.
Read
August 3, 2012SO good!
October 17, 2012
There were many important points made in this book. I do not, however, generally care for books that are a collection of essays and these seemed particularly disjoint.
April 8, 2016
I actually started this a while back; it is slow going, but interesting. I read a bit at a time when I feel in the mood. From my daughter :)
June 8, 2017
Thought-provoking.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews