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The Inspiration and Interpretation of Scripture: What the Early Church Can Teach Us
What is true of Scripture as a result of being inspired? What should divine inspiration cause us to expect from it? The answers to these questions in the early church related not just to the nature of Scripture's truth claims but to the manner in which Scripture was to be interpreted.
In this book Michael Graves delves into what Christians in the first five centuries believed about the inspiration of Scripture, identifying the ideas that early Christians considered to be logical implications of biblical inspiration. Many books presume to discuss how some current trend relates to the "traditional" view of biblical inspiration; this one actually describes in a detailed and nuanced way what the "traditional" view is and explores the differences between ancient and modern assumptions on the topic.
Accessible and engaging, The Inspiration and Interpretation of Scripture presents a rich network of theological ideas about the Bible together with critical engagement with the biblical text.
In this book Michael Graves delves into what Christians in the first five centuries believed about the inspiration of Scripture, identifying the ideas that early Christians considered to be logical implications of biblical inspiration. Many books presume to discuss how some current trend relates to the "traditional" view of biblical inspiration; this one actually describes in a detailed and nuanced way what the "traditional" view is and explores the differences between ancient and modern assumptions on the topic.
Accessible and engaging, The Inspiration and Interpretation of Scripture presents a rich network of theological ideas about the Bible together with critical engagement with the biblical text.
209 pages, Paperback
First published February 7, 2014
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101 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 12, 2014
Main thesis:
The early Church believed the Scriptures to be inspired.
There was a diversity of interpretations and approaches to the Scriptures in the early church
and that is not something to be feared but celebrated.
I appreciated some of the excerpts Graves used from various early church writers.
I appreciated that he stressed the importance of interpreting as a community.
I hated that he used endnotes instead of footnotes.
And his final conclusion [featured below--specifically the bolded parts] drove me mad.
"Diversity in scriptural interpretation offers many benefits for the church. It is therefore helpful for Christians to know others who hold differing views, so that each Christian can hear opposing viewpoints precisely as their adherents would explain them. This provides the best opportunity for finding the soundest readings of Scripture. Obviously, the existence of diverse interpretation means that some error coexists with truth. Although obviously not ideal, this is unavoidable in our present state. The benefits that come when diversity is embraced far outweigh any benefits that might come from ignoring or suppressing it. It should not be regarded as a problem that there is interpretive pluralism in the church's reading of Scripture. In fact, this is a fruitful product of the democratization of Christian life embodied in the principle of sola scriptura.
The early church believed that God inspired the Scriptures in order to instruct humanity. Despite some variety of views on the precise implications of inspiration, all Christians regarded Scripture as authoritative and true in its message. Most believed that Scripture communicated in special ways as a result of being inspired and that some kind of spiritual perception was necessary in order to understand it properly. Above all, ancient Christians believed that Scripture had a spiritual sense that focused somehow on Christ. As the early church recognized, Scripture continues to instruct because of its divine subject matter, because of the events it describes, and because its symbols and metaphors continue to point to God. Although many early Christian beliefs about inspiration cannot be brought into the modern world without at least some qualifications, certain key ideas related to spiritual perception, moral reasoning, profitability for the soul, and unity of purpose are essential for a fuller Christian appreciation of Scripture today. This rich and complex manner of reading Scripture underscores the element of subjectivity involved in interpretation. In my view, this subjectivity means that scriptural authority should be construed as functioning ultimately between God and the individual Christian. This dovetails well with the reality of pluralism in the interpretation of Scripture, which is not a problem but a blessing for the church."
Graves' anachronistic interposing of sola scriptura into the life of the early church is strange.
Quoting from Dr. Clark Carlton: "The tradition of the Apostles is the authoritative interpretive matrix within which the Scriptures are rightly understood. Taken out of that necessary interpretive context, however, the Scriptures become just another set of ancient texts, open to as many interpretations as the imagination of man can conceive."
Various interpretations are fine, dialogue is fine, but the fruit needs to be addressed: The constant schisms and splinters within protestantism with +30,000 denominations and an average of 5 added per week is a problem and not to be celebrated.
Once again, if there were endnotes, I would have given him 3/5.
Perhaps my low score isn't so fair; I am just disappointed in his conclusion.
The early Church believed the Scriptures to be inspired.
There was a diversity of interpretations and approaches to the Scriptures in the early church
and that is not something to be feared but celebrated.
I appreciated some of the excerpts Graves used from various early church writers.
I appreciated that he stressed the importance of interpreting as a community.
I hated that he used endnotes instead of footnotes.
And his final conclusion [featured below--specifically the bolded parts] drove me mad.
"Diversity in scriptural interpretation offers many benefits for the church. It is therefore helpful for Christians to know others who hold differing views, so that each Christian can hear opposing viewpoints precisely as their adherents would explain them. This provides the best opportunity for finding the soundest readings of Scripture. Obviously, the existence of diverse interpretation means that some error coexists with truth. Although obviously not ideal, this is unavoidable in our present state. The benefits that come when diversity is embraced far outweigh any benefits that might come from ignoring or suppressing it. It should not be regarded as a problem that there is interpretive pluralism in the church's reading of Scripture. In fact, this is a fruitful product of the democratization of Christian life embodied in the principle of sola scriptura.
The early church believed that God inspired the Scriptures in order to instruct humanity. Despite some variety of views on the precise implications of inspiration, all Christians regarded Scripture as authoritative and true in its message. Most believed that Scripture communicated in special ways as a result of being inspired and that some kind of spiritual perception was necessary in order to understand it properly. Above all, ancient Christians believed that Scripture had a spiritual sense that focused somehow on Christ. As the early church recognized, Scripture continues to instruct because of its divine subject matter, because of the events it describes, and because its symbols and metaphors continue to point to God. Although many early Christian beliefs about inspiration cannot be brought into the modern world without at least some qualifications, certain key ideas related to spiritual perception, moral reasoning, profitability for the soul, and unity of purpose are essential for a fuller Christian appreciation of Scripture today. This rich and complex manner of reading Scripture underscores the element of subjectivity involved in interpretation. In my view, this subjectivity means that scriptural authority should be construed as functioning ultimately between God and the individual Christian. This dovetails well with the reality of pluralism in the interpretation of Scripture, which is not a problem but a blessing for the church."
Graves' anachronistic interposing of sola scriptura into the life of the early church is strange.
Quoting from Dr. Clark Carlton: "The tradition of the Apostles is the authoritative interpretive matrix within which the Scriptures are rightly understood. Taken out of that necessary interpretive context, however, the Scriptures become just another set of ancient texts, open to as many interpretations as the imagination of man can conceive."
Various interpretations are fine, dialogue is fine, but the fruit needs to be addressed: The constant schisms and splinters within protestantism with +30,000 denominations and an average of 5 added per week is a problem and not to be celebrated.
Once again, if there were endnotes, I would have given him 3/5.
Perhaps my low score isn't so fair; I am just disappointed in his conclusion.
February 27, 2020
Since the enlightenment, the emphasis of biblical interpretation has been on the literal and historical level of the text with various forms of criticism. The modern mind sometimes has a hard time grappling with the supernatural scriptures. How differently the early Christians looked at the scriptures! They were always looking for a deeper or spiritual level of meaning.
Michael Graves takes a thorough look at the way the church fathers interpreted the Bible. His research is impressive. This book contains a wealth of references.
Graves is a thoroughly modern scholar who seems to side more with the postmodern view of scripture rather than the patristic one, despite the amazing information he presents. I think a little more effort could have been spent on the biblical and cultural basis for interpretation that the fathers used.
Any Christian interested in Bible interpretation should read this book.
Michael Graves takes a thorough look at the way the church fathers interpreted the Bible. His research is impressive. This book contains a wealth of references.
Graves is a thoroughly modern scholar who seems to side more with the postmodern view of scripture rather than the patristic one, despite the amazing information he presents. I think a little more effort could have been spent on the biblical and cultural basis for interpretation that the fathers used.
Any Christian interested in Bible interpretation should read this book.
March 10, 2014
This book clearly and helpfully articulated the complexity of the doctrines surrounding inspiration and interpretation. Especially fine were the scholarly foundations/footnotes that undergird the work and make up a hefty section of footnotes. Graves is especially fine on Jerome (his scholarly wheelhouse), but there are a number of well-chosen passages from other early church leaders too that I can see myself referring to or using in other contexts. I suspect that this book would be an excellent foundation for people who want to preach from the Bible--preaching classes, exegesis classes, etc.--but even as a lay reader of scripture, I was helped and equipped for interpretation. Give me something like it too on canon-establishment, and I'll be happy! I enjoyed reading this and look forward to more from Graves.
May 25, 2014
A very fascinating survey of varying understandings of the Church Fathers about the nature of Inspiration. I found myself to be sympathetic with his conclusion regarding the good of theological interpretation and a multiplicity of meanings with the biblical text. However, I wonder if there are limits -- or better, what *are* the limits and how do we determine them? I wish there had been more elaboration on that in the conclusion.
All things considered, a really fine book.
All things considered, a really fine book.
Read
August 19, 2015Кратка, лека за четене книжка по въпроса за патристичната егзегетика и виждане за писанието. Авторът е събрал наистина много примери по всеки въпрос, което дава наистина хубава представа за приликите и разликите от съвременното тълкуване и виждания.
Като цяло полезно четиво.
Като цяло полезно четиво.
December 21, 2020
I feel like the best way to gain a big picture idea of what this book is about is to walk through the conclusions of Grave's final chapter. This isn't a spoiler I don't think, as the bulk of the book is filling in the gaps and information of these central ideas and concerns rather than working up to them.
In his conclusion Graves writes,
"Christians can and should continue to read Scripture with Christ as the focus, in thoughtful conversation with their Christian community, informed by Christian tradition and scholarship, and guided by moral reason and prayer, seeking to meet God and develop spiritually by reading and hearing the sacred text."
He goes on to say that "modern Christians do not need to give up the spiritual dimension of their reading of Scripture. They simply need to be more humble about what they discover about God in Scripture, in recognition of the subjective nature of Biblical interpretation.... in my view, respect for individual Christian liberty in bilbical interpretation fits well with the core values of the church."
He goes on to talk about this tough process of bridging diversity of opinion with an understanding of scripture within community, both in our individual lives but also in light of the lengthy history of diversity.
"Christianity", says Graves, "is a matter of the heart and of inward persuasion of the mind. As such, true Christian faith cannot be coerced." Thus, "Christian liberty in scriptural interpretation obviously implies a measure of responsibility. If what matters most is not what is written in church record books but what Christians actually believe and do, then it is essential for every Christian to understnad the message of Scripture" as well.
So how do we best do that is the question. Here he says, "recognizing the role of individual Christians in perceiving the authority of God in Scripture does not detract from fellowship among Christians; it merely presumes that churches are voluntary organizations within society and that diverse church communities must live together side by side." He insists that "valuing diversity in scriptural interpretation does not imply that one does not believe in absolute truths", and "since no person is infallible, it is always possible that any given Christian is misguided in his or her interpreation of Scripture." In this case, "one's views may be only partly correct, reflecting only half of the truth; the other half of the truth may be found in a different reading of Scripture suggested by someone else... even if the reading suggested by someone else is not the best idea at present, in a later time or in a different circumstance it might become instructive, in which case other Christians will be glad to have heard it."
In all of this, "the toleration and even appreciation of diverse readings of Scripture provide ample opportunity for Christians to show each other love and humility... Christians can grasp the truth better if they are put in positions where they must explain and defend their beliefs to others with different views... diversity of views and the free flow of ideas promote vibrant Christianity."
All of this reflects the aim and spirit of the author in writing this book about views on the inspiration of scripture throughout church (and the earlier first and second temple period). The bulk of the book then is given to looking at different dynamics of scripture through the lens of this history, to try and gain a sense of what they really thought, and then also to surmise about how we translate this into our modern setting. As such this is not so much an opinion piece as it is informational. Some of it is dry, I found much of it exciting and worthy of having on hand for future resource and conversational aid. One of the overarching themes that he does offer is the centralized idea that Scripture, as the oft quoted and much used verse from Timothy suggests, is useful. In unpacking what this meant to the earlier communities, authors, writers and commentators, he walks through things lilke scriptures tendency to speak in mystery, the marriage of spirit led revelation and rationalized belief, the layered meanings of the genres and literature found in scripture, ideas of inerrancy and pagan influences and political influences and authoratitive texts versus informatve texts versus forming texts. Without divulging the finer points of the research he presents, much of this gets into the weeds of these kinds of quesitons in an effort to pull out something sensible for modern Christians and readers.
One of the things that does arise that proves incredibly important for understanding and approaching scripture is that it is equally necessary to understand how the ancient world understood scripture as it is to understand how we then recontextualize that into our own world and place. This is a necessary marriage that can actually help make the scriptures more alive. Most helpful though is gaining a greater context for scripture itself and of how the early commentators approached and addressed some similar issues. There are ways we in the modern age are very different and are asking very different questions of the text, and also ways in which we share much in common and wrestle with much of the same questions. The important thing is how do we learn to do that together, and I think this is a valuable resource towards that end.
In his conclusion Graves writes,
"Christians can and should continue to read Scripture with Christ as the focus, in thoughtful conversation with their Christian community, informed by Christian tradition and scholarship, and guided by moral reason and prayer, seeking to meet God and develop spiritually by reading and hearing the sacred text."
He goes on to say that "modern Christians do not need to give up the spiritual dimension of their reading of Scripture. They simply need to be more humble about what they discover about God in Scripture, in recognition of the subjective nature of Biblical interpretation.... in my view, respect for individual Christian liberty in bilbical interpretation fits well with the core values of the church."
He goes on to talk about this tough process of bridging diversity of opinion with an understanding of scripture within community, both in our individual lives but also in light of the lengthy history of diversity.
"Christianity", says Graves, "is a matter of the heart and of inward persuasion of the mind. As such, true Christian faith cannot be coerced." Thus, "Christian liberty in scriptural interpretation obviously implies a measure of responsibility. If what matters most is not what is written in church record books but what Christians actually believe and do, then it is essential for every Christian to understnad the message of Scripture" as well.
So how do we best do that is the question. Here he says, "recognizing the role of individual Christians in perceiving the authority of God in Scripture does not detract from fellowship among Christians; it merely presumes that churches are voluntary organizations within society and that diverse church communities must live together side by side." He insists that "valuing diversity in scriptural interpretation does not imply that one does not believe in absolute truths", and "since no person is infallible, it is always possible that any given Christian is misguided in his or her interpreation of Scripture." In this case, "one's views may be only partly correct, reflecting only half of the truth; the other half of the truth may be found in a different reading of Scripture suggested by someone else... even if the reading suggested by someone else is not the best idea at present, in a later time or in a different circumstance it might become instructive, in which case other Christians will be glad to have heard it."
In all of this, "the toleration and even appreciation of diverse readings of Scripture provide ample opportunity for Christians to show each other love and humility... Christians can grasp the truth better if they are put in positions where they must explain and defend their beliefs to others with different views... diversity of views and the free flow of ideas promote vibrant Christianity."
All of this reflects the aim and spirit of the author in writing this book about views on the inspiration of scripture throughout church (and the earlier first and second temple period). The bulk of the book then is given to looking at different dynamics of scripture through the lens of this history, to try and gain a sense of what they really thought, and then also to surmise about how we translate this into our modern setting. As such this is not so much an opinion piece as it is informational. Some of it is dry, I found much of it exciting and worthy of having on hand for future resource and conversational aid. One of the overarching themes that he does offer is the centralized idea that Scripture, as the oft quoted and much used verse from Timothy suggests, is useful. In unpacking what this meant to the earlier communities, authors, writers and commentators, he walks through things lilke scriptures tendency to speak in mystery, the marriage of spirit led revelation and rationalized belief, the layered meanings of the genres and literature found in scripture, ideas of inerrancy and pagan influences and political influences and authoratitive texts versus informatve texts versus forming texts. Without divulging the finer points of the research he presents, much of this gets into the weeds of these kinds of quesitons in an effort to pull out something sensible for modern Christians and readers.
One of the things that does arise that proves incredibly important for understanding and approaching scripture is that it is equally necessary to understand how the ancient world understood scripture as it is to understand how we then recontextualize that into our own world and place. This is a necessary marriage that can actually help make the scriptures more alive. Most helpful though is gaining a greater context for scripture itself and of how the early commentators approached and addressed some similar issues. There are ways we in the modern age are very different and are asking very different questions of the text, and also ways in which we share much in common and wrestle with much of the same questions. The important thing is how do we learn to do that together, and I think this is a valuable resource towards that end.
April 6, 2025
It's nice to know that Christians throughout the centuries have had trouble understanding the Bible. Sometimes Christians like to present their views as having authority from the very beginning. But Michael Graves in this book presents a different view.
When the Bible was composed, it immediately created questions in the minds of the readers. How can we read this? What are the rules of interpretation? How should we understand this in light of our modern time?
Graves gives a brief survey of many Church Fathers including Jerome, Augustine, Origen and others. Instead of giving an overview of each writer, Graves presents his case around several issues like the historicity of scripture, the divine nature and the literal vs allegorical interpretations.
This small book is insightful and will give the reader a quick overview of the issues that are involved. Graves tries to connect the ancient debates to the modern situation. His final argument is that no position on the inspiration and interpretation of Scripture can fully claim to be the 'original' and date back to the entire of the teaching of the church.
His writings is non-technical and flows fairly well.
I highly recommend this book for all Christians who are interested in understanding the tradition a bit more.
Grade: A
When the Bible was composed, it immediately created questions in the minds of the readers. How can we read this? What are the rules of interpretation? How should we understand this in light of our modern time?
Graves gives a brief survey of many Church Fathers including Jerome, Augustine, Origen and others. Instead of giving an overview of each writer, Graves presents his case around several issues like the historicity of scripture, the divine nature and the literal vs allegorical interpretations.
This small book is insightful and will give the reader a quick overview of the issues that are involved. Graves tries to connect the ancient debates to the modern situation. His final argument is that no position on the inspiration and interpretation of Scripture can fully claim to be the 'original' and date back to the entire of the teaching of the church.
His writings is non-technical and flows fairly well.
I highly recommend this book for all Christians who are interested in understanding the tradition a bit more.
Grade: A
April 24, 2024
Michael Graves introduces how the early Church Fathers understood the inspiration of the Scriptures and their methods of interpreting them. He seems to be addressing other Protestant Evangelicals, as he emphasizes the early Church Fathers' diversity, but fails to address some treasured interpretations and applications that were widely held among them that have been rejected by the Protestant world. He concludes by declaring that no Church Traditions can credibly claim that their interpretations can be understood to be authoritative, and that individual, subjective reading of the Scriptures is the best way for Christians from various churches to proceed. And so, while introducing the Church Fathers and what can be learned from them, he directs his readers not to take them and the unified Church the fathers belonged to as a way of discerning the Word with full assurance. This is just as my former Baptist pastor directed me: do not explore the Orthodox Church and their claims. Don't go there! Well, I did go there and found their authoritative claims credible.
February 12, 2019
This book delivers exactly what is promised in the title. It gives a broad, yet fairly detailed, overview of how the Church Fathers viewed and handled Scripture. With numerous examples, Graves (whose grasp on patristic literature is wonderfully displayed here) shows us the perspectives of these early church authors in their own words. But what makes the book most interesting is how Graves teases out from the Fathers their views on the "entailments" of divine inspiration. In other words, he answers, "What should you expect from the Bible, and what should you do with the Bible, if you believe it is inspired of God?" as the early Church Fathers answered these questions. It is truly fascinating.
For those interested in the history of biblical interpretation in the ages immediately following the apostles of Jesus, this is a must-read. It surprises, excites, and informs on almost every page.
For those interested in the history of biblical interpretation in the ages immediately following the apostles of Jesus, this is a must-read. It surprises, excites, and informs on almost every page.
February 11, 2020
Good summary of patristics on bibliology with some thoughts on the early church's view of Scripture for modern biblical interpretation and application.
August 15, 2020
Exceptional - highly recommend!
November 5, 2021
3.5 stars
June 23, 2014
This book explores patristic literature concerning the inspiration and interpretation of Scripture, focusing on the second through the sixth centuries AD. It isn't merely a book that catalogues and synthesizes pertinent writings of Church Fathers. It does do that, and does so reasonably well. However, in a significant way, the book also casts a fresh vision regarding the nature of and interpretation of Scripture.
To truly grasp this vision, it helps to have some familiarity with the emerging field that undergirds it: the so-called Theological Interpretation of Scripture (TIS). In developing his thesis, Graves works to describe, “the network of ideas about inspiration reflected in early Christian writings” (3). This is done not via descriptions of inspiration per se, but rather the possible entailments of inspiration.
An entailment is a statement that necessarily follows another. For example:
A. Bob lives in Seattle.
B. Bob lives in Washington State.
In the above scenario, B is an entailment of A. However, B is not an entailment of A (just because Bob lives in Washington State doesn’t necessarily entail that he lives in Seattle). In a similar manner, the entailments that Graves highlights tend to work in one direction.
Keep in mind that this is no exercise in crafting a systematic definition of inspiration, or of explaining its mechanics. Rather, Graves’ task is a step removed from describing inspiration itself, instead focusing on what follows from inspiration.
As he treks through his historical research, Graves identifies the following twenty possible entailments of inspiration (organized under five larger headings). After unpacking these potential entailments, Graves concedes that there is diversity in the patristic evidence, and that not all of data has equal contemporary import.
All in all, Graves’ work here will be a welcome contribution to many who embrace TIS, and it further has much to offer in terms of its impressive survey of patristic writings on bibliology and hermeneutics. However, among those who are skeptical of TIS, there is bound to be a fair bit of feather-ruffling. Even so, I believe that furthering the evangelical conversation about inspiration and its impact on how Christians approach Scripture is of value – regardless of whether some feathers get bent in the process.
To truly grasp this vision, it helps to have some familiarity with the emerging field that undergirds it: the so-called Theological Interpretation of Scripture (TIS). In developing his thesis, Graves works to describe, “the network of ideas about inspiration reflected in early Christian writings” (3). This is done not via descriptions of inspiration per se, but rather the possible entailments of inspiration.
An entailment is a statement that necessarily follows another. For example:
A. Bob lives in Seattle.
B. Bob lives in Washington State.
In the above scenario, B is an entailment of A. However, B is not an entailment of A (just because Bob lives in Washington State doesn’t necessarily entail that he lives in Seattle). In a similar manner, the entailments that Graves highlights tend to work in one direction.
Keep in mind that this is no exercise in crafting a systematic definition of inspiration, or of explaining its mechanics. Rather, Graves’ task is a step removed from describing inspiration itself, instead focusing on what follows from inspiration.
As he treks through his historical research, Graves identifies the following twenty possible entailments of inspiration (organized under five larger headings). After unpacking these potential entailments, Graves concedes that there is diversity in the patristic evidence, and that not all of data has equal contemporary import.
All in all, Graves’ work here will be a welcome contribution to many who embrace TIS, and it further has much to offer in terms of its impressive survey of patristic writings on bibliology and hermeneutics. However, among those who are skeptical of TIS, there is bound to be a fair bit of feather-ruffling. Even so, I believe that furthering the evangelical conversation about inspiration and its impact on how Christians approach Scripture is of value – regardless of whether some feathers get bent in the process.
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