Reading Sacred Scripture: Voices from the History of Biblical Interpretation

by Stephen Westerholm, Martin Westerholm

 
A rich display of the Christian tradition’s reading of Scripture
 
Though well-known and oft-repeated, the advice to read the Bible “like any other book” fails to acknowledge that different books call for different kinds of reading. The voice of Scripture summons readers to hear and respond to its words as divine address. Not everyone chooses to read the Bible on those terms, but in Reading Sacred Scripture Stephen and Martin Westerholm (father and son) invite their readers to engage seriously with a dozen major Bible interpreters — ranging from the second century to the twentieth — who have been attentive to Scripture’s voice.
 
After expertly setting forth pertinent background context in two initial chapters, the Westerholms devote a separate chapter to each interpreter, exploring how these key Christian thinkers each understood Scripture and how it should be read. Though differing widely in their approaches to the text and its interpretation, these twelve select interpreters all insisted that the Bible is like no other book and should be read accordingly.
 
 

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 20, 2016

Reviews

[Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done. Diving deep into each major theologian’s views on the nature and interpretation of Scripture was both fascinating and enjoyable. The opening and concluding chapters—which frame the whole discussion and make clear how Christians can benefit from such a study in their own approach to Scripture—were excellent. Good balance of appreciation and criticism, though their chapter on Schleiermacher felt a bit overly-appreciative and out of place, since his approach to the Bible and hermeneutics was so radically different than the other figures highlighted in the book.

[Luke Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent text to have as reference and to deepen your own knowledge and perspective of the most influential theologians opinion's on the bible.