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The Law, The Prophets, and The Writings: Studies in Evangelical Old Testament Hermeneutics in Honor of Duane A. Garrett
The Old Testament is no ordinary text; it is a revelation of God’s will, character, purpose, and plan, inspired by the Spirit of God. That same Spirit continues to work within God’s people today as they read the Bible, even when the meaning is difficult to discern. In The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings , eighteen evangelical scholars analyze the Old Testament through a historical, literary, and theological hermeneutic, providing new insights into the meaning of the Scriptures. This festschrift in honor of Duane A. Garrett seeks to help Christians faithfully read and understand the Old Testament Scriptures.
448 pages, Paperback
Published July 5, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 8, 2024
I was looking recently at Hosea 6.7 and came across a reference to Derek Bass's essay on that topic in my research. That essay is excellent and merits a five star rating. Alas, not every essay in this collection is so excellent. I didn’t realize when i reserved this book that it was a collection of essays by evangelical scholars, and reflected their prejudices. The majority of the essays were very readable and unproblematic (if you can ignore such silliness as thinking Moses wrote the Pentateuch or Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes) but a couple essays were downright disturbing. I’m thinking in particular of the essays by Joshua M. Philpot and Daniel C. Timmer. In Philpot's essay he defends the genocide of the Canaanites described in the book of Joshua on the basis of the fact that the Canaanites were evildoers. I couldn’t help wondering about whether such attitudes among evangelicals fueled modern day attitudes about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict? Could evangelicals support a modern day genocide of the Palestinian Muslims on the basis of their being evildoers, perhaps in the style of Revelation?
As disturbing as that thought is, i think Timmer's article is even more disturbing. He says, "Adopting a method in which God's authorized, scriptural statements are subject to human judgement effectively denies that God, as Scripture presents him, is the ultimate author of his written word (p 199)." This reveals the arrogant attitude of some evangelicals. Exactly who are these scholars who are *not* subjecting scriptural statements to human judgement? Are evangelicals so tuned into God that their judgements about scripture can be seen as superhuman? I was reminded of Barry Goldwater's prophetic statement, "Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."
And this is perhaps a small point, but it bothered me that of these 18 essays, only one was written by a woman. It revealed that many evangelicals have taken to heart the author of 1 Timothy’s admonition not to allow a woman to teach a man.
Would i recommend this book? In the final analysis i would have to say yes. Even though parts were downright painful to read, even these are helpful in revealing the negative features of the evangelical mindset.
As disturbing as that thought is, i think Timmer's article is even more disturbing. He says, "Adopting a method in which God's authorized, scriptural statements are subject to human judgement effectively denies that God, as Scripture presents him, is the ultimate author of his written word (p 199)." This reveals the arrogant attitude of some evangelicals. Exactly who are these scholars who are *not* subjecting scriptural statements to human judgement? Are evangelicals so tuned into God that their judgements about scripture can be seen as superhuman? I was reminded of Barry Goldwater's prophetic statement, "Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."
And this is perhaps a small point, but it bothered me that of these 18 essays, only one was written by a woman. It revealed that many evangelicals have taken to heart the author of 1 Timothy’s admonition not to allow a woman to teach a man.
Would i recommend this book? In the final analysis i would have to say yes. Even though parts were downright painful to read, even these are helpful in revealing the negative features of the evangelical mindset.
December 15, 2021
Eighteen scholars write instructive essays on interpretation. Here is my short summary of what I think are the most important points.
The popularity of word studies in evangelical circles can lead Old Testament readers to believe that the words of the Bible have individual meanings in and of themselves, and that by adding up the meanings of biblical words, we can arrive at the text's meaning. Understanding a text by considering its smallest parts separately can be traced back to the Enlightenment's emphasis on analysis in the physical sciences, where understanding is obtained by dissecting a phenomenon into its constituent parts.
The events of the Exodus are established as a type by Moses. The ultimate healing is the gospel message of God's love and forgiveness, which is as certain as eating from the tree of life in terms of healing from the curse of sin. Finally, the Bible as a whole—rather than just "theological" passages—is fundamentally a work of theology rather than history.
The popularity of word studies in evangelical circles can lead Old Testament readers to believe that the words of the Bible have individual meanings in and of themselves, and that by adding up the meanings of biblical words, we can arrive at the text's meaning. Understanding a text by considering its smallest parts separately can be traced back to the Enlightenment's emphasis on analysis in the physical sciences, where understanding is obtained by dissecting a phenomenon into its constituent parts.
The events of the Exodus are established as a type by Moses. The ultimate healing is the gospel message of God's love and forgiveness, which is as certain as eating from the tree of life in terms of healing from the curse of sin. Finally, the Bible as a whole—rather than just "theological" passages—is fundamentally a work of theology rather than history.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews