The Global Anglican: 136/3

We apologise to subscribers that this issue of The Global Anglican is being distributed rather later than usual. This was due to a significant problem with the printing of the issue. All subscription copies have now been sent out and should be arriving soon, Royal Mail strikes notwithstanding!

The issue focusses on the important subject of theological interpretation of Scripture. Tim Ward's article maps out the territory, identifying the key features of this approach and its value for those in pastoral ministry. He concludes:

It has become evident how large the TIS [Theological Interpretation of Scripture] claim is. It is not offering us yet another tool for our existing exegetical toolkit. It does not claim to give us just an extra string to our interpretative bow. It claims to do something much broader than that. It does not say that we must ditch our exegetical techniques – but it does say that we must not imagine that those techniques are all we need for discerning God’s voice in Scripture. It says we must set our techniques within a broad view of interpretation that includes the richness of canonical interpretation, of spiritual life and of doctrine – a broad view that is in fact in line with how faithful believers have largely read the Bible through history.

TIS urges us to ensure that our practices of interpretation are as rich as they ought to be, so that we have ears to discern the full richness of what God is saying in each Bible-passage, and so that we don’t hear just one strand of his message to us. As we each assess what we make of TIS, it’s important that we understand this – the all-encompassing nature of the claim that we are assessing.

Following this, Chris Stead examines the 'virtuous circle' that exists between Scripture and doctrine, using the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son as a worked example. Doctrine arises from Scripture, but doctrine also governs how we read Scripture. Next, Chris Ansberry makes the case for canonical interpretation as a form of theological interpretation, using Exodus 3:13-15 as his example.

Finally, Alden McCray gives an account of John Calvin's hermeneutic as an 'expanded literal reading' which owes more to the fourfold exegesis of the mediaeval church than is sometimes recognised, and is more theologically driven than that of some of his contemporaries.

The issue begins with Peter Jensen's insightful editorial on the subject of repentance, and concludes with a selection of book reviews covering a wide range of subjects.

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