By publishing these essays together for the first time, this collection widens access to a number of T. F. Torrance’s illuminating studies on the history of biblical hermeneutics. Moreover, by detailing Torrance’s extensive engagement with primary sources, which generally appear only in summary form across his writings, this collection reveals to readers how Torrance’s own theological hermeneutics were forged through deep fellowship with the communion of the saints.

This is a valuable resource book for historical studies on biblical interpretation, comprising a variety of detailed essays, including documented examples of important stages in the history of biblical exegesis. It also contains a general introduction to the history of reading the Bible. Falling into three parts, from the New Testament to the Reformation, from the Reformation to the modern period, and readings of the Bible today and in the future, the book is designed to challenge some present-day assumptions of the uniformity of approaches to the Bible and of modes of exegesis. It illustrates that basic continuities do exist, and informs the student and non-specialist of the long tradition of reading the Bible to which we are heirs, with the aim of making us more competent interpreters ourselves.

The canonical texts and traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam claim that God speaks, but philosophers usually mistakenly treat such speech as revelation. Wolterstorff argues that contemporary speech-action theory offers a fascinating approach to the claim. He develops an innovative theory of interpretation along the way opposing the current near-consensus of Ricoeur and Derrida that there is something wrong-headed about interpreting a text to find out what its author said.

In his Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion, Hegel treats the religions of the world under the rubric "the determinate religion." This is a part of his corpus that has traditionally been neglected since scholars have struggled to understand what philosophical work it is supposed to do. In Hegel's Interpretation of the Religions of the World, Jon Stewart argues that Hegel's rich analyses of Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Egyptian and Greek polytheism, and the Roman religion are not simply irrelevant historical material, as is often thought. Instead, they play a central role in Hegel's argument for what he regards as the truth of Christianity. Hegel believes that the different conceptions of the gods in the world religions are reflections of individual peoples at specific periods in history. These conceptions might at first glance appear random and chaotic, but there is, Hegel claims, a discernible logic in them. Simultaneously, a theory of mythology, history, and philosophical anthropology, Hegel's account of the world religions goes far beyond the field of philosophy of religion. The controversial issues surrounding his treatment of the non-European religions are still very much with us today and make his account of religion an issue of continued topicality in the academic landscape of the twenty-first century.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

Hermeneutics is the work of Hermes, the Greek demigod, a messenger from the gods and from the dead. Simon Perry sets out to explore the contemporary face of Hermes through a reading of Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). This parable has one distinguishing feature that marks it out from other ancient stories following the same basic storyline: that a visitor from the dead is not granted leave to return with a message to the land of the living. In order for Scripture to be heard, Hermes is not necessary. Where does this leave the role of hermeneutics? Perry looks to philosophers, ethicists, and theologians for an answer.

This book provides a theory that enables the concept of irony to be transferred from the literary to the visual and aural domains. Topics include the historical roots of the concept of irony as modes of oral and literary expression, and how irony relates to spatiality.

Biblical theology attempts to explore the theological coherence of the canonical witnesses; no serious Christian theology can overlook this issue. The essays in the present volume illustrate the complexity and richness of the conversation that results from attentive consideration of the question. In a time when some voices are calling for a moratorium on biblical theology or pronouncing its concerns obsolete, this collection of meaty essays demonstrates the continuing vitality and necessity of the enterprise. Richard B. Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament, The Divinity School, Duke University, USA This volume on biblical theology jumps into the fray and poses the right kind of questions. It does not offer a single way forward. Several of the essays are quite fresh and provocative, breaking new ground (Bray, Reno); others set out the issues with clarity and grace (Bartholomew); others offer programmatic analysis (Webster; Bauckham); others offer a fresh angle of view (Chapman, Martin). The success of this series is in facing the challenge of disarray in biblical studies head-on and then modeling a variety of approaches to stimulate our reflection. Christopher Seitz, Professor of Old Testament and Theological Studies, St. Andrews University, UK

In our relativistic society, Christians more than ever are bombarded by tough questions about their faith. Author Paul Copan has observed that many of these questions emerge as "anti-truth claims" that are part of today's skeptical mind-set. Christians defending their faith often hear slogans and questions such as: Ž It's all relative Ž Everything is one with the Divine; all else is illusion Ž The Gospels contradict each other Ž Why would a good God create hell? This book provides incisive answers to slogans related to truth and reality; theism, pantheism/Eastern religion, and naturalism; and doctrinal issues such as the incarnation and truth of Scripture. Each of the twenty-two chapters provides succinct answers and summary points for countering the arguments. Copan's book is accessible for all Christians who want to defend the plausibility of Christianity in the marketplace of ideas. It also includes helpful summary sections, additional resources, and additional documentation in the endnotes for review and discussion.

The Holy Spirit's ministry of illumination is a commonly misunderstood doctrine, both pragmatically and theologically. As a result, this divine activity is often neglected, but it should be recognized that it is indispensable for the hermeneutical endeavor. This distinctive work seeks to take an apparently abstract concept and make it concrete by establishing proper categories and definitions for the doctrine of illumination while reemphasizing the cooperation of Word and Spirit. In doing so, this book treats issues such as the relationship between illumination and other hermeneutical doctrines, the accessibility of the Spirit's illumination when interpreting the Scriptures, and the question of unregenerate biblical interpretation. Accordingly, Illumination and Interpretation presents a biblical-theological evaluation of the Spirit's work of illumination for the transformative purpose of understanding how to appropriate this vital hermeneutical doctrine into one's faith and practice.

(Peeters 1993)

Ludwig Feuerbach is traditionally regarded as a significant but transitional figure in the development of nineteenth-century German thought. Readings of Feuerbach's The Essence of Christianity tend to focus on those features which made it seem liberating to the Young Hegelians: namely, its criticism of reification as abstraction, and its interpretation of religion as alienation. In this book, Van Harvey claims that this is a limited and inadequate view of Feuerbach's work, especially of his critique of religion. The author argues that Feuerbach's philosophical development led him to a much more complex and interesting theory of religion which he expounded in works which have been virtually ignored hitherto. By exploring these works, Harvey gives them a significant contemporary re-statement, and brings Feuerbach into conversation with a number of modern theorists of religion.