Scripture: A Very Theological Proposal

This is a study of scripture, ethics and preaching. It is of great use to students of theology at all levels. Scripture is a text drawn into the activity of the triune God of Israel, its ultimate destination is the worshiping church, it has a ministry in shaping Christian thinking and acting, and it cannot be isolated both from attention to Christ and the church in whose life it is embedded. Scripture is not first a source for historical inquiry, or a text that tickles our literary sensitivities: Holy Scripture has a commissioned role in the saving purposes of God. This text recovers scriptural reading as a discipline that can be undertaken only when theologically equipped. Theological inquiry into Scripture is required to locate Scripture within the action of the gospel and within the life and worship of the church: a task undertaken by negotiating our way through P. T. Forsyth, Stanley Hauerwas, and other recent doctrines of Scripture. Chapter 1 therefore relate Scripture both to the action of God and ecclesiology. Chapter 2 explores the relationship between Scripture and ethics, arguing that starting from within the politics of the church appropriately re-locates the 'problem' of relating the Bible to ethics as proposed by biblical scholarship. Chapter 3 evinces how keeping company with a host of theologians can help us read John's gospel. Chapter 4 articulates a decidedly theological account of preaching, attentive to Christ, Scripture, and the church. Chapter 5 explores what kind of university would be a hospitable host for the theological.