Rendering the Word in Theological Hermeneutics: Mapping Divine and Human Agency (Studies in Historical and Systematic Theology)

What is the relationship between divine and human agency in the interpretation of Scripture? Differing schools of thought often fail to address this key question, overemphasizing or ignoring one or the other. When the divine inspiration of Scripture is overemphasized, the varied roles of human authors tend to become muted in our approach the text. Conversely, when we think of the Bible almost entirely in terms of its human authorship, Scripture's character as the word of God tends to play little role in our theological reasoning. The tendency is to choose either an academic or a spiritual approach to interpretation. In Rendering the Word in Theological Hermeneutics, Mark Bowald asserts that this is a false dichotomy. We need not emphasize the human qualities of Scripture to the detriment of the divine, nor the other way around. We must rather approach Scripture as equally human and divine in origin and character, and we must read it with both critical rigor and openness to the leading of God's Spirit now and in the historic life of the church. Annotation When interpreting Scripture, do we take an academic or a spiritual approach? Do we emphasize the human or the divine agency? Do we focus on man's authorship or God's inspiration?Mark Bowald argues that these are false dichotomies. We need to understand both the human qualities of Scripture and the divine, as an overemphasis on either will lead to distortions. In Rendering the Word in Theological Hermeneutics, Bowald surveys various schools of thought, explaining where they lose the balance between the two. He analyzes the hermeneutical methods of George Lindbeck, Hans Frei, Kevin Vanhoozer, Francis Watson, Stephen Fowl, David Kelsey, Werner Jeanrond, Karl Barth, James K.A. Smith, and Nicholas Wolterstorff. Bowald shows that we should view Scripture as equally human and divine in origin and character. And our reading of Scripture should involve both critical rigor and openness to the leading of God's Spirit When interpreting Scripture, do we take an academic or a spiritual approach? Do we emphasize the human or the divine agency? Do we focus on man's authorship or God's inspiration? Mark Bowald argues that these are false dichotomies. We need to understand both the human qualities of Scripture and the divine, as an overemphasis on either will lead to distortions. In Rendering the Word in Theological Hermeneutics , Bowald surveys various schools of thought, explaining where they lose the balance between the two. He analyzes the hermeneutical methods of George Lindbeck, Hans Frei, Kevin Vanhoozer, Francis Watson, Stephen Fowl, David Kelsey, Werner Jeanrond, Karl Barth, James K. A. Smith, and Nicholas Wolterstorff. Bowald shows that we should view Scripture as equally human and divine in origin and character. And our reading of Scripture should involve both critical rigor and openness to the leading of God's Spirit.