Theological Interpretation of Scripture

The Theological Interpretation of Scripture has turned in to quite the hot topic these days among Bible scholars and theologians. As a way of reading the scripture, this approach tends to be either loved or hated. On one side, people see it as a way to correct the excesses of historical critical scholarship and as a way to reclaim the Bible as the church’s book. On the other side, some people feel that the approach removes the text from its historical location and obscures authorial intent. This is an important discussion, and I don’t intend to resolve the issues here. But I do want to pass along some recent items for those of you who are interested in further reading.

John C. Poirer, “‘Theological Interpretation’ and its Contradistinctions,” Tyndale Bulletin 61.1 (2010): 105-18.

Charlie Trimm, “Evangelicals, Theology, and Biblical Interpretation: Reflections on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 20.3 (2010): 311-30.

“Theological Interpretation of Scripture,” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 14.2 (2010). [with contributions from Stephen Wellum, Daniel Treier, Stephen Dempster, Gregg Allison]

Robert L. Plummer, “What Is the ‘Theological Interpretation of Scripture’?” in 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010), 313-20.

In my view, Rob Plummer’s essay is the best short intro to the topic.