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Keywords
luther, christian interpretation, allegory, early church, alexandria, typological method, antioch, salvation
Description
In the early centuries of the church and effectively until the Enlightenment, the church read the Scriptures according to the words of Jesus of Nazareth: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39 ESV). The church believed the words of Jesus and also understood the written words of the apostles, evangelists and prophets contained in Scripture to be God’s absolute revelation to man concerning sin, righteousness and salvation. All Scripture finds fulfillment in Jesus. However, in recent centuries, there has been a strong push to mine Scripture for meaning using scientific and critical methods. As valuable as these critical methods have shown to be in many regards, there was growing dissatisfaction. This has led to the call to return to a Christological, Christocentric, or Christotelic reading of Scripture. This paper seeks to offer both a brief survey and assessments of the recent methods that has led to a renewal of the reading of Scripture more akin to the early church.
Submission Type
Bible Study; Lecture; Sermon Prep
Submission Topics
Ecclesiology (The Church); Education; Literature and Art; Practical Theology; Preaching and Teaching; Scripture Interpretation; Sin; Worship
Scripture References in this Resource (separated by semi-colons)
John 5:39;
Submission Audience
Laity; Ministers; Scholars
People in this Resource (separated by commas)
Origen of Alexandria, Irenaeus of Lyon, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Cyril of Aleander, Luther, Johan Philip Gabler
Submission Cost
Free
Assessing the Return to Christological Readings of Scripture
In the early centuries of the church and effectively until the Enlightenment, the church read the Scriptures according to the words of Jesus of Nazareth: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39 ESV). The church believed the words of Jesus and also understood the written words of the apostles, evangelists and prophets contained in Scripture to be God’s absolute revelation to man concerning sin, righteousness and salvation. All Scripture finds fulfillment in Jesus. However, in recent centuries, there has been a strong push to mine Scripture for meaning using scientific and critical methods. As valuable as these critical methods have shown to be in many regards, there was growing dissatisfaction. This has led to the call to return to a Christological, Christocentric, or Christotelic reading of Scripture. This paper seeks to offer both a brief survey and assessments of the recent methods that has led to a renewal of the reading of Scripture more akin to the early church.
