This book explores the rapidly growing interdisciplinary area of hermeneutics and its significance for biblical studies, combining wide, fundamental, rigorous, and creative theoretical concerns with practical questions about how we read biblical texts. Dr. Anthony Thiselton's thorough approach to the growing discipline of hermeneutics takes account of a comprehensive range of theoretical models of reading and interpretation. He evaluates both the foundations on which they rest and their practical implications for Old and New Testament reading. Building on his earlier influential work, The Two Horizons, Dr. Thiselton examines theories of texts, semiotics and literature, the legacy of Patristic and Reformation hermeneutics, and the use of socio-critical theory, liberation theology, and Marxist, feminist, and black hermeneutics, and discusses every major hermeneutical theorist. This exhaustive and rigorous critique will prove valuable to anyone undertaking advanced research in hermeneutics, including teachers and students of theology and language or literary theory.

Hermeneutics is an interdisciplinary study of how we interpret texts, especially biblical texts, in the light of theories of understanding in philosophy, meaning in literary theory, and of theology. This volume brings together the seminal thought of a leading contemporary pioneer in this field. Thiselton's The Two Horizons was a classic on how horizons of biblical texts engage creatively with the horizons of the modern world. The author's later New Horizons in Hermeneutics explored still more deeply the transforming capacities of biblical texts, while his massive commentary on 1 Corinthians interpreted an epistle. This volume collects many of Anthony Thiselton's more notable writings from some seven books and 70 articles, to which he adds his own re-appraisals of earlier work. It uniquely expounds the thought of a major contemporary British theologian through his own words, and includes his own critical assessments.

It is well known that the Western university gradually evolved from the monastic stadium via the cathedral schools of the twelfth century to become the remarkably vigorous and interdisciplinary European institutions of higher learning that transformed Christian intellectual culture in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It is equally well known that subsequent disciplinary developments in higher education, including the founding and flourishing of many of the most prestigious of North American universities, owe equally to the Protestant and perhaps particularly Calvinist influence. But that the secularized modern university that descended from these developments is now in something of an identity crisis is becoming widely - and often awkwardly - apparent. The reason most often given for the crisis is our general failure to produce a morally or spiritually persuasive substitute for the authority that undergirded the intellectual culture of our predecessors. This is frequently also a reason for the discomfort many experience in trying to address the problem, for it requires an acknowledgement, at least, that the secularization hypothesis has proven inadequate as a basis for the sustaining of coherence and general intelligibility in the university curriculum. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the disciplines of biblical studies and theology, which once were the anchor or common point of reference for theological thought, but which are now both marginalized in the curriculum and internally divided as to meaning and purpose, even where the Church itself is concerned. In this final volume of the Scripture and Hermeneutic Series, a group of distinguished scholars have sought to understand the role of the Bible in relation to the disciplines in a fresh way. Offered in a spirit of humility and experimentally, the essays here consider the historic role of the Bible in the university, the status of theological reflection regarding Scripture among the disciplines today, the special role of Scripture in the development of law, the humanities and social sciences, and finally, the way the Bible speaks to issues of academic freedom, intellectual tolerance, and religious liberty. Contributors Include: Dallas Willard William Abraham Al Wolters Scott Hahn Glenn Olsen Robert C. Roberts Byron Johnson Robert Cochran, Jr. David I. Smith John Sullivan Robert Lundin C. Stephen Evans David Lyle Jeffrey

In this clear, practical, and relatively brief commentary, Anthony Thiselton brings to bear his intimate knowledge of Paul's theology, the ancient city of Corinth, and Paul's epistles to the church of that city. The commentary is not only critical and exegetical, but also has a focus on practical and pastoral reflection. 2 Corinthians is Paul's most passionate epistle. It shows him to be a man of very deep feeling, who sometimes has to be frank, even blunt, with those who seek to undermine his work. In this commentary, we see the inner turmoil of a devoted missionary pastor and apostle. We also have the opportunity to explore how power can be expressed through weakness by pastors and all Christians who follow a Christ crucified and risen.

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, USAThis 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

From the opening pages of the Bible, we learn of God as one who communicates with humankind--offering us first steps toward knowledge of the divine, the very foothold of theology. On this basis, Approaching the Study of Theology presents an engaging introduction to the breadth and depth of the study of theology, mapping the significant landmarks as well as the main areas of debate. The book is divided into three parts: Part I (Approaches) describes the major approaches to theology that have emerged and developed over time. Part II (Concepts and Issues) explains the major concepts and issues, identifying theologians associated with each. Part III (Key Terms) provides a helpful glossary of all the key terms that readers need to understand in order to better understand theology. Written by the eminent theologian Anthony Thiselton, here is an accessible resource for both those in the midst of a theological course or program as well as those contemplating the field.

Encountering philosophy of religion for the first time, we are like explorers arriving on an uncharted coastline. There are inviting bays and beaches, but rocky reefs and pounding surf as well. And what tribes may inhabit the land is anyone's guess. But our cautious intrigue turns to confidence as Anthony Thiselton greets us as a native informant. Cheerfully imparting insider knowledge, mapping the major landmarks, and outlining the main figures and issues in its tribal debates, he teaches us the basics for gaining cultural fluency on these foreign shores. Approaching Philosophy of Religion is divided into three parts: Part I (Approaches) provides descriptions of the main entrance ramps to studying the subject, with lively case histories, working examples, and assessments of their lasting value. Part II (Concepts and Issues) gives us brief introductions to the origins and development of ideas, and highlights their significance in the work of major thinkers. Part III (Key Terms) supplies concise explanations of all the words and phrases that readers need to know in order to engage the subject. For students and anyone else reading and engaging philosophy of religion for the first time, Approaching Philosophy of Religion is the essential companion.

Drawing on the resources of contemporary hermeneutical theory, Anthony Thiselton in this volume masterfully recovers the formative and transformative power of Christian doctrine. The past thirty-five years have witnessed major steps forward in the use of hermeneutics in biblical studies, but never before has hermeneutics made a comparable impact on the formulation of doctrine and our engagement with it. Indeed, no other book explores the interface between hermeneutics and Christian doctrine in the same in-depth way that this one does. Throughout the book Thiselton shows how perspectives that arise from hermeneutics shed fresh light on theological method, reshape horizons of understanding, and reveal the relevance of doctrine for formation and for life. Arguably the leading authority worldwide on biblical and philosophical hermeneutics, Thiselton has written widely acclaimed works in the areas of biblical studies and philosophical theology. His probing interaction in The Hermeneutics of Doctrine with numerous other great thinkers -- Gadamer, Ricoeur, Lindbeck, Balthasar, Vanhoozer, Pannenberg, etc. -- and his original perspectives will make this volume a valuable resource for scholars and advanced students.

Covering thinkers from Plato to Freud, offering detailed explanations of key themes such as evil, and outlining clear definitions of complex ideas like'the doctrine of analogy,' this is a comprehensive reference tool for all those studying, or interested in, the philosophy of religion.

This learned book by eminent scholar Anthony Thiselton is a detailed biblical, historical, and contemporary study of the Holy Spirit. Thiselton presents an up-to-date account of biblical teaching on the topic, including exposition of passages and hermeneutics; offers a comprehensive historical survey from the Apostolic Fathers to Jonathan Edwards; and engages a host of modern theologians.In the last part of his book Thiselton discusses a remarkably wide range of writings on the Holy Spirit from the nineteenth century to the present day. He interacts explicitly with Pentecostals and the Renewal Movement in a sympathetic, positive, yet critical manner. The book as a whole is at once scholarly and readable, comprehensive and practical.The Holy Spirit -- in Biblical Teaching, through the Centuries, and Today offers scholarly work on specific themes such as prophecy, tongues, the miraculous, the range and nature of the Spirit's gifts, and the Holy Spirit in relation to the Trinity, along with practical consequences for worship and life.

The apostle Paul has long had his admirers and revilers. And contemporary Christians often harbor private misgivings about this prominent apostle. Paul sounds harsh, intolerant, misogynistic, and his gospel surely misconstrues the message of Jesus. "How is it," they want to ask, "that some Christians can speak so fondly of Paul?" Anthony Thiselton is an unabashed admirer of Paul, a student of his letters and a devotee of his gospel. Over a range of issues, Thiselton cleans the lens and sharpens the focus to give us snapshots of Paul's life, mission and thought. Whatever your level of knowledge and experience of Paul, you will findThe Living Paul informative and interesting, nuanced and inspiring. A portrait of Paul rendered in the deft strokes of a master.