This book offers two things in particular: first, these are papers that have been commented on and re-worked in the context of a set of lively sessions from (International) SBL conferences from 2012 to 2014 (Amsterdam, St. Andrews, Vienna). Second, they offer an insight into the origins of the discipline as one which became conscious of itself in the early modern era and the turn to history and the analysis of texts, to offer something exegetical and synthetic. The fresh wind that the enterprise received in the latter part of the twentieth century is the focus of the second part of the volume, which describes the recent activity up to the present “state of the question” The third part takes a step further to anticipate the way forward for the discipline in an era where “canon”–but also “Scripture” and “theology”–seem to be alien terms, and where other ideologies are advanced in the name of neutrality. Biblical Theology will aim to be true to the evidence of the text: it will not always see clearly, but it will rely on the best of biblical criticism and theological discernment to help it. That is the spirit with which this present volume is imbued.
Understanding Biblical Theology: A Comparison of Theory and Practice
Understanding Biblical Theology provides an expert and clarifying look at the catch-all term “biblical theology,” a movement that tries to remove the often-held dichotomy between biblical studies for the Church and as an academic pursuit. Using a spectrum between history and theology, each of the five “types” of biblical theology are identified as landing somewhere on the continuum from “more theological” to “more historical” in concern and practice. Readers will gain an appreciation for each of these approaches and understand how any student of the Bible can learn from them.