Biblical Authority after Babel: Retrieving the Solas in the Spirit of Mere Protestant Christianity By Kevin J. Vanhoozer
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Mere Protestant biblical interpreters believe that the Spirit both summons them to attend and authorizes them to respond to the voice of the Triune God speaking in the Scriptures to present Christ 104 7 Mere Protestant biblical interpreters believe that they will have a better understanding of what God is saying in Scripture by attending to the work of other interpreters and communities of interpreters as well as their own community s work 105 8 MPCs believe that faith enables a way of interpreting Scripture that refuses both absolute certainty idols of the tower and relative skepticism idols of the maze 105 9 The mere Protestant pattern of interpretive authority begins with the Triune God in communicative action.
Biblical Authority after Babel Religion spirituality means
But rather a call to listen for the Holy Spirit speaking in the history of Scripture s interpretation in the church 145 11 Sola scriptura entails not a naive but a critical biblicism 145 12 A mere Protestant practice of sola scriptura constitutes a catholic biblicism 146 13 Mere Protestant local churches have the authority to make binding interpretive judgments on matters pertaining to statements of faith and the life of church members insofar as they concern the integrity of the gospel 174 14 Christ authorizes both the congregation as a whole and its officers in particular to minister the same word in different ways 174 15 Christ authorizes the local church to be an authoritative interpretive community of the Word of God 175 16 Mere Protestant local churches have an obligation to read in communion with other local churches 176 17 MPC.
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Quoting D Boughton Knox And denominational differences can and should be seen as part of a larger Pentecostal plurality in which we all proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ within the comprehensive economy of grace in our different denominational voices Highly recommended I hope it generates increased dialogue among Protestants churches and also demonstrates effectively to the Roman churches that Protestants are not inevitably and intractably schismatic Paperback Summary A proposal that the five Solas of mere Protestant Christianity provide a framework to check the interpretive anarchy for which Protestant Christianity is criticized. Book Biblical Authority after babel's reign One of the most serious criticisms of post Reformation Protestant Christianity is that it unleashed a kind of interpretive anarchy.
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Not with scripture but with God s gracious initiative I heartily affirm his call to a humble faith that refuses to idolize certainty but equally steers clear of skepticism and relativity He steers clear of the caricatures of biblicism that are rightly criticized And I found his vision for unity that is not uniformity bracing. Book Biblical Authority after babel ii I do think the most difficult part of his argument for the contention he would make is the part about local churches as interpretive communities I think it a healthier thing that local churches function as interpretive communities than individuals in isolation What counters the danger of pervasive interpretive pluralism for him is this idea of conference churches in a gospel shaped conversation with each other This sounds nice in theory.
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With the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation s accidental start coming up next year we ll be seeing a lot of books celebrating and or critiquing the movement than usual that is This is one of the former but done mostly in the way of a defense against some of the most common critiques There s a very real sense in which I m not qualified to discuss this book and I m really looking forward to reading reviews from those who are But there s another sense in which I am I m a Christian I like to read and think about these issues and VanHoozer wrote a book about them so you know I might as well blather on about it some. Biblical Authority after Babel kindle unlimited In the Introduction Vanhoozer rehearses some of the common critiques of Protestantism mostly relying on those talking about the lack of organizational unity and those that relate that level of disunity to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura One adjective seems custom made to describe the unintended consequence of the Reformation It is a word that I never come across except in the descriptions or criticisms of Protestantism fissiparous inclined to cause or undergo division into separate parts of groups from the Latin fissus past participle of findere to split cf fissure In much of the introduction he seems to buy into the conventional wisdom stereotypes of Protestantism what Protestantism teaches including a weird reading of the Ann Hutchison case using too many scattered quotations out of context from various authorities to build the case To respond to the fissiparousness of Protestantism which he does lament Vanhoozer uses the Solas of the Reformation to show why the problem isn t inherent in Protestantism s principles the examination of the Solas rooted in Sola Gratia provides the framework for the rest of the book and his apologetic I really appreciated this way of framing his argument and think I need to work on doing that myself. Biblical Authority after Babel epub.pub Throughout this work Vanhoozerwill be arguing not for the superiority of his own Reformed tribe but for mere Protestant Christianity This refers neither to a lost golden age nor to a particular cultural instantiation of Protestantism but rather to a set of seminal insights encapsulated by the five solas that represent a standing challenge and encouragement to the church While I have some concerns of the Mere Christianity and Mere Orthodoxy approaches that are gaining popularity in some circles I can t fault this Sure he d be able to make a stronger case if he did argue for the superiority of Reformed thinking if you ask me but given the arguments he s responding to it makes sense to adopt this approach. Biblical Authority after Babel epublishing As he looks at each Sola he begins by examining what the Reformers meant by the phrase too frequently different from what their heirs mean by the phrase He then looks at competing views historical and contemporary with an emphasis on the contemporary focusing each discussion on the doctrine s relationship to Bible Church and Authority He starts with Grace Alone moves on to Faith Alone Scripture Alone then In Christ Alone and finishing with For the Glory of God Alone The latter part begins with a look at The Lord s Supper as a Test of Christian Unity Even the most ardent Protestant would have to admit that this is where the Reformers stumbled most when Luther and the Reformed couldn t come to an acceptable consensus on the meaning and nature of this Sacrament our fissiparousness became most evident and quite possibly firmly established as a mark of Protestantism For my money everything else comes as a result of this failure so for VanHoozer to focus on it at this point really resonated with the reading studies I ve been doing lately Sure it s not that novel an approach but as a reader when an author seems to be on the same page it draws you in I do think some of the technical arguments he makes get a little too creative maybe too focused on innovation and novelty but I m pretty cautious when it comes to this stuff So again I m looking forward to seeing what others make of this This isn t an academic work but it ll appeal most to the academically inclined whether by occupation or temperament interest Lay people shouldn t be put off by it but it will be a challenge at times Frequently he s deceptively easy to read you ll be chuckling at some remark smiling at a bit of whimsy and miss the fact that he s left the shallow end of the pool for something deep and thoughtful Re reading paragraphs and sections is highly recommended Vanhoozer writes with a very engaging style some great metaphors and imagery One paragraph I picked while reading to try to explain this to my wife went like this It began with some historical notes then made references to Philip Schaff John Nevins and John Calvin moved on to a quote by Augustine and ended with a line from a line from Lewis The Last Battle one that elicited a grin in addition to sealing his point Yes sometimes he lets that creativity run away from him okay he does that often my notes are filled with that observation I found myself frequently giving mental fist pumps to something he said and then almost immediately holding up a palm to say slow down On than one occasion I wondered if I was being charmed by his writing than being convinced by it I don t think so ultimately but it s something to be aware of. Religion Spirituality Biblical Authority after babel One last note that I won t develop because it was a slight digression for him at one point but I really appreciated his discussion of Biblical vs Systematic theology It was a creative way to frame the discussion and a helpful one at that. Biblical Authority after Babel epubor On the whole I might have cringed at or questioned his thinking some of the details of his arguments but typically I thought his conclusions were spot on Which probably says about me than him There s a few area to be cautious of here but largely this is an encouraging well constructed challenging and encouraging read For those ready to gird up their minds I d strongly encourage picking this up This was my first encounter with Vanhoozer outside the occasional footnote in someone else s work I don t think it ll be my last. Book Biblical Authority after babel's death B As this was an ARC any quotations above may be changed in the published work I will endeavor to verify them as soon as possible Paperback Impressively researched but unconvincing Like Leithart Vanhoozer pretends at offering a generic Protestant view but in reality it is only inclusive of those directly descended from Luther and Calvin Full review here Paperback Vanhoozer doing the solas in his own creative idiosyncratic way Review forthcoming Paperback This book is like watching a heavyweight grapple with the Protestant dilemma which is the fact that sola scriptura coupled with the priesthood of all believers seems to make each individual the final authority and yet various Protestant individuals each guided and illumined by the Holy Spirit disagree with one another Vanhoozer in response shows why Mere Protestantism is better than and actually catholic than the simple unity of Roman Catholicism He does so by offering a material principle the retrieved five Reformations solas a formal principle the priesthood of all believers and a final principle Protestant Catholicism The book is not perfect I wish several of the points were made with clarity And a few important questions were left unresolved But it is a excellent source for understanding interpretive authority and ecclesiastical unity from a Protestant perspective Paperback This is an excellent book I found myself most gripped by the chapters on grace alone faith alone and for the glory of God alone Vanhoozer s aim is to refute the charge that the Reformation loosed interpretive anarchy upon the world This charge is tied to Christianity s most dangerous idea which is the priesthood of all believers He answers this charge by retrieving the five solas what the Reformers actually meant by them and putting forward how they should continue to shape how we view the gospel the scriptures authority and the church Vanhoozer is the type of theologian I want to emulate and give my time and energy to He is a serious scholar who is broadly read squarely orthodox and an unapologetic supernaturalist This quote gets at what I mean by supernaturalist The Bible is the living and active Word of God not inert matter or a dead body on which interpreters perform exegetical autopsies To rely on one s own native interpretive powers is to succumb to the temptation of a hermeneutics of glory that is the expectation that one can discover God s Word through one s own natural exegetical abilities I want to strive for the kind of mere Protestant Christianity that this book puts forward Any convictional Protestant or serious Christ follower in general will be able to glean much from this work Paperback How the Five Solas Can Renew Biblical Interpretation In recent years notable scholars have argued that the Protestant Reformation unleashed interpretive anarchy on the church Is it time to consider the Reformation to be a 500 year experiment gone wrong World renowned evangelical theologian Kevin Vanhoozer thinks not While he sees recent critiques as legitimate he argues that retrieving the Reformation s core principles offers an answer to critics of Protestant biblical interpretation Vanhoozer explores how a proper reappropriation of the five solas sola gratia grace alone sola fide faith alone sola scriptura Scripture alone solus Christus in Christ alone and sola Deo gloria for the glory of God alone offers the tools to constrain biblical interpretation and establish interpretive authority He offers a positive assessment of the Reformation showing how a retrieval of mere Protestant Christianity has the potential to reform contemporary Christian belief and practice This provocative response and statement from a top theologian is accessibly written for pastors and church leaders Biblical Authority after Babel Retrieving the Solas in the Spirit of Mere Protestant ChristianityReading the introduction of this book got me very excited about exploring a common and very good question hasn t Protestantism unleashed a kind of interpretive chaos when it comes to understanding the Bible How else do we explain that there are apparently 38000 Protestant denominations The phrase that Vanhoozer has coined to describe this phenomenon is pervasive interpretive pluralism Problem is when I got done with the book I still wasn t sure exactly what is Vanhoozer s proposed solution. Book Biblical Authority after babel's death Part of the problem undoubtedly is my own inability to keep up with Vanhoozer s intellect phrases like unitive interpretive plurality and creaturely social coefficient are generously spread throughout the book But another problem is a simple lack of clarity the writing here is wordy long winded and repetitive This book could have been half as long as it is. EPub Biblical Authority after babel ii Nevertheless there are plenty of brilliant insights to savor here Vanhoozer suggests that Protestantism is not an obstacle to Christian unity but actually the way forward Just as we have four Gospels that testify to the life of Jesus so do we need various traditions humbly working to understand the Bible throughout church history to express the fullness of the Gospel s meaning Unity in the church will not come by denying the distinctives of denominations but only by the critical appropriation and sharing of them 203 This requires a certain humility not being an extreme epistemic egoist in order to recognize that the best Protestants are catholic Protestants people centered on the Gospel but also alert to how the Gospel has been faithfully received across cultures and centuries 199 In the abstract this all sounds good but I was left wondering how in the world do we get Christians from different denominations together to dialogue and listen to one another Vanhoozer wishes for table fellowship among different traditions and suggests canonical conferences as a way of getting Christians together to form consensus about what the Bible means 231 Again a good idea but this book could have been so much useful if some practical suggestions were offered about how this might work Perhaps that will fall to someone else concerned about the alleged anarchy among Protestant Bible interpreters Paperback Really enjoyed the thesis of this meaty book And when I say meaty I am talking about a thick cut sirloin and not talking about any watered down sloppy joes. Religion Spirituality Biblical Authority after babel language The Reformation was not responsible for unleashing interpretive anarchy into the world and further on top of that a mere Protestant approach to the issues revolving around the five solas is the only way out This is a worthwhile book Paperback 4. Book Biblical Authority after babel language Another solid effort from KV See this review for some helpful tables that show the coherence of Vanhoozer s argument He tries to show through a retrieval of the five solas that the Protestant Reformation did not cause secularization skepticism or schism at least not necessarily or in a way that undermines the Reformation itself More specifically he tries to show that the Reformation did not introduce a necessary and vicious pervasive interpretive pluralism 17 Put positively KV argues for a material principle a formal principle and a final principle to mere Protestant Christianity The retrieved solas are the material principle the priesthood of all believers is the formal principle and catholicity what he later calls Pentecostal plurality is the final principle A lot stands out but I ll start with his theses These are all quotations. Biblical Authority after Babel epubor 1 Mere Protestant Christians MPCs agree that the many forms of biblical discourse together make up a single unified story of God s gracious communicative initiatives 62 2 MPCs agree that the Bible is fundamentally about grace in Jesus Christ 63 3 MPCs believe that the Bible the process of interpretation and interpreters themselves are all parts of the triune economy of grace 64 4 MPCs are interpreters who themselves are caught up in the triune economy of light and who therefore read the Bible as children of light 66 5 The authority principle of MPC is the say so of the Triune God a speak acting that authorizes the created order and authors the Scriptures diverse testimonies that make known the created order as it has come to be and to be restored in through and for Jesus Christ 104 6 As persons created in God s image and destined to be conformed to the image of God s Son accords first place to Scripture interpreting Scripture the canonic principle but also acknowledges the appointed role of church tradition the catholic principle in the economy of testimony 143 10 Sola scriptura is not a recipe for sectarianism much less an excuse for schism far from encouraging individual autonomy and interpretive anarchy calls individual interpreters to join with other citizens of the gospel as members of a universal priesthood and local embassy of Christ s kingdom in order to represent God s rule publicly 210 18 MPC is a confederacy of holy nations local churches united by a single constitution and committed to reform and renewal through a continued rereading of Scripture 210 19 The genius of MPC is its distinct converse i. Book Biblical Authority after babel's birth conversational conference generated and governed by Scripture and guided by a convictional conciliarism that unites diverse churches in a transdenominational communion 211 20 The glory of MPC is the conference and communion of holy nations itself a gift that glorifies God in magnifying Jesus Christ 212 A few comments on strengths and weaknesses First KV s retrieval of the solas is a retrieval only in a very loose sense Basically he makes some brief comments on what the Reformers meant by each one and then takes it in his own direction It seems like he decided to write the book put together the flow of the argument and then tried to make the solas fit somehow It doesn t seem to harm the book in any significant way but it is curious. Book Biblical Authority after babel's death Second his description of the value of tradition and of the mandate to listen to tradition is excellent He identifies Scripture as judicial authority and tradition as testimonial authority which are better terms than magisterial and ministerial Scripture alone is the supreme authority but God in his grace decided that it is not good for Scripture to be alone 144 If we take the gift of God s Spirit seriously we will take seriously the efforts of other saints to wrestle with and submit to Scripture Quoting Bernard Ramm KV rightly says that sectarianism is the denial of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the community of believers 145 Third I appreciate the conceptual clarification of the priesthood of all believers The priesthood of all believers KV says refers to the freedom and responsibility of every Christian to minister the gospel in word and deed to one s neighbor 158 I also appreciate and agree with the claim that the ministry of the pastor does not differ in nature from the ministry of the priestly layperson the layperson and pastor exercise two forms of one ministry the ministry of Christ through the Spirit to edify and unite his people. Book Biblical Authority after babel's death Fourth his emphasis on the importance of the church if unsurprising and not in any specific way remarkable at least continues the trajectory in evangelicalism toward a robust ecclesiology He quote John Nevin at one point Individualism without the church is as little to be trusted as ecclesiasticism without individual experience 201 Absolutely. Religion Spirituality Biblical Authority after babel Fifth and last his discussions on catholic Protestantism and mere Protestant evangelicalism were illuminating Pastors and congregations should create opportunities to read and study Scripture together denominations must be seen as service structures to assist congregations which are real churches 189 a confusing of the languages similar to what happened after the tower of Babel incident in scripture In fact one of the major appeals of Roman Catholic Christianity is that in the Pope and the Magisterium the church speaks with one voice on issues of doctrine over which many Protestants differ It is a criticism made trenchantly in recent works by Brad Gregory and by sociologist Christian Smith who converted from evangelical Protestantism to Roman Catholicism over what he calls the pervasive interpretive pluralism that characterizes what he calls the biblicism of Protestant Christianity. Biblical Authority after babelli Kevin Vanhoozer a theologian who has written extensively about biblical interpretation addresses this criticism in his newest book He argues that the five solas of the Reformation so shape and inform our reading of scripture as to preclude the kind of anarchy of which Protestantism is accused. Biblical Authority after Babel kindle fire The book is arranged around the traditional five solas of Reformed tradition sola gratia sola fide sola scriptura solus Christus and soli Deo gloria I will try to summarize the major contours of a careful argument he makes that eventuates instead in what he would call a unitive interpretive plurality. Biblical Authority after babelli First of all he contends that sola gratia means that we understand scripture as as a gracious initiative of the triune God to communicate his gracious work in Christ to us and that the Bible its interpreters and interpretation are all caught up in this gracious initiative This seems quite important in addressing what kind of book scripture is and the origin of its communication and our capacity to discern its meaning. Biblical Authority after Babel ebook free Second sola fide recognizes God s trustworthy authority in creation and salvation and in attesting to this work through human testimony and the appropriate response of faith Faith alone is not faith isolated from listening to others and the epistemic humility of faith avoids the extremes of certainty and relativity. Book Biblical Authority after babel's reign Third sola scriptura is not solo scriptura While scripture is the final authority it is not the only authority Our reading of scripture is informed by the other solas and the insights of the church as a whole Vanhoozer affirms the biblicism of his position but calls for a catholic biblicism that listens to the testimony of the church about the scriptures. Book Biblical Authority after babel's death Fourth solus Christus implies the priesthood of all believers and it is to this priesthood that Christ has entrusted the keys to the kingdom household which Vanhoozer sees as the local congregation We do not interpret scripture individually but as part of interpretive communities in local congregations who interpret in communion with other local congregations. Book Biblical Authority after babel ii Finally soli Deo gloria means that local churches are holy nations whose uniqueness and communion glorifies God as these nations conference with each other around their understanding of holy scripture experiencing continuing renewal as they read scripture together Rather than mere uniformity the church manifests a robust unity within diversity that makes it hardier and able to adapt to the different settings in which it finds itself. Book Biblical Authority after babel ii Each of the chapters develops these ideas and then summarizes them in a final section Then in his conclusion Vanhoozer summarizes his argument and concludes that this is a better form of catholicity than Roman Catholicity. Book Biblical Authority after babel's death As I worked through this argument I found much that I could affirm wholeheartedly He begins but through the 500 years of Reformation history where has this been practiced and is there some reason that it might be practiced in our present day when it has not been for all this time Where are there vibrant examples of congregations particularly from different theological streams within Protestantism in conversation with each other Where are there examples of irenic efforts to listen to one another and address contradictory understandings of scripture around matters like political engagement gender roles in home and church the weight we give to dominion and to creation care and It is striking to me that one of the few examples of such conference that I can think of was the initial statement in 1994 and subsequent conversations of Evangelicals and Catholics Together This was not a conversation between Protestants about a mere Protestant Christianity as Vanhoozer calls it but rather one between a subgroup of Protestants and Catholics With the deaths of Charles Colson and Richard John Neuhaus who provided much of the impetus of these conversations they seem to have waned The conversations did not downplay difference but also emphasized common ground and the work of listening to each other for often differences arise from misunderstanding Might these be a model for the kind of conference that might be possible I don t think there is a structured way in which the kinds of conference Vanhoozer describes can occur for the whole global church But might his framework begin to inform the practice of local congregations around a disposition to commune and confer with fellow believers across denominational cultural and other differences and to read scripture together in ways that enrich and renew each other as an expression of our shared convictions around the grace and gospel of God Might it also inform our disposition toward one another where we determine not to suspect and criticize each other but to confer with and learn from each other and seek to hear together what the Spirit is saying to the churches While it might not rectify all the problems critics see in Protestant Christianity it might be a start toward a catholicity that begins to prepare us for the coming of the Bridegroom. Book Biblical Authority after babel's death _____________________________________Disclosure of Material Connection I received this book free from the publisher I was not required to write a positive review The opinions I have expressed are my own Paperback Approaching and in this the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation many books have been released that assess the religious revolution reclamation ushered in by the monk from Eisleben Brad S Gregory speaks of Protestantism s unintended reformation that inadvertently secularized Western culture Sociologist Christian Smith has pointed out the impossibility of biblicism both Gregory and Smith are converts to Roman Catholicism Even Protestant scholars such as Hans Boersma and Peter Leithart have lamented the negative consequences of the Reformation such as sacramental disenchantment Of course the medieval Church was beset with its own problems even anarchy given the Avignon papacy and the fact that many priests were poorly educated for their pastoral office. Biblical Authority after Babel ebook3000 Into this disputation Kevin J Vanhoozer offers Biblical Authority After Babel Retrieving the Solas in the Spirit of Mere Protestant Christianity catch your breath As other reviewers have noted while Vanhoozer laces his book with helpful metaphors and clever quips in the conclusion he speaks of Evangel Way which contains a seven story mansion which welcomes neighbours to come home a nod to both Thomas Merton and Scott Hahn he is also guilty of including a lot of clunky jargon I wish theologians would include glossaries in their books that would provide quick references to key terms Vanhoozer contends that the five solas of the Reformation grace alone faith alone Scripture alone in Christ alone and for the glory of God alone should be recovered as foundational keystones that can provide a basis for unity in diversity particularly in biblical interpretation and authority and he spends a chapter examining each sola Vanhoozer admits that biblicism and interpretive pluralism is a problem but he asserts that there is a substantial difference between a naive and a critical biblicism between a pervasive interpretive pluralism on the one hand and a unitive interpretive plurality on the other p 17 Like Henri de Lubac Yves Congar and other Catholic theologians associated with the nouvelle th ologie who sought to return to the Bible and early Church fathers Vanhoozer wants Protestants to take up a ressourcement of the five solas of the Reformation Vanhoozer states the main purpose of retrieval is the revitalization of biblical interpretation theology and the church today To retrieve is to look back creatively in order to move forward faithfully In particular what needs to be retrieved is the Reformers vision for catholic unity under canonical authority and also their strategy for making this vision visible through table talk conciliar deliberation around not simply a conference table but a Communion table Amen p 24 Vanhoozer sees Martin Luther as a prime model for this since he translated and contextualized the gospel which is to say RETRIEVED it into the vernacular language and cultural situation of his day Theology is always missiological to the extent that the search for understanding requires us to speak that understanding into new contexts The Reformation thus appears in this light as a missiological retrieval of the gospel as set forth in the original languages of the Bible Ad fontes p 24 25. Book Biblical Authority after babel joueur Vanhoozer s argument is complex though compelling warranting catholic discussion Although at the beginning of each chapter he tries to answer critics there were times it seemed he could have interacted with Roman Catholic sources particularly on tradition I do not think there is a convincing biblical basis for the veneration of Mary or invocation of the saints but Roman Catholics would insist these tenets are backed up by the Bible However in the chapter on grace alone Vanhoozer does a masterful job of wading into the medieval scholastic debate about grace vs nature and vindicating the Reformation against charges it led to secularization Vanhoozer states Scholastics deployed the concept of pure nature to counter the Protestant teaching about the total depravity of fallen human nature Late medieval early modern scholastic commentators on Aquinas tended to follow Cajetan insisting that fallen human nature retained at least the capacity to receive and cooperate with grace p 47 I need to contemplate this I DO believe in total depravity but at the same time as an Arminian I believe God s prevenient grace prepares us to accept Christ Vanhoozer points out that de Lubac in fact was the first to call attention to the trajectory that led from pure self enclosed nature to modern secularism This complicates Brad Gregory s account discussed above which pins the blame for secularization on the Reformation When nature is viewed as pure or autonomous grace becomes ontologically second order and the result is what Karl Barth rightly described as the secular misery of modern theology p 47 In other words if one can be in right relationship with God via one s pure nature then one does not need the supernatural infusion of grace and if you don t need grace then do you even need God or the Cross Vanhoozer presents the Reformer s stance as the gospel is the good news that men and women can be adopted as children of God not because human nature has by grace been elevated but because human sinners persons have by grace been forgiven p 49. Biblical Authority after Babel Religion spirituality means I ve dwelt a bit on the chapter on grace alone but others have written excellent reviews already that discuss the chapters on the other solas Briefly Vanhoozer insists that sola Scriptura does not mean an individualized reading of the Bible but interpretation in the context of the catholic Church Each local church is wholly a church but NOT the whole Church In order to facilitate genuine catholicity and ecumenical fellowship Vanhoozer proposes three levels of dogmatic ranking The first is formulations of revealed biblical truth that the whole church considers authoritative such as Jesus bodily resurrection and the Trinity p 205 It is what is essential for every Christian everywhere to believe The second level also contains important doctrines but these are the how such as How does Jesus death on the cross save sinners How are the bread and the wine Jesus s body and blood p 206 Lastly level three doctrines are ones that again are important but not as vital to catholicity such as the precise nature of eschatology I did wonder as to where Vanhoozer would place important questions of theological anthropology such as women s ordination and sexual morality Vanhoozer makes a particularly powerful beautiful and biblical conclusion His task throughout the book has been to counter the charge that the Reformation loosed interpretive anarchy upon the Church Rather than Babel the Reformation ushered in Pentecost Vanhoozer explains It is well known that Pentecost reverses Babel The people who built the tower of Babel sought to make a name and a unity for themselves At Pentecost God builds his temple uniting people in Christ Unity interpretive agreement and mutual understanding is it would appear something that only God can accomplish And accomplish it he does but not in the way we might have expected Although onlookers thought that the believers who received the Spirit at Pentecost were babbling Acts 2 13 in fact they were speaking intelligibly in several languages Acts 2 8 11 Note well they were all saying the same thing testifying about Jesus in different languages It takes a thousand tongues to say and sing our great Redeemer s praise. EPub Biblical Authority after babel iii e interpretive traditions to minister the meaning of God s Word and the fullness of Christ As the body is made up of many members so many interpretations may be needed to do justice to the body of the biblical text Why else are there four Gospels but that the one story of Jesus was too rich to be told from one perspective only Could it be that the various Protestant traditions function similarly as witnesses who testify to the same Jesus from different situations and perspectives p 223 In the end Vanhoozer favours catholicity under the five solas canonical authority and conciliarism One glaring omission which he admits is his neglect of Eastern Orthodoxy which he admits which IS largely conciliar as opposed to Roman Catholicism under the papacy though some in the Roman Catholic hierarchy have favoured conciliarism especially during the late medieval period and the Great Western Schism. Book Biblical Authority after babel's reign Though an important clarion call at the 500th anniversary of the Reformation one also wonders how realistic such mere Protestant Christianity is Protestants do enjoy a great deal of fellowship besides the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod most denominations allow Protestants of different denominations to feast at the Lord s Table evidenced by parachurch organizations and ministries such as InterVarsity but at the same time there are sharp divisions when it comes to issues such as baptism women s ordination church polity and spiritual gifts Will the Gospel Coalition ever publish articles affirming women s ordination I d consider this a third level doctrine or Arminianism One suggestion Vanhoozer makes recovered from 16th century Geneva would be for pastors to meet weekly at Scripture conferences in order to dialogue and share with one another p 208 While not diluting denominational distinctives I think there is great wealth in this ecclesial coming together I think Vanhoozer would agree with John G Stackhouse s reflection Beyond the family or particular Christian tradition how much effort do we make to consider what the Mennonites or the Episcopalians the Baptists or the Pentecostals the Methodists or the Presbyterians have to say to the rest of us out of their DIFFERENCES as well as out of the affirmation in common with other Christians As I suggested earlier our patterns of ecumenicity tend to bracket out our differences rather than to celebrate and capitalize upon them Finding common ground has been the necessary first step in ecumenical relations and activity But the next step is to acknowledge and enjoy what God has done elsewhere in the Body of Christ And if at the congregational level we are willing to say I can t do everything myself for I am an ear I must consult with a hand or an eye on this matter I suggest that we do the same among whole traditions If we do not regularly and programmatically consult with each other we are tacitly claiming that we have no need of each other and that all the truth beauty and goodness we need has been vouchsafed to us by God already Not only is such an attitude problematic in terms of our flourishing as I have asserted but in this context now we must recognize how useless a picture this presents to the rest of society Baptists Presbyterians and Roman Catholics failing to celebrate diversity provide no positive examples to societies trying to understand how to celebrate diversity on larger scales Paperback
| Biblical Authority after Babel: Retrieving the Solas in the Spirit of Mere Protestant Christianity By Kevin J. Vanhoozer |
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Kevin J Vanhoozer is currently Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School From 1990 98 he was Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at New College University of Edinburgh Vanhoozer received a BA from Westmont College an M. Book Biblical Authority after babel ii D from Cambridge University England having studied under site_link Nicholas Lash Kevin J Vanhoozer is currently Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School From 1990 98 he was Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at New College University of Edinburgh Vanhoozer received a BA from Westmont College an M, Biblical Authority after Babel Religion spirituality means Disclaimer I received this eARC from Brazos Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post thanks to both for this. Book Biblical Authority after babel Protestant evangelicalism evidences a Pentecostal plurality the various Protestant streams testify to Jesus in their own vocabularies and it takes many languages i, Book Biblical Authority after babel D from Cambridge University England having studied under site_link Nicholas Lash site_link..N.5 stars.e.Div from Westminster Theological Seminary and a Ph.Div from Westminster Theological Seminary and a Ph