Abstract
Calling Christians to Listen Afresh to the Old Testament
This multi-authored volume represents a very stimulating and timely challenge to the Christian scholarly and church communities to reclaim the Old Testament in teaching and preaching. Its call is to read the Old Testament with a trinitarian view of God at the centre of concern. Whilst the Old Testament, by its very name, is in essential continuity with the New Testament it is not to be eclipsed or marginalized as has so often happened in the past. Rather its rich diversity and potential dialogue with the New Testament is to be upheld and praised. Part 1 of the book opens with a challenging article by Craig Bartholomew, one of the editors, calling for an integrated theological hermeneutic from dogmatics and biblical studies that takes a Christocentric view seriously as ‘truth’ in a wider postmodern atmosphere of ‘wild pluralism’. Scripture as ‘God’s word’ and as witness to the same God across both testaments is reiterated and the need to receive God’s address ecclesially is stressed. For too long the Old Testament has been marginalized from the pulpit – a fully canonical approach needs this to change. The second article puts the debate into the historical context of the history of interpretation and runs through an impressive range of thinkers old and new. The value of pre-critical approaches is emphasized in the service of a more holistic (academy/church) and ‘preached’ bible, accessed on different levels of the typological, the allegorical and so on. The need to make links today with the pre-critical past is mentioned. There follows a number of articles looking at different ‘approaches’ to the Old Testament as have arisen during the critical period of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Bartholomew writes on philosophy and old Testament interpretation, Beldman on literary approaches, Longman III on history, defending the idea of essential historicity for key Old Testament events and witness. Boda considers a theological perspective on reading Old Testament texts whilst Dempster looks at the important influence of the canonical method, which is the preferred approach for an integrated ‘hearing’ of God’s word. He notes interestingly how the fundamental structure of the ‘Hebrew Bible’ left its stamp on the structure of the New Testament making the latter ‘incomprehensible’ without its forerunner. Wright considers mission and Old Testament interpretation looking at the missiological implications of key Old Testament themes – biblical monoetheism, election, salvation, ethics and eschatology. Carroll then looks at the authority of the Old Testament for ethics, again taking a canonical approach. Part 2 explores different sections or genres of the Old Testament – Pentateuch, historical books, psalter, wisdom and prophetic books (major and minor) – with ‘hearing’ a trinitarian understanding in mind and Part 3 takes these ideas into the realm of preaching with a fascinating article by Spears on how the Old Testament might more fruitfully be ‘preached’ and find its true home in Christian understanding, witness and mission. This volume really should not be missed by any scholar or preacher who is committed to a truly Christian understanding of the Old Testament and by a desire to see its marginalized position reversed so as to ‘hear’ its message afresh for a new generation.