Abstract
In Five Models of Scripture, undergraduate professor Mark Reasoner presents the case that believers should employ multiple models for approaching the Bible as Christian Scripture. Reasoner teaches in a Catholic institution; however, he writes to a mixed audience of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant readers who may be studying, teaching, or preaching the Bible. This breadth serves as the greatest strength of the work, pulling many traditions together and connecting the benefits of reading Scripture in various ways to the historic strengths of Christian community.
Reasoner begins Five Models with a quick outline of his categories, before describing in Part 1 the differences in Old Testament canons across traditions, as well as the doctrine of God’s inspiration of the Bible. Part 2 explicates each of the five models: documents, stories, prayers, laws, and oracles. Part 3 explores three major developments in the way Scripture has been considered: hermeneutics, sola Scriptura, and metanarratives (grand biblical narratives rather than comparative worldviews, although these two can interact). Although each chapter ends with classroom and ministry recommendations, Part 4 balances the descriptive nature of the work with broad guidelines for Scripture’s overall use in worship, Christian devotion, and the academy.
In the heart of the book, Part 2, Reasoner defines and critiques each of his five models, providing practical and theoretical examples that help distinguish each approach. The “documents” model reads biblical texts as historical artifacts to be analyzed and has been prevalent among historical-critical academics and inerrantists and those focused on apologetics. The “stories” model reads biblical texts, or the entire Bible, as stories or metanarratives, whether these stories are read as literal accounts, rationalistic problems, or community-building myths. The “prayers” model reads biblical texts as the vocabulary of prayer and worship, with a focus on the names of God, confessional fragments, the book of Psalms, and finding one’s own place in the biblical passages. The “laws” model reads biblical texts as commands or ethical guidelines for one to obey and is natural to the Lutheran law-gospel distinction and Reformed focus on covenant. The “oracles” model reads biblical texts as collections of maxims to be spoken authoritatively into the life of the reader, and, although Reasoner does not make the connection explicit, this model can be seen in the practice of charismatic churches.
While Reasoner’s five models of Scripture are helpful lenses to understand what certain readers are doing with the Bible, the categories seem, at times, to blur. The hermeneutical concepts of genre and application lie in between the models in an uncomfortable position. First, in his exposition of each model, Reasoner is careful to state that “documents” readers do not deny the text contains prayers and that “laws” readers acknowledge Genesis 1-3 tells stories. The models serve as a default setting for readers’ inclinations when approaching any text, but because Scripture contains various genres, readers should employ multiple models. Sometimes, however, Reasoner runs against this caveat, caricaturing readers into one camp in which the model takes a more controlling position. For example, “When reading the early chapters of Genesis, those applying the stories model in a ‘stories as history’ way will not look to comparative accounts from the ancient Near East” (p. 88, emphasis added).
Second, Reasoner states, “It is probably better not to stay completely with one model, but always to balance the documents model with at least one or two other models” (p. 64). This openness to treating the texts as documents establishes that historical backgrounds, language studies, and critical methods are necessary to establishing context and original meaning. The same problem arises in the conclusion that “the prayers model is the one model necessary for believers who regard the Christian canon as their Scripture” (p. 263). Surely, Scripture should be used in application as and for prayer, but not reading biblical texts as historical documents describing factual stories or laws communicating God’s expectations would cast doubt on their authoritative status (cf. 1 Cor 15:1–8; Deut 6:1–9). Reasoner acknowledges this point in regard to the distinction of the documents and stories models: The contents of early definitions of the gospel, such as in 1 Corinthians 15:3–8 or early creeds, must be affirmed as historical truth. Beyond that, readers of Scripture are free to differ on whether a given narrative of Scripture communicates both historical and theological truth, or mainly theological truth (p. 86).
In this sense, his models sometimes approximate the reader’s application or usage of certain texts.
Although focused more on how readers treat selected passages than on the Bible as a whole, Reasoner offers an alternate varied perspective that should be read alongside holistic “Scripture as” models. The author himself cites Eugene H. Peterson’s Eat This Book (2009) on several occasions, showing how Reasoner’s models could fit as a hermeneutical descriptor within broader theological approaches. See also Kevin J. Vanhoozer’s The Drama of Doctrine (2005), which views the Bible as a drama script that readers learn and act out, as well as Micah Chung’s “The Bible is Food” (JBTM, 2023), which presents the attributes of Scripture in line with humanity’s need and desire for food.
Overall, Reasoner provides insightful strengths and weaknesses of all five models, and his treatments of Protestant doctrines and developments are thorough and balanced. His “Bible Positioning System” pulls together the five models plus other hermeneutical tendencies in a fascinating three-dimensional model (pp. 187–89). The classroom and ministry recommendations, although repetitive and broad, are wise reminders that make this work well-suited for graduate students and undergraduate instructors.