Theological Interpretation Part 2

Part 1

What is the Theological Interpretation of Scripture?

If agreement on how to define the various theological disciplines such as biblical or systematic theology is notoriously elusive,¹ theological interpretation of Scripture (TIS) is no easier. Firstly, TIS proponents consider the practice of theological interpretation to be an ancient Christian practice, whereas 'TIS' as a recognisable movement is a very recent label adopted by a handful of scholars.² Moreover, not all who practice theological interpretation have adopted the label TIS, even though they interact with TIS and are working towards similar ends.³ Other terms such as theological exegesis, theological hermeneutics, theological commentary, and theological interpretation of the Bible appear in the relevant literature, but these terms are understood to be fairly interchangeable with theological interpretation. For the sake of consistency the different expressions will be referred to under the heading 'TIS', or as the practice of theological interpretation. A second reason for definitional confusion is because TIS, as Don Carson points out, 'is a partly disparate movement... partly a disorganized array of methodological commitments in hermeneutics.'⁴ If this sounds overly dismissive, TIS advocate Joel Green comments, 'no particular methodological commitments will guarantee that a reading of a biblical text exemplifies “theological interpretation”.'⁵ That is to say, TIS describes a set of interpretative aims and shared motivations that can accommodate a variety of methods advanced by individual practitioners.⁶ Thirdly, TIS eludes convenient definition due to the recent rise in TIS literature. Because practitioners are still in the process of clarifying and advancing theological interpretation the advantage of historical perspective is not yet available.⁷

Given the apparent difficulty with defining the theological interpretation movement, the best way forward will be to identify its key features and offer some critical comments. Following this, a working definition of TIS will be proposed.

1Max Turner and Joel B. Green, “New Testament Commentary and Systematic Theology: Strangers of Friends?” in

Between Two Horizons: Spanning New Testament Studies and Systematic Theology, eds. Max Turner and Joel B.

Green, 12 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000).

2The label 'TIS' appears to originate with Stephen Fowl in The Theological Interpretation of Scripture: Classic and

Contemporary Readings, ed. Stephen E. Fowl (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997).

3E.g. Markus Bockmuehl, Seeing The Word: Refocussing New Testament Study (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006).

4D. A. Carson, “Theological Interpretation of Scripture: Yes, But...” in Theological Commentary: Evangelical

Perspectives, ed. R. Michael Allen, 187 (London: Continuum, 2011).

5Joel B. Green, Practicing Theological Interpretation: Engaging Biblical Texts for Faith and Formation (Grand

Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), 3.

6Ibid., 2.

7R. W. L. Moberly, "What is Theological Interpretation of Scripture?" JTI 3, no. 2 (2009): 161. As well as a vast

amount of recent literature, two study groups dedicated to TIS now meet at the Society of Biblical Literature, and two

theological commentary series have gained momentum – The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary, eds. J Gordon

McConville and Craig Bartholomew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008-); The Two Horizons New Testament

Commentary, eds. Joel B. Green and Max Turner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005-); Brazos Theological Commentary

on the Bible, ed. R R Reno et al. (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005-).