Language for God in Patristic Tradition: Wrestling with Biblical Anthropomorphism

Description

Criticism of myth in the Bible is not a modern problem. Its roots go back to the earliest Christian theologians, and before them, to ancient Greek and Jewish thinkers. The dilemma posed by texts that ascribe human characteristics and emotions to the divine is a perennial problem, and we have much to learn from the ancient attempts to address it. Mark Sheridan provides a theological and historical analysis of the patristic interpretation of Scripture’s anthropomorphic and anthropopathic language for God. Rather than reject the Bible as mere stories, ancient Jewish and Christian theologians read these texts allegorically or theologically in order to discover the truth contained within them. They recognized that an edifying and appropriate interpretation of these stories required that one start from the understanding that "God is not a human being" (Num 23:19). Sheridan brings the patristic tradition into conversation with modern interpreters to show the abiding significance of its theological interpretation for today. Language for God in Patristic Tradition is a landmark resource for students of ancient Christian theology. Wide-ranging in scope and accessible in its analysis, it demonstrates that those engaged in theological interpretation of Scripture have much to gain from studying their forebears in the faith. Foreword by Thomas C. Oden 7 Note of Gratitude 9 Abbreviations 11 Introduction 17 1 God Is Not Like Humans 27 2 The Philosophers’ Critique of Myth and the Defense of Homer Through Allegorical Interpretation 45 3 Hellenistic Jewish Interpretation of the Scriptures 61 4 The Interpretation of the Scriptures in the New Testament: A Model for Later Writers 79 5 The Early Christian Writers 107 6 Three Classic Cases 127 7 The Special Problem of the Psalms 163 8 Ancient and Modern Ways of Dealing with the Problematic Texts 193 Appendix: Ancient Christian Hermeneutics: The Presuppositions, the Criteria and the Rules Employed 217 Biographical Sketches of Early Christian Writers and Other Significant Authors 237 Select Bibliography 243 Name and Author Index 249 Subject Index 251 Scripture Index 253 Praise for Language for God in Patristic Tradition 255 About the Author 256 More Titles from Inte rVarsity Press 257