What is the Bible?: The Patristic Doctrine of Scripture

Description

The patristic doctrine of Scripture is an understudied topic. Recent scholars, however, have shown considerable interest in patristic exegetical strategies and methods—from rhetoric and typology, to theory and method; far less attention, though, has been paid to the early Christian understanding of the nature of Scripture itself. This volume explores the patristic vision of the Bible—the understanding of Scripture as the word of life and salvation, the theological, liturgical, and ascetical practice of reading—and is anchored by keynote essays from Fr. John McGuckin, Paul Blowers, and Michael Legaspi. The purpose is to reopen a consideration of the doctrine of Scripture for contemporary theology, rooted in the tradition of the Church Fathers (Greek, Latin, and Oriental), an endeavor inspired by the theological vision of the twentieth century's foremost Orthodox Christian theologian, Fr. Georges Florovsky. Our interest is not in mere description of historical uses of Scripture or interpretive methods, but rather in the very nature of Scripture itself and its place within the whole economy of creation, revelation, and salvation. Preface ix Introduction xi Part I. Approaches in the Christian East 1. The Exegetical Metaphysic of Origen of Alexandria J. A. McGuckin 3 2. A “Doctrine of Scripture” from the Eastern Orthodox Tradition: A Reflection on the Desert Father Saint Sarapion of Thmuis Oliver Herbel 21 3. “He Has Clothed Himself in Our Language”: The Incarnational Hermeneutic of Saint Ephrem the Syrian Matthew Baker 35 4. John Chrysostom on the Nature of Revelation and Task of Exegesis Bradley Nassif 49 5. Barsanuphius, John, and Dorotheos on Scripture: Voices from the Desert in Sixth-Century Gaza Alexis Torrance 67 6. The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ as “Saturated Phenomenon” and as a Key to the Dynamics of Biblical Revelation in Saint Maximus the Confessor Paul M. Blowers 83 7. Scripture as Divine Mystery: The Bible in the Philokalia Brock Bingaman 103 Part II. Modern Approaches Inspired by the Fathers 8. The Bible as Heilsgeschichte: The Basic Axis and Scope of Georges Florovsky’s Neopatristic Synthesis Nikolaos Asproulis 121 9. The Gospel according to Saint Justin the New: Justin Popović on Scripture Vladimir Cvetkovic 137 10. Reality and Biblical Interpretation: T. F. Torrance’s Retrieval of Patristic Hermeneutics John Taylor Carr 167 11. Merely Academic: A Brief History of Modern Biblical Criticism Michael C. Legaspi 181