Jesus and Paul on Covenantal Nomism

In my opinion, the parable of the good Samaritan is best read as a parabolic critique of covenantal nomism. If this is the case, then I would argue that Paul in Romans 2.14-15, 17-25, is on the very same page as Jesus and perhaps even has this parable in mind as he writes. Arguing for direct dependence would probably be extremely difficult, so I’ll just leave dependence as a perhaps at this point.

Thiselton on Hermeneutics

I’m getting ready to finish up Anthony Thiselton’s New Horizons in Hermeneutics and the final two chapters are proving to be incredibly insightful. I must confess that as I’ve been slowly ploughing through the book I’ve managed to only catch a little glimpse of what’s going on. Reading Thiselton’s book has really been my first serious venture into Hermeneutic theory. I encountered some semiotic theory as an undergraduate, read bits and pieces here and there, and I have even taught some introductory literary theory as a part of a class on interactive narratives, but this stuff is DENSE!!! It would take many more months of critically interacting with each chapter before I would feel comfortable saying that I have any sort of handle on the material. I don’t know that I would recommend starting with Thiselton’s book if you’ve never read anything on hermeneutical theory. Never-the-less as I’ve been reading I’ve caught glimpses of how the material is important to how various reading communities and myself approach and interpret the Bible. It’s really been in the final two chapters though that the lights have started to come on as Thiselton works out some of the implications of the material for pastoral theology. The final two chapters make the effort of working through the material infinitely worth it. So while I don’t’ know that I would recommend Thiselton’s book for someone who hasn’t read anything on hermeneutical theory, I don’t know that I wouldn’t recommend it either. I wish this sort of material was required reading for everyone who picks up the Bible and engages in debate on its subject matter. It would bring much more humility to the debates happening, and much more constructive interaction between different communities of interpretation. I just also wish that it wasn’t so difficult to get a handle on this material.

Perhaps Scott McKnight of Jesus Creed may have captured my thoughts best when he wrote of Thiselton’s newest volume, The Hermeneutics of Doctrine, that:

Anthony Thiselton is the world's best scholar on how to read and interpret Scripture — on the art and "science" of hermeneutics. Unfortunately, his prose falls at the opposite end of the spectrum. Now a confession: along with others, I will stand in line to buy Thiselton's dense tomes so I can read them. Why? For no reasons other than his brilliant syntheses, his knack for bringing scholarly literature into focus, and his uncommon common sense that, like someone who can deftly tap rocks and bring forth diamonds, sheds deep light on dense subjects. But I never crack open Thiselton without knowing it will be hard work.

Thanks to Michael Bird over at Euangelion for originally pointing out McKnight’s review.

Divine Economy Introductory Reading List

Daniel M. Bell, in the midst of an incredibly busy schedule, was kind enough to respond to an email I sent him after reading his article, “The Labor of Communion in a Capital Age”. He provided me with an introductory reading list on the shape of the ‘Divine Economy’ in the Bible. He notes that “discerning the shape of a Scriptural economy requires attending as much to wise and faithful readers of the texts as the texts themselves.” Many thanks to Dr. Bell for taking the time out of his busy schedule to provide this list:


Walter Brueggemann, passim. Especially, “The Liturgy of Abundance, The Myth of Scarcity.”

Ched Myers, passim. Especially “God Speed the Year of Jubilee” Sojourners

Meir Tamari, The Challenge of Wealth

Luke Timothy Johnson, Sharing Possessions

Sondra Wheeler, Wealth as Peril and Obligation

Elizabeth Newman, Untamed Hospitality, chapter 2

Latin American Liberationists

John Haughey, ed. The Faith That Does Justice, esp. chapter 3

Christine Pohl, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition

Amy Oden, And You Welcomed Me

Justo Gonzalez, Faith and Wealth.

John Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus

Doug Meeks, God the Economist

Jesus and Justice

Daniel M. Bell, whose writings are well worth reading, writes concerning the priority of confession or social action that:

“Jesus is the Justice of God.

This means there can be no division between confessing Jesus and doing justice. We cannot pick Jesus or justice; we cannot give priority to one over the other. This is the case because Jesus and justice finally are not two things, only one. Jesus is our Justice. Therefore, Christians can only do justice rightly by proclaiming Jesus and we can only
proclaim Jesus faithfully by doing justice. To proclaim the good news of Jesus is to do justice; to do justice is to proclaim Jesus. To do anything less is neither to confess Jesus nor do justice rightly.”

Absolutely brilliant!

The other Journal has the full transcript of his talk here.

Law, System, & Life-world

I’ve been working on a post for the last few weeks which looks the law in the Old Testament and considers some reason why greater attention isn’t being paid to some of the Old Testament books of the law in the Church today (at pew level) . There seems to be some incredibly valuable material there in the Levitical codes which a number of scholars have unpacked especially in the area of economics. (See for example Paul William’s wonderful talk over at the regent workplace) Generally in the pews of the church thought I don’t see too many Bible studies being done on Leviticus or Numbers.

Working through the issues has been slow going so it might be a while before I have something I’m ready to put out for people to read. In the mean time I thought I would throw out a very suggestive quote from Anthony Thiselton’s large and very dense volume “New Horizons in Hermeneutics”. Thiselton, drawing on the socio-critical theory of Habermas and John Rogersons and their work on systems and life-world writes:

“The human life-world of interactive communication is seen theologically as corporately fallible and structurally flawed by self-interest. Co-Operative interaction need not always be for good, by may serve corporate self-interest. On the other hand Paul sees the law simultaneously as fulfilling two systemic functions. On the one hand, it serves as an external transcendental value-frame, providing a critique of the human life-world. In this respect “if it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin” (Rom 7:7); i.e. my relation to sin would have remained at a pre-critical narrative level. “the law is holy… just and good” (Rom. 7:12); for it constitutes a necessary transcendental critical system. On the other hand, the system of law provokes conflict with the human life-world: “Apart from the law, sin lies dead… but when the commandment came, sin revived…The very commandment which promised life proved to be death to me” (Rom. 7:8-10).

In the face of this self-defeating, though necessary, system, Paul expounds the different basis and effects of the principle of grace which brings about new integration and new creation of the “one” (2 Cor 5:17). Repeatedly this is seen in terms of “freedom” from the system of the law (Rom 8:2; Gal 5:1). But this is not (as in a non-Pauline Pelagian view of freedom) a freedom to construct any kind of life-world. It is a creative transformation of the human life-world which brings about orrespondence through the Holy Sprit between the eschatological system of divine love and purpose and the corporate life-world of communicative interaction that is in the process of moving from mis-match to match. Whereas under the law, human life-world and legal system became split apart, divine grace does not destroy what the system represents, but integrates system and life-world within a new, transformed, whole. Herein lies the healing newness of the gospel as universal whole.” (p. 392-3 emphasis original)

Light & Space

Yesterday, in a rare moment of Seattle sun, I went to snap some photographs of St. Ignatius Chapel on the campus of Seattle University. St. Ignatius was designed by Steven Knoll. It’s a beautiful space here are some pictures to enjoy.

Vintage Theologians

I just ran into this wine Aquinas out of the Napa Valley and was lucky enough to be able to secure a case for cheap. I'm pretty sure this is the perfect wine for seminarians and theologians everywhere. Their website says of the wine that: "Aquinas Napa Valley is named for St. Thomas Aquinas {a·kwine·es}, a revolutionary scholar in the 13th century who used the laws of science to support his belief in the existence of the almighty. The same way St. Thomas intersected two, often opposing schools of thought, we hope to bring together two, separate schools of wine, Napa Valley appellation and everyday affordability."

Cheers!