Interpreting Scripture

with the

Great Tradition

Recovering the Genius of Premodern Exegesis

Craig A. Carter

a division of Baker Publishing Group

Grand Rapids, Michigan

© 2018 by Craig A. Carter

Published by Baker Academic

a division of Baker Publishing Group

PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakeracademic.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Carter, Craig A., 1956– author.

Title: Interpreting scripture with the great tradition : recovering the genius of premodern exegesis / Craig A. Carter.

Description: Grand Rapids : Baker Publishing Group, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017050533 | ISBN 9780801098727 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Bible—Criticism, interpretation, etc.—History.

Classification: LCC BS511.3 .C3775 2018 | DDC 220.601—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017050533

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016

To the blessed memory of

John Bainbridge Webster

(1955–2016)

beloved mentor and teacher,

who spoke and wrote so profoundly about our God

and who now beholds him face to face

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”

(Phil. 1:3 KJV)

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Who Is the Suffering Servant? The Crisis in Contemporary Hermeneutics

The Gulf between Academic Hermeneutics and Church Preaching

How Such a Gulf Developed between Church and Academy

Can This Gulf Be Overcome? Promising Developments in Recent Scholarship

The Argument of This Book

Part 1: Theological Hermeneutics

2. Toward a Theology of Scripture

The Inspiration of Scripture

The God Who Speaks

The Word in the Words

3. The Theological Metaphysics of the Great Tradition

What Is Theological Metaphysics?

Why Christian Platonism?

How Is Christian Platonism Related to Platonism in General?

The Modern Rejection of Christian Platonism

4. The History of Biblical Interpretation Reconsidered

The Orthodox Consensus: Exegesis of Scripture in the Great Tradition

The Great Disruption: Exegesis of Scripture in Modernity

How the Narrative Needs to Be Revised

Part 2: Recovering Premodern Exegesis

5. Reading the Bible as a Unity Centered on Jesus Christ

Biblical Interpretation Is a Spiritual Discipline: Ambrose of Milan

The Apostles Are Our Models: Justin Martyr

The Rule of Faith Is Our Guide: Irenaeus

Summary and Conclusions

6. Letting the Literal Sense Control All Meaning

The Spiritual Meaning Grows out of the Literal Sense: Augustine

All Meaning Is Contained ...

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About Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition: Recovering the Genius of Premodern Exegesis

The rise of modernity, especially the European Enlightenment and its aftermath, has negatively impacted the way we understand the nature and interpretation of Christian Scripture. In this introduction to biblical interpretation, Craig Carter evaluates the problems of post-Enlightenment hermeneutics and offers an alternative approach: exegesis in harmony with the Great Tradition of Christian interpretation. Addressing the growing gulf between academic hermeneutics and the preaching ministry of the church, Carter proposes major reforms to our theory of biblical interpretation in order to bring our theory into line with our practice. He argues for the validity of patristic christological exegesis, showing that we must recover the Nicene theological tradition as the context for contemporary exegesis, and seeks to root both the nature and interpretation of Scripture firmly in trinitarian orthodoxy.

Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition will be useful in hermeneutics, biblical interpretation, and theology courses.

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