Biblical Interpretation and Christian Ethics (New Studies in Christian Ethics, Series Number 2) - Hardcover

McDonald, J. I. H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521430593 ISBN 13: 9780521430593

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1994

Synopsis

What place does the Bible have in Christian ethics today? How should the Bible be interpreted in the context of current moral concern? How does one understand the ethics in the Bible, and how do such ethics relate to the interpreter's own life and values? These are some of the questions addressed by this important book, the first comprehensive treatment of these issues. The past century of Biblical interpretation in relation to Christian ethics is seen to consist of three phases. In the first phase, liberal scholars responded to new methods of Biblical criticism and tried to make sense of Biblical ethics from perspectives derived from the Enlightenment. In the second phase, a more radical disjunction between Biblical culture and modern-day culture was seen to emerge. Various attempts were made to cope with this disjunction, ranging from outright skepticism to existentialism. In the third and final phase, sometimes called postmodernism, the relation between text and interpretation is viewed as distinctly more problematic. There can be no handling of texts--in relation to ethics or anything else--that is independent of interpretation. Dr. McDonald offers a stimulating analysis of the relationship between Biblical interpretation and Christian ethics in both past and present.

About this title

Book Description:

Interdisciplinary studies are emerging rapidly to meet the demands of the modern age. To bring together Biblical Interpretation and Christian Ethics is a potentially creative undertaking. Such dialogue is attempted in this work, at a time when much attention is being paid to reading texts and the interpretive tradition. The author's principal concern is to read the Bible in the context of moral concern. Attention is paid to the liberal quest and to eschatology and ethics, before the post-modern age is studied under the rubric 'participation in meaning'.

Review:

"This careful study of the interaction between Christian biblical interpretation and ethics combines a modern history of the subject with actual exegesis of several important biblical texts. It is very well researched, sometimes brilliant, and always informative....Very highly recommended." Choice

"...scholarly and sophisticated work...." Religious Studies Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0521430593
• ISBN 13: 9780521430593
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320