RELS PART 2

Hermeneutics

synonym for interpretation, the theory of interpretation

exgesis

the practice of interpretation, applying theory of interpretation to texts in order to determine their meaning.

exposition

drawing out what the text therefore means for contemporary readers. exposition follows exegesis

the bible was written by and for people:

with a different philosophical worldview, cultural understanding, historical context, language, and literary and rhetorical standards

textual criticism

the process of determining the original text by examining all the available manuscripts

3 types of barriers to biblical interpretation

historical, linguistic, and literary barriers

historical barriers to biblical interpretation

relate to differences in philosophical worldview, cultural understanding, and historical context. overcome by using the historical

historical critical method

seeks to establish the historical setting, culture, presuppositions of the author and the first audience, in order to illuminate the authors meaning

source criticism

method of historical

form criticism

method of historical

redaction criticism

method of historical

linguistic barrier to biblical interpretation

refers to the fact that the bible was written in a different language than our own, with different words, grammatical rules, and particular phrases. this barrier is addressed by lexical

lexical

syntactical analysis

literary barrier to biblical interpretation

relates to the fact that the biblical writers used different literary forms, rhetorical rules, etc. this barrier is addressed by literary criticism

literary criticism

determines how different literary devices convey meaning. concerned with the authors use of genre, poetic devices, figurative language, rhetoric, etc.

subtypes of literary criticism

rhetorical criticism, narrative criticism, and canonical criticism

allegorical interpretation

seeks gods meaning, regardless of the biblical writers intentions.

reader

response criticism

modern biblical criticism

seeks to establish the historical reality behind the text, and the intentions of the author or authors

the enlightenment

18th century philosophical movement which rejected traditional and religious authorities in favor of individual human reason as the best way to discover the truth

reasons for modern critical criticism

created to test the reliability of the bible according to current accepted standards of knowledge. supernatural elements in the bible need to be rejected or reinterpreted on rationalist and scientific grounds. it was believed that to be truly objective, one must set aside any religious commitments which would bias the investigation

two principles of modern biblical criticism

natural and hermeneutic of suspicion

naturalism

the philosophical presupposition that the natural world is all that exists, and therefore that we should only look for and accept natural explanations of any events. one of the central presuppositions of science. supernatural elements of scripture have to be rejected

Hermeneutic of suspicion

a way of approaching the text that assumes the author is not telling the truth unless their claims can be independently verified

modern biblical criticism in practice

the assumptions of MBC are inappropriate for the task of theology

two corrective to the protestant reliance on modern biblical criticism

1) ensuring our interpretations are formed by the history of christian interpretation of scripture

2) theological interpretation of scripture

theoligical interpretation of scripture

treat the biblica text as scripture, rather than just any book. believe the biblical in interpretation should be done for an dby the church. seek to do justice to the theological nature of the texts

what is modernity

the modern era began at the turn of the 18th century, it began with the enlightenment period (everything after 1700 is the modern period, and everything prior to 1700 is the pre

premodern world was characterized by

rigid hierarchies of authority that were unquestioned. a view of "reason" as a property of the unvierse itself, rather than property of human consciousness

changes seen at the reformation

authority of the church questioned for the first time. we see the beginnings of individualism, especially regarding how scripture should be interpreted. protestants trust their own reason over the authority of the church

core tenets of the enlightenment

1

2

confidence in the power of human reason

3

belief that reason is pure and objective

the father of modern philosophy

rene descartes

foundationalism

a theory about how knowledge claims are justified. in order to stop an infinite regress of justifying beliefs, there must be a "foundation" of beliefs which cannot themselves be called into question

implication of modernity for theology

1

2

protestant christianity is influenced by enlightenment confidence in human reason. seen by both conservative and liberal protestantism and modern christian apologetics and the doctrine of inerrancy of scripture

what is postmodernism

critique of modernism, especially of enlightenment philosophy. began at beginning of 20th century. dominant cultural power in the 1960's. began when society lost faith in modernism and the enlightenment promise of human progress and improvement o life. distrusts human reason to give reliable knowledge, but has found nothing to replace it

postmodern thought characterized by

1

2

rejection of metanarratives

3

suspicion of the possibility of reliable knowledge

4

denial of an accessible objective reality

critiques of modern thought

1

2

critique of human progress

3

critique of scientific reason

4

critique of foundationalism

claims of postmodernism

1

2

there is no privileged perspective on reality

implications for theology

1

2

we tend to reject external authorities and trust in our own individual reason

friedrich nietzsche

one of christianitys greatest critic. founder of the phrase "god is dead". first to criticize enlightenment rationality from a postmodern perspective.

3 essential beliefs about who god is

1

2

jesus christ is worshipped as god (the holy spirit is too)

3

jesus is not the father (the holy spirit is not jesus or the father

monotheism

the belief that there is only one god

early christian heresies

represent attempts to create logically consistent conceptions of God that broke one of these 3 rules

heresy

any belief that represents a denial of a core doctrine of the christian faith

3 primary types of heresies

tritheism, modalism, and subordinationism

tritheism

the belief in 3 distinct Gods. most commonly a denial or weakening of the unity of the father, son, and spirit as one god. often a hypothetical or imagined position. marcionism and gnosticism could be said to represent this category of heresy. both deny that the god of the old testament is the same god as the father of jesus christ

modalism

a group of beliefs which claim that the father, son, and spirit are not distinct persons, but different modes in which the one god appears to us

functional modalism

the 3 persons of the trinity represent 3 different aspects of the activity of god

most influential form of modalism

sabellianism, a form of chronological modalism

chronological modalism

god appears in different modes at different times in history

subordinationism

a group of belief which assert that the son and/or spirit are somehow inferior to the father

adoptionism

the belief that jesus was an ordinary human being who was adopted by God to be his son

arianism

the belief that jesus christ was created by god i time, before the rest of creation. jesus is divine, but is not of the same substance of god.

the nicene creed

created at the first council of nicaea in 325 and clarified at the first council of constantinople in 381

3 essential beliefs protected at the council of nicaea

1

2

jesus christ is worshipped as god (the holy spirit is also worshipped as god)

3

jesus is not the father (the holy spirit is not jesus or the father)

docetism

the belief that jesus only seemed to be human

apollinarianism

the belief that jesus had a real human body, but a divine mind

nestorianism

the belief that two distinct natures coexist in the single body of jesus no nazareth

monophysitism

the belief that jesus has a single nature that is both human and divine

heresies concerning jesus' nature

nestorianism and monophysitism

what is salvation

being saved from sin

3 effects of sin

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2

corrupts everything

3

separates us from god

3 ways salvation overcome sins

1

2

jesus sets in motion the restoration of all creation

3

jesus reconciles us to god

deification

a transformative process of salvation whose aim is likeness ot or union with God

how does jesus save

1

2

his death, the redemption of humanity

3

his resurrection, the victory over sin, death, and satan

sacrifical lamb theory

in his death on the cross, jesus provided the perfect sacrifice for humanitys sin. jesus purifies and removes the sin of humanity so we ca be restored to God

recapitulation theory

jesus is the new adam. where adam failed and caused humanity to fall, jesus succeeded and restored humanity

ransom theory

by his death, jesus paid the ransom for humanity in order to redeem us from death

christus victor theory

in this model, jesus died to defeat satan. satan had no authority to kill a sinless person. so when satan accepeted jesus' death in place of humanity, satan overstepped his authority and his power was defeated

satisfaction theory

jesus' death was not a ransom payment to satan, but a payment of debt to god. because jesus is fully god and fully human, his meritorious death provides the necessary satisfaction for the offence of human sin

penal substitutionary atonement

jesus' death comes to be seen as taking the punishment that humanity deserves as a oral consequence for sin. god is bound by justice, so he cannot forgive humanity for its sin until the punishment for sin is paid. god sends his son to earth to suffer the punishment (penal) that humanity deserves. in their place (substitutionary), in order that sin is justly dealt with (atonement)

eternal conscious torment

the view that the unsaved will experience a never

annihilationism

the view that the unsaved will be destroyed rather than living eternally in torment

conditional immortality

the idea that humans are not immortal, we only live as long as god continues to sustain us

universal reconciliation

according to this view, all people will ultimately be saved. specifically christian view, which holds that jesus' death on the cross cannot fail in its mission to redeem humanity

the creator/creature distinction

there is an infinite qualitative distinction between god the creator and his creation. expresses the limitations of humanity

gods creation is \_____

gods creation is good, humanity is elevated to the highest place in creation. humanity was created for a purpose.